Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Sunday Morning
Israel Attacks Camp in Syria
Aired October 05, 2003 - 07:28 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.
KELLI ARENA, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get the latest now on the developing situation in the Middle East. Israel's attack on what it says is a Palestinian training camp in Syria.
For that, let's check in with CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney. She joins us on the phone from Ramallah. Fionnuala?
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kelli. Yes, indeed, we're not far away from Yasser Arafat's headquarters here in Ramallah and the West Bank. There hasn't been any official Palestinian authority reaction to the military action a few hours ago in Syria.
Besides Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator speaking to CNN a few minutes ago, urged that Washington to de-escalate the situation. He said the last thing the region need was cross border military action. And he again called on the White House to implement the road map.
There has been no official Palestinian Authority reaction, apart from say Saeb Erekat just told us. And it's unlikely that there will be until Damascus issues a reaction. And according to our colleagues elsewhere in the region, that is unlikely to happen very soon.
Syria doesn't have a record of reacting immediately to events here -- Kelli?
ARENA: Fionnuala, there was a lot of speculation yesterday that the Israeli's might retaliate and attack Arafat and his compound. Any increase in the level of the concern there, that something might be imminent?
SWEENEY: Well, following this bomb attack in Haifa in which 19 people were killed, there had indeed been an expectation of some kind of Israeli military response. And of course, it was on September 11 that the Israeli cabinet issued a decision that it would remove Yasser Arafat in principle at a time of its choosing.
The Israelis don't have the green light from Washington to take that kind of action as yet. But of course, when a bomb attack such as happened in Haifa yesterday takes place, there is, of course, an expected reaction from the Israeli military and the Israeli authorities.
There were two missile strikes in Gaza overnight. No one was injured as they hit houses that had just been vacated by various people. And there had indeed been some sort of expectation that something might happen here in Ramallah. Planes did go overhead. We could hear helicopters. But that is actually not to take anything particularly as of the ordinary in this region -- Kelli?
ARENA: Fionnuala, what could the United States say at this point with any credibility to tamp down the situation, assuming that Syria stays true to form and doesn't respond immediately?
SWEENEY: Well, there's a difference between responding and reacting. And I think that the Syrians will no doubt have a reaction at some point during the day. They don't tend to react immediately to these events that take place, but there will be a reaction.
What Washington could do well, I think that Washington will obviously take the line that the situation has to be de-escalated, that Hamas and Islamic Jihad have to be this man's (unintelligible.) They will urge the Palestinian Authority to continue doing that. That has been the line from Washington thus far.
And I think we'll probably have to wait until later in morning in America for a reaction from the White House or the State Department, Kelli.
ARENA: All right. And we're just told that we should expect that reaction at 8:00 a.m. this morning from the White House.
Thanks so much, Fionnuala.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Islamic Jihad took responsibility for Saturday's suicide bomb attack on a Haifa, Israeli restaurant. 19 people were killed there, but Islamic Jihad is not the only organization that's being closely watched in the Middle East.
Kelly Wallace takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Green is for Hamas. It is the dominant Islamic Palestinian organization in the area with tens of thousands of supporters.
It came to power during the late 1980s, during the first Palestinian uprising against Israel.
Hamas has claimed responsibility for many of the terror attacks against Israelis since 1993, including four of the five recent suicide bombers. Its goals, the establishment of an Islamic Palestinian state in place of Israel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we are defending our people and ourselves and our issue, as we will continue resistance until they leave until we put (unintelligible.)
WALLACE: Hamas is also an immense social force in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, pouring millions of dollars annually into schools, clinics and community organizations throughout the region. Black is for Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Unlike Hamas, it does not have a social component. It focuses entirely on what it calls the armed struggle against Israel. The group was founded in 1979 by Palestinian students in Egypt influenced by the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Like Hamas, it has carried out many terror bombings against Israelis, including claiming partial responsibility for the most recent suicide attack outside a shopping mall in northern Israel.
And like Hamas, its mission is also the creation of a greater Islamic state.
"First, we don't recognize the existence of Israel," this Islamic Jihad leader told us. "This is Palestinian land and it belongs to the Palestinian people."
Yellow is for the Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade, the newest of the groups, an armed offshoot of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. The group emerged after the start of the latest Palestinian uprising against Israel in September of 2000. Carrying out attacks at first against Israeli soldiers and settlers, but more recently against civilians inside Israel.
Its stated mission is more moderate than that of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Not the elimination of Israel, but bringing an end to Israel's presence in the Palestinian territories and creating a Palestinian state.
