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CNN Sunday Morning
Bush Administration Monitors Developments in Ramallah
Aired September 22, 2002 - 10:02 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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: The Israeli siege on Yasser Arafat's compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah has triggered a deadly reaction. Israeli soldiers got in a firefight with Palestinian protesters. For reaction to the latest Middle East developments, we turn to White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the White House is keeping a close eye on these developments. Already we have seen Russia and France come out publicly asking for the Israeli army to end the demolition of Yasser Arafat's headquarters. Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets.
Now, the Bush administration says, through a series of high-level phone calls that have been going over the last 24 to 48 hours, they are quietly urging Israel to exercise some restraint in this. The real concern among White House aides is that again this throws the spotlight on Yasser Arafat. Again, makes him the issue instead of the Middle East peace progress that has been going on over the last six weeks, the relative calm in the area. Israeli officials have been insisting that, no, they're going after terrorists, not Yasser Arafat, but Palestinians seeing it a very different way, saying this is only inciting violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL AVALON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Most people understand around the world that he has betrayed the Palestinian cause and dreams and he is the one who worst served their national interest. He cannot be managing a whole apparatus of terror. He is really -- I would say directing a coalition of terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HASAN ABDEL RAHMAN, CHIEF PALESTINIAN REP. TO U.S.: Those are officials of the Palestinian Authority. This whole thing about being terrorist is a distortion of the facts. We never heard from Israel until yesterday that they wanted any of those people. This is a pretense (ph) to humiliate Yasser Arafat in the eyes of his people, by showing him handing his own officials to the Israeli army.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, the administration is really concerned that it is going to undo much of the progress that has been made over the last two months, namely the meeting that was held on Tuesday, the quartet, United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia all coming up with a three-phased plan in the three years for a Palestinian-Israeli states living side by side peacefully. The administration keeping a close eye on this.
And of course, the other dimension to this, the other concern is that this is taking the focus off of Iraq. Those other allies looking to this whole situation seeming to blow up in the Middle East. They want those allies to focus again on Iraq, on Saddam Hussein, to push through a tough U.N. resolution calling for Saddam Hussein to comply to previous U.N. resolutions and to disarm in Iraq -- Catherine.
CALLAWAY: All right, thank you. That's Suzanne Malveaux at the White House.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 22, 2002 - 10:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: The Israeli siege on Yasser Arafat's compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah has triggered a deadly reaction. Israeli soldiers got in a firefight with Palestinian protesters. For reaction to the latest Middle East developments, we turn to White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the White House is keeping a close eye on these developments. Already we have seen Russia and France come out publicly asking for the Israeli army to end the demolition of Yasser Arafat's headquarters. Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets.
Now, the Bush administration says, through a series of high-level phone calls that have been going over the last 24 to 48 hours, they are quietly urging Israel to exercise some restraint in this. The real concern among White House aides is that again this throws the spotlight on Yasser Arafat. Again, makes him the issue instead of the Middle East peace progress that has been going on over the last six weeks, the relative calm in the area. Israeli officials have been insisting that, no, they're going after terrorists, not Yasser Arafat, but Palestinians seeing it a very different way, saying this is only inciting violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL AVALON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Most people understand around the world that he has betrayed the Palestinian cause and dreams and he is the one who worst served their national interest. He cannot be managing a whole apparatus of terror. He is really -- I would say directing a coalition of terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HASAN ABDEL RAHMAN, CHIEF PALESTINIAN REP. TO U.S.: Those are officials of the Palestinian Authority. This whole thing about being terrorist is a distortion of the facts. We never heard from Israel until yesterday that they wanted any of those people. This is a pretense (ph) to humiliate Yasser Arafat in the eyes of his people, by showing him handing his own officials to the Israeli army.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, the administration is really concerned that it is going to undo much of the progress that has been made over the last two months, namely the meeting that was held on Tuesday, the quartet, United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia all coming up with a three-phased plan in the three years for a Palestinian-Israeli states living side by side peacefully. The administration keeping a close eye on this.
And of course, the other dimension to this, the other concern is that this is taking the focus off of Iraq. Those other allies looking to this whole situation seeming to blow up in the Middle East. They want those allies to focus again on Iraq, on Saddam Hussein, to push through a tough U.N. resolution calling for Saddam Hussein to comply to previous U.N. resolutions and to disarm in Iraq -- Catherine.
CALLAWAY: All right, thank you. That's Suzanne Malveaux at the White House.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
