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CNN Sunday Morning
Suicide Bomber Bombs Busiest Intersection in West Jerusalem
Aired January 27, 2002 - ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get right to the big news of the morning, that suicide bombing in Jerusalem. CNN's Jerrold Kessel is talking with authorities there. It's been a busy day for him. Jerrold.
JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, Israeli police, Israeli security have been on heightened alert because they had anticipated there would be more Palestinian attacks, but that didn't lessen the pain when the attack came in the heart of downtown West Jerusalem.
A Palestinian suicide bomber letting off the explosions at the busiest intersection in West Jerusalem, a corner of Jaffa and King George Street, and absolute mayhem.
KESSEL (voice over): One Israeli killed by the suicide bomber may have been a man or a woman. The police have not yet determined that nor the identity of the bomber.
But more than 100 people hurt, many of them only lightly hurt, but at least two in serious condition and another 10 in relatively serious condition from Israeli hospitals.
Now this the latest in a slew of attacks in Israeli cities, the third as you say in the same area within a week. But it's the first since the United States took a very, very tough line in demanding of Yasser Arafat.
President Bush himself saying he was disappointed in the Palestinian leader and putting the onus on him, not only not to abet terror, but to make a very firm and declaratory, not just a declaratory but definitive action in curbing Palestinian militants.
Well the Palestinian, one of the Palestinian radical groups, Hamas - there's been no claim of responsibility, but a spokesman for Hamas said this was perfectly understandable that such an attack would happen when Israel was engaging in its war on the Palestinians. This is what we heard from the leading Hamas spokesman.
MAHMOUD ZAHAR, HAMAS SPOKESMAN: We are considering Sharon and his government are fully responsible about the violence in the area, because the Israeli aggression, which has escalated in the last few days, the continuation of the occupation, the general purview are the main causes of the escalation of the resistance against the Israeli occupation.
KESSEL (on camera): The Israeli authorities laying the blame squarely, as they do, at the door of Yasser Arafat and his Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian Authority coming out with the condemnation of the attack in Jerusalem by the leading Palestinian cabinet minister, saying that the responsibility ultimately lies with Ariel Sharon for the kind of actions that he's undertaken against the Palestinians.
YASSER ABED RABBO, PALESTINIAN INFORMATION OFFICER: The policy of provocations against the whole Palestinian people and the Palestinian leadership, by imposing this siege around all the Palestinian areas and around the Palestinian President, we believe there's a need for a third party intervention. The American administration should interfere in a balanced manner and not through statements that will inflame the situation.
KESSEL: So even in the context of this latest bombing, the real focus will be on the reaction to that stepped up U.S. pressure on Yasser Arafat, combining now with the Israeli physical pressure on the Palestinian leader, those Israeli tanks still within eyesight of Yasser Arafat's headquarters in his West Bank town of Ramallah, and what the Palestinians will do in response to that pressure that the United States is applying on Yasser Arafat to engage in an all-out action against the Palestinian militants.
That will be the strategic focus, if you like, even if the tactical focus will be on where and how and how strong will be Israel's retaliation for this latest bombing in one of its cities. Miles.
O'BRIEN: Jerrold when last we spoke, you talked about going to the scene and witnessing people sort of going about their business, as if these sorts of events are becoming commonplace. Is that really what's at root there?
KESSEL: Perhaps that's a little harshly stated, not commonplace, but kind of routine to the extent that Israelis are assimilating this into their daily lives, very grimly so. The attacks are coming so fast and furiously.
We've had three in the last week, another one back here in Jerusalem, one in Tel Aviv on Friday, the declaration by Hamas that they're in an all out war with Israel, that matched with the fact that Israel is applying this ongoing pressure on Yasser Arafat, combines to lead people on both sides to believe this is heading for a real showdown.
So even if they are approaching it with a kind of, almost an apocalyptic view of things that things are happening on a day-to-day basis, they are believing that it's heading towards a showdown, Yasser Arafat attempting to survive. Ariel Sharon attempting to insure that the growing physical, and now diplomatic isolation of the Palestinian leader, isn't in any way relieved. Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Jerrold Kessel, our Jerusalem Bureau Chief, thank you very much.
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