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CNN Sunday Morning

4th Suicide Bombing in 5 Days Rocks Haifa, Israel

Aired March 31, 2002 - 08:17   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: For those of you just tuning in, just to bring you up to date, within the past hour or so an explosion rocked the port city of Haifa in Israel; a popular weekend destination for Israelis. The explosion apparently the work of yet another suicide bomber. This would be the fourth in five days.

It occurred in a crowded restaurant, the Matzoh restaurant, in that port city. We have confirmation from a spokesperson for Ariel Sharon that at least 14 are dead, three dozen others injured; some of them seriously. You see the scene of carnage and confusion there right now brought to us courtesy of Israeli television. We are efforting, getting additional details for you, and as they become available, we will of course bring them to you.

CNN's Mike Hanna, our Jerusalem Bureau Chief is at the point of that effort to get those details for us -- Mike, what more can you tell us?

MIKE HANNA, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Miles, you have given most of the details that we have at this particular point. What we do know at this point is that 12 people confirmed killed at least at this stage, according to ambulance officials. Well over 30 people are wounded. Some of them are said to be in very serious condition.

What we can tell you, too, Miles, is the claim of responsibility from the militant Hamas organization. This claim made in a telephone call to CNN in Gaza. Hamas has claimed responsibility for a number of terror attacks in recent days, and indeed in recent weeks. This, the latest attack in a whole chain of attacks once again, as you say. At least four attacks within the last few days. The last one in coffee bar in Tel Aviv overnight. And now this massive attack, according to police, in a restaurant in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa.

At least 12 people killed in this explosion, which police say was the work of a suicide bomber. Yet another terror attack against Israeli civilians, while the situation, the conflict, the violence, the deaths continue to escalate, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Mike, we have been getting a series of emails in here. And I wanted to just give one to you. And this gives you a sense of kind of the sentiment that we're hearing from people. This comes from Marc Aversa. And I apologize it's not cleaned up there. You're seeing the bottom of another email there. But simply this: "Why doesn't Israel simply declare war, roll in and finish this? Letting the Palestinians linger in the left Bank and band together -- he's meaning West Bank there -- is not a good idea." Is the W word used much, Mike, in Israel right now-- war?

HANNA: Yeah, well the W world has been used very frequently in Israel in recent weeks. That, indeed, in recent months. Elements of Sharon's government, large elements of the Israeli public, had been saying in recent months that Sharon was not doing enough to counter Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians. This did all appear to change with that bombing in Netanya, where the Israeli cabinet adopted a different strategy. It said that Netanya bombing was a turning point in the way it was going to deal with this ongoing conflict.

Well we've seen the results of that, these attacks on Yasser Arafat and his headquarters in Ramallah. We've see big Israeli deployments, the call up of Israeli military reserves. We've also heard Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister, say that Yasser Arafat is an enemy.

Now for all intents and purposes, this is a declaration of war. Palestinians, however, say that war is not a term that can be used in this situation. The Palestinians have no army, they do not have the type of ordinance that Israel does. They do not have those state structures which Israel deploys in terms of its operations against the Palestinians.

But as far as Israel is concerned, that call that has been rising in recent months, as these terrorist attacks against civilians have continued, for Sharon to take stronger action to the extent of declaring a war has in a way been done. Once Ariel Sharon declared Yasser Arafat the enemy, we then had a situation in which as far as Israelis are concerned, they are in a state of war. And the Defense Minister, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, has said as much publicly. That Israel is at war at this stage, Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. Mike -- and this a good follow-up -- this one comes from Cathie Witty. "When will Israel face the fact that they are going to have to sit down with Hamas at the table to resolve this issue? Arafat will not tell his people to surrender. Hanan Ashwari is correct." Hamas at the table, interesting prospect.

HANNA: Well a rather complicated prospect, and one which is virtually unbelievable, to be quite frank. For a start, Hamas is a militant organization that is absolutely opposed to any form of links with Israel whatsoever. It is absolutely opposed to any form of negotiation. It will not have anything to do with attempts even to get a truce in place on the ground. And as for the wider peace process, the very fact that Hamas has been carrying out a series of terror attacks against Israeli targets is because it is opposed to the whole concept of peace with Israel.

So as far as Hamas is concerned, it does not recognize the state of Israel. So it is quite frankly a ludicrous suggestion to think of any form of negotiation between the Israel government and elements from Hamas. And one must remember too that there is no negotiation on a political basis whatsoever contemplated with a group like the Palestinian Authority, to which Hamas has incidentally been strongly opposed in the past because of its efforts to secure a peace with Israel. Efforts that have clearly led nowhere, Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. CNN's Mike Hanna, thank you very much. Our Jerusalem Bureau Chief obviously watching as events unfold in the Middle East this afternoon there, this morning on the East Coast.

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