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CNN Live Sunday
Two Suicide Bombers Kill at Least 22 in Tel-Aviv
Aired January 05, 2003 - 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.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: It had been almost six weeks since the last suicide bombing in Israel, but that silence was shattered today. Two bombs went off almost simultaneously in an area of downtown Tel-Aviv that terrorists have targeted before. In the aftermath, at least 22 people are now confirmed dead and Israeli police say more than 100 others are injured. CNN's Kelly Wallace is in Tel-Aviv, where the blast happened just hours ago -- Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, we're following a number of developments at this hour. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon convened an emergency cabinet meeting about a half hour ago. We believe that meeting is still under way. Mr. Sharon to meet with his top advisers to assist any next steps Israel will take, and we also know from our sources and our colleagues in Gaza that Israeli Apache helicopters have fired two rockets into an industrial area in Gaza. We do not know at this point in time if that operation is in any way connected to what happened here.
You can see the scene behind me. This is something that has become all too familiar here in Israel after apparent suicide bombings. A candlelight vigil, praying for the injured, more than 100 people injured, and mourning for the dead, at this point in time, at least 22 dead. Israeli officials, though, do expect that death toll to climb.
This was the scene earlier this evening, really a horrific scene. Witnesses say the explosions came just about a half a minute apart, and witnesses telling us they came to this scene and they said it was so horrible they could barely put it into words.
Two apparent suicide bombers striking at different parts of a very crowded pedestrian mall in a low-income section of Tel-Aviv. This area filled with laborers from other countries. Israeli officials are saying many of the injured did not go to the hospital. Officials believe they were afraid to go to the hospital fearing they could be deported because they don't have the proper visas to be in the country, so the message from the Israeli government encouraging any and all injured to seek the medical help they need.
Now, the Israeli government has condemned the attack and is saying the blame should be placed on Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority, saying the Palestinian Authority has not done enough to crack down on terror. But the Palestinian Authority for its part is condemning the blast and calling for an end to all attacks against Israeli civilians. The Palestinian Authority, according to the authority's chief negotiator, is also, though, blaming Israel for fueling the violence, saying the military operation by Israel in the West Bank and Gaza is contributing to the violence.
Now, there's another story we have also been following. Conflicting claims, really, of responsibility. In a phone call from Beirut, the militant group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for these back-to-back bombings, but the group's military wing has not officially said it was behind the attack. Then earlier in the evening, according to a fax, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the armed offshoot of Arafat's Fatah movement claimed responsibility, but then just a short time ago in a fax that group, Al-Aqsa, is now saying it was not behind the attacks. We will be following that, Anderson, and get you the latest. Back to you.
COOPER: All right, Kelly Wallace, thanks very much. Live on the scene in Tel-Aviv.
President Bush was on Air Force One flying back to the White House from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, when he learned about the attacks. CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us with his reaction and a look at his political agenda -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Bush was aboard Air Force One when he received that terrible news. It was National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice who informed him of that. Then a spokesperson came out, releasing a statement on behalf of the president saying, "he condemns these brutal acts of terror in the strongest possible terms. For those who want to derail the peace process, we are not deterred. People have a right to live in peace and security."
Clearly, frustration for the White House who has been involved, really, in this road map to Middle East peace, the idea of two states, one for Palestinians, one for Israelis living side by side to be developed in some three years, but again, the administration saying that it is determined to move forward.
Also President Bush dealing with the situation in North Korea, trying to convince North Korea's Kim Jong Il to abandon his nuclear weapons programs. In the next couple of days, what we're going to see is at the State Department talks that are being held, Assistant Secretary of State of East Asian Affairs James Kelly to host those talks with representatives from Japan and South Korea to try to convince them that economic pressure and diplomatic pressure is the best way to go in terms of dealing with Pyongyang. But clearly, this is also a policy that's up for debate and has created quite a bit of controversy. Republicans and Democrats today weighing in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), NORTH CAROLINA: I think the Bush policy in North Korea has been a failure. I mean, what happened was they embarrassed the president of the South Korea when he came here. The secretary of state, Secretary Powell believed that we needed to engage with North Korea just as the Clinton administration had engaged. I think that over time that disengagement has really cost us.
