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CNN Live Sunday

Sharon to Arrive in Washington Tonight

Aired May 05, 2002 - 17:01   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.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon arrives here in Washington tonight bringing with him documents Israel says link Yasser Arafat and his top aides to terror attacks on Israelis. Middle East peace is the focus of the prime minister's visit, but how far is he willing to go? Senior White House Correspondent John King reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The President's strategy rests on convincing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon he has little choice but to deal with Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat, yet even the White House is raising new questions about Mr. Arafat's commitment to fighting terror and his stewardship of a Palestinian Authority the administration says is riddled with inefficiency and corruption.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Transparency and good governance is being demanded of every country in the world by this President, and the Palestinian Authority is going to have to start to meet some of those standards if it is going to be a foundational element for a new Palestinian State moving forward.

KING: That tough talk is part of a new U.S. effort to put Mr. Arafat on notice he is running short of time to prove himself. Mr. Sharon says it already is too late. Israel on Sunday released a report it says documents a direct Arafat role in terror attacks. The Palestinians say it is a fabrication, but Prime Minister Sharon says he will not negotiate with a terrorist.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We'll see what Mr. Sharon's paper says, but I haven't had a chance to read it or analyze it.

KING: Mr. Bush enters the talks looking to make the point that like it or not, Mr. Arafat is the recognized Palestinian Leader. The President also plans to urge Mr. Sharon to show good will by easing economic restrictions on Palestinians, and criticize continuing Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza as a major obstacle to diplomatic progress.

RICE: When Israel signed on to the Mitchell Plan, it signed on to a document that said that they will eventually have to deal with settlements. There ought to be a stop to settlements. KING: Mr. Sharon's view of the path ahead puts a premium on security. U.S. officials say the prime minister wants a short term agreement on security checkpoints and buffer zones to deter suicide bombings, and is wary of Arab calls for immediately comprehensive peace talks. The White House expects no breakthroughs during the prime minister's visit.

KING (on camera): One thing at a time is how National Security Adviser Rice describes the President's approach with ending the violence and addressing immediate security concerns at the top of the list. John King, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KARL: And now for a fresh perspective on the Mid East crisis, we turn to two students from the region, both involved in the Seeds of Peace Program and both winners of this year's Voices of Courage Award. Bushra Jawabri, a Palestinian student attending college in New York and Julia Resnitzky, an Israeli student from Jerusalem, thank you both for joining us and congratulations on that very important award.

BUSHRA JAWABRI, PALESTINIAN STUDENT: Thank you.

JULIA RESNITSKY, ISRAELI STUDENT: Thank you.

KARL: Bushra, I'd like to start with you. As I understand it, your family lives in a refugee camp, not far from Bethlehem and you're here in New York attending Manhattanville College. I'm just wondering what it's like for you to be here in the United States in New York with all that's going on right now over there with your family.

JAWABRI: It's been very hard for me to be so far away and watch the crisis back home. I wake up every morning fearing for the safety of my family and my friends, whether they are Palestinians or Israelis, and I do feel guilty sometimes being in a safe, secure place, while my family and friends are in serious danger.

KARL: And you -- yes, go ahead.

JAWABRI: I'm sorry. It is very depressing and very frustrating for me to see inhumane actions done by Israeli soldiers toward innocent Palestinian civilians and it is very frustrating for me to see inhuman actions done by Palestinian extremists toward Israeli civilians.

KARL: And as I understand it, your sister, was it your sister who had a situation where her life was put at risk?

JAWABRI: My sister was about to be killed actually when some bullets were hitting her classroom, killing and injuring her classmates. She told me that she was not frightened or killing or injury but to be the last one alive in that school. That's what our daily life is for my sister and for many students now in the region, and it is very frustrating, and I think -- and it's been very depressing for me, especially to see how relaxed and silent international powers are in taking actions in the region in stopping both sides from killing and (inaudible) each other's rights on a daily basis.

KARL: Now, Julia, going to you now. You're both involved in this program Seeds of Peace, and the idea is to bring that next generation of Palestinians and Israelis to work towards a more peaceful future. What can you tell us about your involvement in this program?

RESNITSKY: Well my first involvement was in (inaudible) when I came to the camp in the states, and then through all the year I stayed involved and I came back to (inaudible) last year to camp again and well basically this year, I've done lots of community work with Seeds of Peace and I've been very involved with all its programs.

KARL: And the camp you're talking about, this is a camp where you go to Maine.

RESNITSKY: Yes.

KARL: Together, Palestinians and Israeli students.

RESNITSKY: Yes.

KARL: What are the discussions like at that camp? You know I mean you've got your parents and your grandparents' generation involved in this intractable conflict over there back home and you're there in Maine together. What's it like?

RESNITSKY: It's just like confusing because I mean from one hand you hear Maine is a beautiful state and it feels like, you know, you're in heaven and your family's there and your friends working and your friends are suffering from the war. But I mean the discussions are important and it's important to go there to discuss those things. We discuss mainly I mean issues that are politicians themselves discuss. I mean Jerusalem, the return right, the settlements, the water issue, everything, everything we want to discuss, we discuss it.

KARL: Bushra, I'm sure you remember when President Bush came out shortly after the Passover suicide bombing and talked about the bombing and when a young Palestinian suicide was killed and when a young Israeli is killed, the future itself is dying were his words. Do you ever get that sense in the Middle East that the future itself is dying?

JAWABRI: I mean it is hard to keep peace and stay optimistic towards peace when you see and watch the crisis now back home, when you see how the horrendous has become domestic policy. But I think since we experienced the peace through the Seeds of Peace Camp, since as you mentioned the incident that happened to my sister that she was about to be killed and they reached a point where I was very disappointed. I was very frustrated.

But then on the other hand, most of the phone calls and e-mails that I got were from my Israeli friends. They strongly condemned the inhumane actions done by Israeli soldiers to my sister's school, and that in itself gave me so much hope and optimism towards a better future for us because we think that we are the future of tomorrow and if we do it now, then we will be able to do it in the future.

KARL: Well, I'd like to ask both of you again a difficult question. But if you look at right now the situation in the Middle East and you look at the current leadership, Ariel Sharon on the Israeli side, Yasser Arafat on the Palestinian side, do you feel represented? Do you feel your generation represented by the current leadership? Julia, why don't you start?

RESNITSKY: No, I definitely don't feel represented because first of all, Ariel Sharon presents the Right Wing Party and I'm (inaudible). I don't identify with most of his, you know, ideas of this fighting. I don't know. I'm not well involved with like -- I don't know what his ideas basically are.

KARL: Right.

RESNITSKY: But I feel like he's doing and his governmental decision really don't you know don't -- I don't identify with them because I feel that -- yes.

KARL: And Bushra, what about Yasser Arafat? Do you believe he represents you?

JAWABRI: I don't think we have perfect leaderships in both Palestine and Israel and I don't feel represented by my own government, but I think since these are the leaders that we have tomorrow or we have today, and even though we hope that we had better leaders, I think as for now because these are the leaders that we have, I think we have to find ways to deal with them. But I'm hoping that in the future, we will have better leaders.

KARL: Well, I think we can hope for that as well, and you two give us hope, Julia, Bushra thank you so much for joining us. It's really an honor to have you on the show this weekend.

JAWABRI: Thank you.

RESNITSKY: Thank you very much.

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