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CNN Sunday Morning

Should Israel Give Approval to Arrival of U.N. Committee?

Aired April 28, 2002 - 07:02   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: All right, we're going to get more now on the U.N. investigation of what happened in the Jenin refugee camp. The U.N. team is in Geneva, Switzerland awaiting word from Israel on just when it can begin that investigation. The group had been scheduled to arrive today, but that's up in the air right now. Let's get more on the Israeli cabinet meeting regarding Jenin from our Jerrold Kessel in Jerusalem.

Good to see you, Jerrold.

JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kyra and a very interesting, perhaps it could be a really dramatic day as diplomatic moves trying to unravel not just that standoff between Israel and the United Nations about the start of that U.N. probe into what happened in the Jenin refugee camp, but perhaps moves towards unraveling the two other standoffs that continue to bedevil the Israeli-Palestinian relationship, the standoff around Yasser Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

But first, to that question indeed of the U.N. fact-finding mission. The Israeli cabinet convened this morning at its regular time, 9:00 local time on Sunday morning, as it usually does. On the table, the question is should Israel give its formal approval to the arrival of the three-person U.N. committee plus, a whole host of advisers. And Ariel Sharon, Israel's prime minister, did indeed put it on the cabinet table. It's now 2:00 local time, that means five hours of discussion and it's still going on.

Now, the issue at stake, the way the Israelis see it, is they say they have no objection to the U.N. team coming, but there is a major sticking point. The Israelis say the U.N. should not decide, but Israel should decide who on its side should be giving testimony to this U.N. probe about what happened in that - in those controversial circumstances in the Jenin refugee camp during Israel's major military sweep for terror cells and terror suspects in Jenin.

And of course, the pretentious argument between the two sides of how many Palestinians died, who were the people killed and in what circumstances they were killed. Well, the Israeli position seems to be boiling down to this - a similar position by Prime Minister Sharon and his foreign minister, Shimon Peres, is saying, both of them, that Israel must decide and the U.N. must accept Israel's decision or it will only play more on other aspects and will not send others and those whom it deems right to send, to give evidence to that mission. But whereas, Mr. Peres was saying, let the U.N. team come right away. Mr. Sharon seems to proposing to his cabinet, wait and they should wait until this has been resolved, this issue of who should give testimony. That's the standoff at the moment.

But as this debate unfolded this morning at the cabinet table, Mr. Sharon dropped what could be deemed as something of a bombshell when he released information that President Bush had telephoned last night with an American proposal about how possibly to end the standoff with regard to Yasser Arafat being isolated, held and cooped up in his Ramallah headquarters. The question there is a number five or six of the Palestinians whom Israeli wants as - to put on trial in Israel for the killing of the Israeli cabinet minister last October and also the man whom Israel says was responsible and the Palestinians have said this for the Korean Aid arms boat smuggling affair and that he, too, should not be allowed to be kept Mr. Arafat in his headquarters.

The American proposal, according to Mr. Sharon, President Bush said let U.S. or British troops in a Palestinian jail, guard those people and in that way, to let Yasser Arafat out of his isolation. That apparently is what Mr. Sharon in addition to the issue on Jenin put to the cabinet and the question is will the cabinet accept either of the proposals and will it try to link the two.

We understand just in the last few minutes, there is something of a tie between the Israeli ministers about the Bush proposal and that that is an issue is now going to go on debate as the cabinet takes something of a lunch recess before continuing its debate on both these issues, what to do with the U.N. commission, what to do with the Bush proposal about ending the standoff regarding Yasser Arafat's isolation.

It's a dramatic day possibly ahead as these diplomatic maneuvers gather steam - Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jerrold Kessel, live in Jerusalem, thank you so much.

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