Kelly Wallace, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 October 5, 2003 - 07:28 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KELLI ARENA, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get the latest now on the developing situation in the Middle East. Israel's attack on what it says is a Palestinian training camp in Syria.
For that, let's check in with CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney. She joins us on the phone from Ramallah. Fionnuala?
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kelli. Yes, indeed, we're not far away from Yasser Arafat's headquarters here in Ramallah and the West Bank. There hasn't been any official Palestinian authority reaction to the military action a few hours ago in Syria.
Besides Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator speaking to CNN a few minutes ago, urged that Washington to de-escalate the situation. He said the last thing the region need was cross border military action. And he again called on the White House to implement the road map.
There has been no official Palestinian Authority reaction, apart from say Saeb Erekat just told us. And it's unlikely that there will be until Damascus issues a reaction. And according to our colleagues elsewhere in the region, that is unlikely to happen very soon.
Syria doesn't have a record of reacting immediately to events here -- Kelli?
ARENA: Fionnuala, there was a lot of speculation yesterday that the Israeli's might retaliate and attack Arafat and his compound. Any increase in the level of the concern there, that something might be imminent?
SWEENEY: Well, following this bomb attack in Haifa in which 19 people were killed, there had indeed been an expectation of some kind of Israeli military response. And of course, it was on September 11 that the Israeli cabinet issued a decision that it would remove Yasser Arafat in principle at a time of its choosing.
The Israelis don't have the green light from Washington to take that kind of action as yet. But of course, when a bomb attack such as happened in Haifa yesterday takes place, there is, of course, an expected reaction from the Israeli military and the Israeli authorities.
There were two missile strikes in Gaza overnight. No one was injured as they hit houses that had just been vacated by various people. And there had indeed been some sort of expectation that something might happen here in Ramallah. Planes did go overhead. We could hear helicopters. But that is actually not to take anything particularly as of the ordinary in this region -- Kelli?
ARENA: Fionnuala, what could the United States say at this point with any credibility to tamp down the situation, assuming that Syria stays true to form and doesn't respond immediately?
SWEENEY: Well, there's a difference between responding and reacting. And I think that the Syrians will no doubt have a reaction at some point during the day. They don't tend to react immediately to these events that take place, but there will be a reaction.
What Washington could do well, I think that Washington will obviously take the line that the situation has to be de-escalated, that Hamas and Islamic Jihad have to be this man's (unintelligible.) They will urge the Palestinian Authority to continue doing that. That has been the line from Washington thus far.
And I think we'll probably have to wait until later in morning in America for a reaction from the White House or the State Department, Kelli.
ARENA: All right. And we're just told that we should expect that reaction at 8:00 a.m. this morning from the White House.
Thanks so much, Fionnuala.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Islamic Jihad took responsibility for Saturday's suicide bomb attack on a Haifa, Israeli restaurant. 19 people were killed there, but Islamic Jihad is not the only organization that's being closely watched in the Middle East.
Kelly Wallace takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Green is for Hamas. It is the dominant Islamic Palestinian organization in the area with tens of thousands of supporters.
It came to power during the late 1980s, during the first Palestinian uprising against Israel.
Hamas has claimed responsibility for many of the terror attacks against Israelis since 1993, including four of the five recent suicide bombers. Its goals, the establishment of an Islamic Palestinian state in place of Israel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we are defending our people and ourselves and our issue, as we will continue resistance until they leave until we put (unintelligible.)
WALLACE: Hamas is also an immense social force in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, pouring millions of dollars annually into schools, clinics and community organizations throughout the region. Black is for Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Unlike Hamas, it does not have a social component. It focuses entirely on what it calls the armed struggle against Israel. The group was founded in 1979 by Palestinian students in Egypt influenced by the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Like Hamas, it has carried out many terror bombings against Israelis, including claiming partial responsibility for the most recent suicide attack outside a shopping mall in northern Israel.
And like Hamas, its mission is also the creation of a greater Islamic state.
"First, we don't recognize the existence of Israel," this Islamic Jihad leader told us. "This is Palestinian land and it belongs to the Palestinian people."
Yellow is for the Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade, the newest of the groups, an armed offshoot of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. The group emerged after the start of the latest Palestinian uprising against Israel in September of 2000. Carrying out attacks at first against Israeli soldiers and settlers, but more recently against civilians inside Israel.
Its stated mission is more moderate than that of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Not the elimination of Israel, but bringing an end to Israel's presence in the Palestinian territories and creating a Palestinian state.
Kelly Wallace, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
