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CNN Live Sunday

Powell's Search for Peace Continues

Aired April 14, 2002 - 15:00   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Wall to wall coverage of Colin Powell's trip now here in the region. His search for peace continues. In fact, diplomacy today in two different locations from Ramallah and Chairman Yasser Arafat, and in Tel Aviv a short time ago with Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon. We know earlier after about a three and a half hour meeting in Ramallah, the secretary of state described his meeting there as useful and constructive. After that time he then traveled west to Tel Aviv to sit down once again for the second time on this trip with the Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon. No timetable, however, given out of this meeting for Israel withdrawal of its military operation in the West Bank.

There was a lot to cover once again. As you can imagine, the events continue to unfold here in throughout the region. Our team correspondents stationed throughout the region here and also in back in the U.S. in Washington. We will get to all of this over the next several hours here on CNN. First though, our stop is in Tel Aviv and Andrea Koppel with the secretary of state on that meeting again that just wrapped up about an hour ago.

Andrea, hello. Good evening to you.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Bill. Actually, believe it or not, I am back in Jerusalem. I just got back a couple of minutes ago, that meeting are between Secretary of State Powell and Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon wrapped up about a hour ago, maybe an hour and a half ago. It lasted a little over an hour. The body language, you could really see it from the video that we filmed there of the photo opportunity was somewhat stiff.

There were forced smiles on their faces, and neither man any comment either during the photo opportunity when reporters tried to ask questions or for that matter, when the meeting was over, but presumably Secretary Powell briefed Israel prime minister on his three-hour meeting earlier today in Ramallah at the besieged headquarters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Secretary Powell made some comments after he left the meeting with Arafat saying as you just mentioned that meeting in diplomatic speak, was useful and constructive. Reading between the lines, senior U.S. officials tell CNN that Secretary Powell was more optimistic following this meeting that you're looking at right there in the headquarters than he had been so far this week. Didn't come out with anything tangible, per se, Bill, but it appears as if, it appears, according to those officials we've spoken with that they may be making some headway on breaking the stand-off in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity where hundreds of Palestinian gunmen have been holed up now for many, many days -- Israeli soldiers not wanting to let them out of the church.

U.S. officials have been trying to mediate a peaceful end to that such that these gunmen might be able to go into exile and wouldn't be taken into Israeli custody. However, Palestinian officials tell CNN that Yasser Arafat gave Secretary Powell an ultimatum in that meeting and said, we're not going to do anything. We are not going to do anything beyond the statement that was issued yesterday unless and until Israeli military forces withdraw completely from West Bank towns and cities, Bill.

So it's still a very difficult diplomatic mission for Secretary Powell, who is about to head off tomorrow for two more stops -- one in Beirut, the other in Damascus, Syria to talk about the second front opening on Israel's northern border Lebanon -- Bill.

HEMMER: Andrea, back to the meeting earlier tonight in Tel Aviv. It's the second time now Secretary Powell has sat down with the prime minister of Israel. Is there any sense of disappointment knowing that the U.S. wanted to get a withdrawal, wanted to get a timeframe out there in the open that it could share with the Palestinian leadership. Knowing that hasn't happened yet, is there disappointment on that issue?

KOPPEL: I don't think so, and I'll tell you why, because expectations weren't high that during the first meeting, now the second meeting with Ariel Sharon, but the first meeting earlier today with Yasser Arafat and then the meeting on Friday with Ariel Sharon, no one really expected that they were going to make a lot of headway in those meetings. Now really, the rubber hits the road, so to speak.

We've had the second meeting now this evening with Ariel Sharon. But tomorrow Secretary Powell's aides will sit down with Yasser Arafat's aides to go over more details, we're told, as to how they can try to finesse some language from Yasser Arafat, both on the cease-fire and on trying to make some progress on restraining, reining in Islamic militant, an extremist in the territories. We still don't know, Bill, whether or not this mission will have some measure of success. I think it's too early, though, to write it off. Secretary Powell is now looking ahead to tomorrow's trip and there is still the possibility of another meeting with Yasser Arafat, Bill.

HEMMER: OK, Andrea, thanks. Andrea Koppel reporting live in Jerusalem. She's made it back, a quick drive back, just about 35 minutes eastward from Tel Aviv. Andrea, thanks. Andrea mentioned two things, first of all, the situation in Lebanon. We'll go to Brent Sadler our Beirut bureau chief in a moment here, and also she talked about the standoff in Bethlehem. We're going to talk with one of the chief negotiators right now trying to mediate an end to that standoff that's well into its third week right now, south of our location here in Jerusalem. First up, though, back to Ramallah and Michael Holmes now. We described this meeting, Michael, as useful and constructive and frankly we're going to parse these words throughout the next evening until we have something else to go on. But at this point that is what we have publicly from Secretary Powell. On the Palestinian side, however, are they adding more to that meeting today?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, I've been working the phones here a little. We've got a little more to add also to what Andrea said as she pointed out to withdrawal is the number one issue among Palestinians. I can tell you that for the first 70 minutes of that three-hour meeting, Yasser Arafat spoke to Colin Powell, apparently it was Yasser Arafat and Yasser Arafat alone for the first 70 minutes, and what he was talking about was these allegations of massacres in places like Jenin and mass burials. Allegations, of course, Israel denies, but Yasser Arafat very keen to point those out in detail to Colin Powell.

He also was disappointed, we're told publicly with Colin Powell, that he had not personally tried to go and witness the scene at Jenin. He said that Colin Powell flew his helicopter over the scene of the suicide bombing in Jerusalem. Six Israelis killed, of course, but he not made any effort go to Jenin. Yasser Arafat disappointed in that.

I want to tell you a couple other details too, Bill. We are told by our sources that Colin Powell put on the table a couple of offers. One is $31 million to the U.N. agency that deals with Palestinian refugees, a further $60 million to U.S. aide. That money to go towards the rebuilding of infrastructure in Ramallah. A very important issue to Palestinians, so we're told anyway some money has been put on the table as an offer for rebuilding some of that infrastructure, a very important issue for the Palestinian, Bill.

HEMMER: All right Michael. Michael, Ramallah -- Michael Holmes rather -- excuse me -- in Ramallah. Thank you Michael. Again, great work there in the West Bank.

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