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CNN Live Sunday

Sharon Arrives in Washington

Aired May 05, 2002 - 18:06   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: Now Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has apparently now arrived in Washington at this hour. With him is an intelligence report that he says clearly links Yasser Arafat to terrorist activities in the region. Mr. Sharon will apparently present those documents to President Bush and top cabinet members and CNN's Senior White House Correspondent John King standing by now with a live report on what's going on there. John.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And, Catherine, a quick update on the Church of the Nativity. Senior administration officials telling us that yes, there are U.S. diplomats in the middle of those negotiations and yes, they have been receiving positive reports back here in Washington throughout the day. No one here though aware of any definitive breakthrough to completely resolve that crisis, but it is a priority to resolve the Church of the Nativity standoff prior to Tuesday's meeting here at the White House with Prime Minister Sharon.

You mentioned he just arrived in Washington. He will have a day here to meet with other senior administration officials, including the defense secretary, and the secretary of state, before coming here, calling on the President on Tuesday evening.

Now the President's National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice saying today the President wants to take this one step at a time and his top priority is ending the violence in the region and getting back to security cooperation to improve the situation on the day-to-day basis.

But U.S. officials also making clear that in his conversation with Prime Minister Sharon, the President will make clear that in the view of the United States, the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in Gaza and in the West Bank are a major obstacle to any long-term hopes for diplomatic progress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The President made clear in his April 4th speech that Israel also has responsibilities, that eventually a two-state solution is going to make Israel more secure. Now, 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now Prime Minister Sharon, we are told, will make the case to President Bush that Yasser Arafat is a terrorist. Yasser Arafat can not be trusted, and that Israel does not want to negotiate with Yasser Arafat as the head of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority.

In turn, we are told, Mr. Bush will make the case that you might not like him and you might not trust him, but Mr. Arafat is the recognized leader of the Palestinian people and if there is to be progress and ultimately peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, the Sharon government will have to negotiate with Arafat and his deputies.

But the administration also sending a message to Arafat, even as it says he is now the recognized leader of the Palestinian people, this administration saying Mr. Arafat not only in its view has not done enough to crackdown on terrorism but also accusing him of running an ineffective and a corrupt Palestinian Authority. The administration making clear that as the negotiations go forward, it wants to see improvements in the leadership style and performance of Yasser Arafat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICE: Clearly, Yasser Arafat is the person out of Oslo whom the Palestinian people have chosen to lead them, but he's not leading them very well, and we ought to hold him more accountable for his own people and his own failings, and we intend to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Israel releasing to the public today almost 100 pages. Israel calls it an intelligence report. These documents already shared with senior Bush Administration officials.

Senior Israeli officials saying they prove a direct link to Yasser Arafat and his organization of past terror attacks against the Israeli people. This document Mr. Sharon will use to make the case he should not have to negotiate directly with Yasser Arafat, that Yasser Arafat should no longer be considered by the international community to be the recognized leader of the Palestinian people.

Again, the White House wants to look at those documents, wants to review them independently and one of the top Palestinian negotiators, Saeb Erakat, telling CNN earlier in the day that in the view of the Palestinians, this document is based on lies and fabrications.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAEB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: And I believe these documents are not authentic, are forgeries, are lies. They are out there to discredit the Palestinian Authority and I think their end game is to prepare for either deporting President Arafat or killing him.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KING: So you hear there from the voice of Saeb Erakat, still a great deal of tension and mistrust between the Israelis and the Palestinians. That is one of the challenges facing President Bush this week as he sits down with the Israeli leader on Tuesday trying to see just how much progress he can make in the next fragile steps in Middle East diplomacy. Catherine.

CALLAWAY: All right, thank you John King at the White House. Thanks, John.

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