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CNN Sunday Morning

Israel Eases Restrictions on Arafat's Movement

Aired February 24, 2002 - 07:14   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go to the Middle East now. Israel has decided to ease restrictions on the movement of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The Palestinians are criticizing the move, saying it doesn't go far enough. Jerrold Kessel is monitoring the story and joins us known live from Jerusalem.

Hello, Jerrold.

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra. And I think when you say "easing restriction," it has to be added, easing him of very little because those Israeli tanks, which have been ringing Mr. Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah are likely to be redeployed, but not a very long way off.

This after a very intensive discussion in the Israeli security Cabinet this morning. At then end of which, a decision was taken that they would ease the restrictions a little on Yasser Arafat to wit that he can leave that compound in Ramallah where he's been penned up for almost three months because of attacks by Palestinian militants on Israelis, but that he cannot leave Ramallah, that West Bank town without expressed permission of Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Mr. Sharon read out to his Cabinet this morning, the full government meeting, the decision taken of the security Cabinet that he -- that Israel expected Yasser Arafat to go further than the arrest of the -- during last week of three Palestinian militants who are believed to be involved, who have been involved in the assassination of an Israeli Cabinet minister back in November.

Now, it was the demand that those Palestinians be arrested, that was the condition for Israel keeping Yasser Arafat penned up in Ramallah. Mr. Sharon said bluntly that Israel will watching closely to make sure that this arrest is genuine. And also, he said the arrest of those involved in that infamous Karine A, the boat smuggling affair, to the Palestinians. So the Israelis continuing to take rather a hard line with regard to Yasser Arafat's movements in the area and the Palestinians coming back very hard at that and describing this latest Israeli decision as mere humiliation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAED ERAKAT, PALESTINIAN CABINET MEMBER: This is unacceptable and a shameless decision by the Israeli government today. And it's a clear-cut message to all of us that this government has no political program and the only program they have is that of foreign destruction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KESSEL: So the Israeli tanks likely to stay around Ramallah at the very least, as the Palestinians had been hoping that a decision to relieve this travel ban on Mr. Arafat would fit into what had happened at the end of last week when the top security commanders of the two sides had met and had come to some kind of tentative understanding. We can't put it more than that, not even an agreement, an understanding that the two sides would do their very best to limit hostilities during the next few days, a period of Jewish holidays and Muslim holidays at the same time.

But now, the hopes that this would merge with something grander than that, perhaps put into question by this latest Israeli decision on the reassertion of Israel's continued control and limitation of Yasser Arafat's travel movements -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jerrold Kessel, live in Jerusalem. Thank you so much.

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