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CNN Sunday Morning
Zinni Scheduled for Another Round of Security Talks
Aired March 24, 2002 - 08:07 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 CORRESPONDENT: Talks on how to control the violent Middle East situation are on tap today. U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni is scheduled to hold another round of security talks between Israelis and Palestinians. But the talks come amid more deadly violence.
Mike Hanna live from Jerusalem with more on that -- hello, Mike.
MIKE HANNA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.
Well, these talks between Palestinian and Israeli security chiefs, the fourth such set of talks. Present at the meeting will be the U.S. Special Envoy Anthony Zinni. The point of the talks, to get a cease-fire in place.
Well, no signs of any imminent breakthrough and this cease-fire certainly critical in determining whether or not the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, will attend an Arab summit in Beirut later on in the week and also whether he'll meet the vice president, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.
The Israeli cabinet held its regular meeting in the course of the day and at that meeting Ariel Sharon announced that perhaps he should go to Beirut to address the Arab summit rather than Arafat. This suggestion dismissed out of hand by Arab leaders, who say that such an invitation is not likely to be forthcoming for the Israeli leader. But the cabinet also discussing the issue of Arafat's movements. Arafat has been held under virtual house arrest now for some three months in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Israel not yet deciding whether to allow him to travel from the Palestinian territories.
Well, there's still ongoing violence on the ground as well, and violence is something that Israel says must stop before Arafat is allowed to travel anywhere. In the latest incident, a Jewish settler was shot and killed by a Palestinian gunman in the West Bank. She was traveling in an armored bus when it came under from as yet unidentified Palestinian gunmen.
Shortly afterwards, Israeli forces exchanged fire with a group of armed Palestinians. Dead in that encounter, a Palestinian police officer. And within the last few minutes, we've received news of another four Palestinians being killed in the Jordan Valley. Israel says that they were attempting to infiltrate from Jordan, intent on carrying out attacks against Israeli civilians. Also on Saturday, a number of Palestinians killed in Rufah (ph), the southern Gaza town, when Israeli forces moved into that particular area. Among the dead, a number of Palestinian gunmen, but also some unarmed civilians.
So while the cease-fire talks still taking place in the course of the day, the violence continues to happen on the ground. No signs yet of an imminent truce -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: You know, this juxtaposition of violence and talks is always difficult to reconcile, I think, from the outside. Give us some insight, Mike -- you've lived there for many years -- as to how a conversation about a talk can even occur when you continue to see this level of bloodshed.
HANNA: Yes, it is very difficult to fight through these type of negotiations to get the truce in place. Now, the actual cease-fire talks are not based on nothing. They do have a very clear blueprint, which was drawn up by the director of the CIA, George Tenet, just under a year ago.
What the sides are arguing about is actually how to implement this particular blueprint and all sources are telling us that although they are inching toward some kind of agreement, each time there is an act of violence on the ground, then it just sets the whole process back.
From Israel's side, too, uncertainty as to whether Yasser Arafat can or is able to enforce a cease-fire should it be agreed, and each of these ongoing incidents of violence lead to, fuel Israeli doubts that this is the case.
On the Palestinian side, incidents such as Saturday, in which seven Palestinians get killed in an armed Israeli incursion, well, that causes great suspicion among Palestinians that Israel is sincere in actually implementing a cease-fire.
So obviously each and every event that happens on the ground has a direct impact on the talks. Zinni has been attempting to persuade the parties that they have got to get this truce in place as a way to stopping the incidents of violence. They can go through a couple of incidents of violence, but not a lot and not certainly have any cease- fire if the violence itself overwhelms the whole talks process -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Mike Hanna, who will be joining us just a little bit later for more on all of this. Stay with CNN for continuing coverage on efforts to end the violence in the Middle East. Mike Hanna will be part of our reporter's notebook coming up.
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