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CNN Sunday Morning

Israel Promises Expeditious Offensive

Aired April 07, 2002 - 08:01   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: Now, our top story, that bloodshed in the Middle East and efforts to end it. The fighting is widespread and Israel promised to wrap up its anti-terrorism offensive expeditiously and then moved its forces into yet another Palestinian village. CNN's Jerrold Kessel is monitoring developments ahead of Secretary of State Colin Powell's arrival in the region. He joins us now from Jerusalem -- Jerrold.

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the big question, what is Ariel Sharon really mean when he says expedite because that was the word he used when he spoke to President Bush yesterday. The president having phoned the Israeli prime minister and telling him that he wants the Israeli military offensive against Palestinians' towns, the effort to root out, as the Israelis call it, the sources of Palestinian terror, to wind up without delay.

Well, that has not happened to the extent that the Israeli forces are continuing what have seemed to be some very heavy battles particularly in two locations. In Nablus, the biggest Palestinian town on the West, particularly in the heart of that Palestinian town, the Kasbah (ph) area of the warren of narrow alleyways, which the Israelis have long said was a stronghold of the militants, of the terrorist groups, as they called them, and where there's been some very heavy fighting over the last several days.

The Israelis bringing in helicopter gun ships to Apache helicopters to use as well as the firing and the ground-to-ground fighting there.

It's been a similar situation further north of Nablus in the town of Jenin, where the helicopters have been mainly focusing on the nearby refugee camp, the Jenin refugee camp where there have been many, many casualties, according to the Palestinian side and where there is also a heavy fighting on the ground.

And CNN's Rula Amin has been just outside Jenin reporting that the helicopters and other shelling of the Palestinian refugee camp has been going on repeatedly throughout the morning.

Now, interestingly, as the Israelis have also sent troops into big village just outside the town of Ramallah, the Palestinian central town on the West Bank, where they have been conducting what the Israelis call a search for terrorist suspects. At the cabinet meeting this morning, the regular weekly cabinet meeting, which Prime Minister Sharon as usual, of course, chaired, he took the opportunity, the Israeli prime minister, to read out a prepared statement in which he interestingly did not reference in any way any time frame or when he meant to begin that pullout, although he had told the president that he would expedite the offensive and that he was conscious -- Israel was conscious of the U.S. desires, as he put it, to wind up the operation as soon as possible. He put no time frame on it, but did call it a very fateful campaign, he said. Faithful for the existence and security of Israel, as he put it and that, he said, was the condition for peace. The Israelis then, looking for some kind of further time to wind up, as they see it, this operation.

And interestingly also, at this cabinet meeting this morning, reportedly the Israeli military chief of staff talking about casualties, said that 12 Israeli soldiers had been killed during the 10-day operation. He put the number of Palestinian fatalities at some 200, although up until now, we've had only 89 confirmed Palestinian deaths, but that's because perhaps the Palestinians have been unable to get to many of the places where there have been very close hand-to- hand clashes with -- excuse me, with the Israeli troops.

Now, if the Israelis and we're asking how long Prime Minister Sharon will continue with this operation, from an Arab point-of-view and we were speaking to an Israeli Arab member, a member of the Israeli parliament, and he somehow reflecting very much the Palestinian position, said that the United States should have moved much quicker in sending Secretary of State Powell not just to the region but here to try to wind up the conflict. This is what he had to say a short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZMI BISHA, ARAB MEMBER OF ISRAELI PARLIAMENT: There's nothing urgent in Morocco, nothing urgent in Spain. The urgent things are here. Mr. Powell could be here today. He could be here today. Why the delay? That's why we do not trust Mr. Bush.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KESSEL: So there you have a view from seeing the Arab side, saying the United States, although it has -- the president has said firmly without delay, saying that there should be no further delay in pushing the Israeli side to get out of the Palestinian towns, to wind up this operation. How soon it will take remains to be seen -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Our Jerrold Kessel, live from Jerusalem, thank you.

Well, with more on that tense phone conversation between President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, we go next to CNN's Kelly Wallace in Texas. She's traveling with the president, who's been hosting British Prime Minister Tony Blair at his ranch in Crawford.

Hi, Kelly. KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi to you, Kyra and good morning. We should get the first reaction, the first official reaction, from the Bush administration to the latest developments on the ground in Israel, how the Israeli incursions continue even after the president publicly and privately called for Prime Minister Sharon to bring an end to those incursions just about an hour from now, Kyra, when some of the president's top advisers, including Condoleeza Rice, the president's national security adviser, and Secretary of State Colin Powell do some interviews on the Sunday interview programs. But we can probably say that the administration is not likely to be satisfied because the message, Mr. Bush made very clear according to senior administration officials, is that he wants Israel to begin withdrawing now.

And again, Kyra, as you and Jerrold were talking about, Mr. Bush got on the phone yesterday. Just about two hours after he went before the cameras and called on Israel to withdraw without delay, the president making his first phone call to the Israeli prime minister since the Israeli raids began a little more than a week ago. Again, officials say Mr. Bush told Mr. Sharon he needed to make progress now, that he needed to take steps to diffuse the situation so as to ensure the success of Secretary Powell's mission, which, as we know, begins later on -- later tonight.

Now, it was President Bush with the prime minister, Tony Blair, Saturday afternoon when Mr. Bush added the words without delay to his call for Israel to withdraw its forces. As we know on Thursday, Mr. Bush issued his first call for Israel to withdraw. After that call was ignored, senior administration officials say Mr. Bush decided to be more explicit and increase the pressure on Israel.

During that news conference Mr. Bush was also asked what would happen if Israel did not do as the president was asking. Well, Mr. Bush said he was confident Israel would respond the way he wants it to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is always -- I don't expect them to ignore. I expect them to heed the call, heed the call from their friends the United States, and heed the call from their friends, the great people of Great Britain, the leadership of Great Britain. Well, that's -- as I told you, I think they will heed the call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Now, aides say U.S. officials will continue to increase the pressure publicly and privately on Israel, again to get it to withdraw its forces from those Palestinian areas.

Also, Kyra, we saw yesterday the president increasing the pressure on Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, saying Mr. Arafat has not earned his trust and has not kept his word to fight terror. Secretary Powell is expected to head to the region again later on this day and meet with some of the leaders of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, part of his goal to, get those leaders to put more pressure on Yasser Arafat, but also to encourage those leaders to do more to crack down on terrorism in the region as well -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, our Kelly Wallace traveling with the president there in Crawford, Texas thank you so much.

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