Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Saturday Morning News

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas Resigns

Aired September 06, 2003 - 07:01   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.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin in the Middle East now with a development that could rip apart the already torn road map to peace. About two hours ago, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas turned in his resignation.
We're going to get the very latest from CNN's Chris Burns in Jerusalem now. Hello to you, Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello, Heidi.

A hundred days of frustration for Mahmoud Abbas, or for the last 100 days he's been trying to push through various reforms, and also trying to get ahold of all of the security forces to try to rein in the militants on the Palestinian side.

However, Yasser Arafat has been stymieing that and jealously holding onto control to a lot of those security forces. That is one big reason why there is this power play right now. Right now there've been widely conflicting reports today about exactly where it stands.

The last word we have is, Arafat's national security adviser, Jibrail Rajoud (ph), says that, yes, indeed, that Mahmoud Abbas has submitted his resignation. But Arafat has yet to accept it. In fact, he's going to be discussing over the next few days with his Fatah organization and the Palestinian Liberation Organization over the next few days over whether to accept that.

Incredible pressure on both leaders to try to come through on some kind of a compromise. In play here, of course, is the road map for peace, which envisions an independent Palestinian state by the year 2005. But up to now, the Israelis have been saying that the Palestinians have not been carrying through on their promises to rein in the militants. We've seen this cycle of violence once again begin, putting everything into disarray.

However, Mahmoud Abbas also has laid the blame on the Israeli side, saying the Israelis have not engaged in the confidence-building measures they were supposed to do, or not to the extent that they should have. They didn't release enough prisoners, they didn't pull back from enough cities, they didn't lift the clampdowns and change the lives on so many millions of Palestinians who continue to suffer.

And that is why Mahmoud Abbas does not have a lot of support from the Palestinian people, at least not very publicly. The support in the street still lies with Yasser Arafat. So it's a combination of two figures depending on each other. Will they finally reach some kind of a compromise? That is the question that the Israelis, saying they will not deal with anybody that Arafat names, anybody close to Arafat that Arafat would name as a successor to Mahmoud Abbas.

The U.S. still saying this is an internal matter, but they are hoping that this can be reached peacefully between the two leaders.

So a lot in play right now for the peace process. And, of course, this reflects on President Bush as well.

Back to you, Heidi.

COLLINS: Chris, just wondering, reading a little bit of information here on all of this, happened overnight, at least in the past couple of hours, about this. And some saying that this was just really the only thing left to do, that the peace process, or the road map, anyway, is at such a dead end that this is the only thing that was to come next in order to make some headway.

Is it possible that Mahmoud Abbas is being seen now as sort of a sacrificial lamb for the road map to peace?

BURNS: Well, that's a good question. Actually, up to now, in fact, many analysts had said that that road map to peace was almost doomed from the start because Mahmoud Abbas did not have all the powers that he needed to go ahead and try to rein in the militants, and also that it was very difficult to imagine that the Israelis would actually go ahead with confidence-building measures if the militants remained active.

The Israelis want them to be disarmed, Mahmoud Abbas saying he doesn't have the wherewithal to do that. He wants to do that peacefully. He did negotiate that hudna or ceasefire by Hamas and others for that period.

However, at the same time, the Israelis were not eve paying attention to it and continuing with their efforts to go into the territories and to go after the militants and then followed (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- that was followed by the bus attack that killed 21 -- 22 people in Jerusalem.

So that keeps going round and round. The question is, will Abbas win this power play? That's very key. We'll watch over the next few days, Heidi.

COLLINS: We know you will. Chris Burns, live this morning from Jerusalem. Chris, thanks so much.

BURNS: Thank you.

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 6, 2003 - 07:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin in the Middle East now with a development that could rip apart the already torn road map to peace. About two hours ago, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas turned in his resignation.
We're going to get the very latest from CNN's Chris Burns in Jerusalem now. Hello to you, Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello, Heidi.

A hundred days of frustration for Mahmoud Abbas, or for the last 100 days he's been trying to push through various reforms, and also trying to get ahold of all of the security forces to try to rein in the militants on the Palestinian side.

However, Yasser Arafat has been stymieing that and jealously holding onto control to a lot of those security forces. That is one big reason why there is this power play right now. Right now there've been widely conflicting reports today about exactly where it stands.

The last word we have is, Arafat's national security adviser, Jibrail Rajoud (ph), says that, yes, indeed, that Mahmoud Abbas has submitted his resignation. But Arafat has yet to accept it. In fact, he's going to be discussing over the next few days with his Fatah organization and the Palestinian Liberation Organization over the next few days over whether to accept that.

Incredible pressure on both leaders to try to come through on some kind of a compromise. In play here, of course, is the road map for peace, which envisions an independent Palestinian state by the year 2005. But up to now, the Israelis have been saying that the Palestinians have not been carrying through on their promises to rein in the militants. We've seen this cycle of violence once again begin, putting everything into disarray.

However, Mahmoud Abbas also has laid the blame on the Israeli side, saying the Israelis have not engaged in the confidence-building measures they were supposed to do, or not to the extent that they should have. They didn't release enough prisoners, they didn't pull back from enough cities, they didn't lift the clampdowns and change the lives on so many millions of Palestinians who continue to suffer.

And that is why Mahmoud Abbas does not have a lot of support from the Palestinian people, at least not very publicly. The support in the street still lies with Yasser Arafat. So it's a combination of two figures depending on each other. Will they finally reach some kind of a compromise? That is the question that the Israelis, saying they will not deal with anybody that Arafat names, anybody close to Arafat that Arafat would name as a successor to Mahmoud Abbas.

The U.S. still saying this is an internal matter, but they are hoping that this can be reached peacefully between the two leaders.

So a lot in play right now for the peace process. And, of course, this reflects on President Bush as well.

Back to you, Heidi.

COLLINS: Chris, just wondering, reading a little bit of information here on all of this, happened overnight, at least in the past couple of hours, about this. And some saying that this was just really the only thing left to do, that the peace process, or the road map, anyway, is at such a dead end that this is the only thing that was to come next in order to make some headway.

Is it possible that Mahmoud Abbas is being seen now as sort of a sacrificial lamb for the road map to peace?

BURNS: Well, that's a good question. Actually, up to now, in fact, many analysts had said that that road map to peace was almost doomed from the start because Mahmoud Abbas did not have all the powers that he needed to go ahead and try to rein in the militants, and also that it was very difficult to imagine that the Israelis would actually go ahead with confidence-building measures if the militants remained active.

The Israelis want them to be disarmed, Mahmoud Abbas saying he doesn't have the wherewithal to do that. He wants to do that peacefully. He did negotiate that hudna or ceasefire by Hamas and others for that period.

However, at the same time, the Israelis were not eve paying attention to it and continuing with their efforts to go into the territories and to go after the militants and then followed (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- that was followed by the bus attack that killed 21 -- 22 people in Jerusalem.

So that keeps going round and round. The question is, will Abbas win this power play? That's very key. We'll watch over the next few days, Heidi.

COLLINS: We know you will. Chris Burns, live this morning from Jerusalem. Chris, thanks so much.

BURNS: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com