SEN. DON NICKLES (R), OKLAHOMA: North Korea, frankly, was fragrantly violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and President Clinton almost rewarded its noncompliance by paying ransom. And, guess what? During those several years that we were paying the ransom, North Korea was still building nuclear weapons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, tomorrow the International Atomic Energy Agency, that is the group that had their inspectors kicked out of North Korea just last week, they are going to be holding a meeting, really an emergency meeting to try to determine whether or not they're going to bring North Korea before the U.N. Security Council. If that happens, then North Korea could face economic sanctions.
As far as the showdown with Iraq, President Bush in the weeks to come has a critical decision whether or not the United States will use military action to force Saddam Hussein to disarm. The president says he has not yet made up his mind -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks very much tonight, from the White House blanketed in snow. Quite beautiful there, thank you very much, Suzanne.
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 January 5, 2003 - 17:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: It had been almost six weeks since the last suicide bombing in Israel, but that silence was shattered today. Two bombs went off almost simultaneously in an area of downtown Tel-Aviv that terrorists have targeted before. In the aftermath, at least 22 people are now confirmed dead and Israeli police say more than 100 others are injured. CNN's Kelly Wallace is in Tel-Aviv, where the blast happened just hours ago -- Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, we're following a number of developments at this hour. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon convened an emergency cabinet meeting about a half hour ago. We believe that meeting is still under way. Mr. Sharon to meet with his top advisers to assist any next steps Israel will take, and we also know from our sources and our colleagues in Gaza that Israeli Apache helicopters have fired two rockets into an industrial area in Gaza. We do not know at this point in time if that operation is in any way connected to what happened here.
You can see the scene behind me. This is something that has become all too familiar here in Israel after apparent suicide bombings. A candlelight vigil, praying for the injured, more than 100 people injured, and mourning for the dead, at this point in time, at least 22 dead. Israeli officials, though, do expect that death toll to climb.
This was the scene earlier this evening, really a horrific scene. Witnesses say the explosions came just about a half a minute apart, and witnesses telling us they came to this scene and they said it was so horrible they could barely put it into words.
Two apparent suicide bombers striking at different parts of a very crowded pedestrian mall in a low-income section of Tel-Aviv. This area filled with laborers from other countries. Israeli officials are saying many of the injured did not go to the hospital. Officials believe they were afraid to go to the hospital fearing they could be deported because they don't have the proper visas to be in the country, so the message from the Israeli government encouraging any and all injured to seek the medical help they need.
Now, the Israeli government has condemned the attack and is saying the blame should be placed on Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority, saying the Palestinian Authority has not done enough to crack down on terror. But the Palestinian Authority for its part is condemning the blast and calling for an end to all attacks against Israeli civilians. The Palestinian Authority, according to the authority's chief negotiator, is also, though, blaming Israel for fueling the violence, saying the military operation by Israel in the West Bank and Gaza is contributing to the violence.
Now, there's another story we have also been following. Conflicting claims, really, of responsibility. In a phone call from Beirut, the militant group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for these back-to-back bombings, but the group's military wing has not officially said it was behind the attack. Then earlier in the evening, according to a fax, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the armed offshoot of Arafat's Fatah movement claimed responsibility, but then just a short time ago in a fax that group, Al-Aqsa, is now saying it was not behind the attacks. We will be following that, Anderson, and get you the latest. Back to you.
COOPER: All right, Kelly Wallace, thanks very much. Live on the scene in Tel-Aviv.
President Bush was on Air Force One flying back to the White House from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, when he learned about the attacks. CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us with his reaction and a look at his political agenda -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Bush was aboard Air Force One when he received that terrible news. It was National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice who informed him of that. Then a spokesperson came out, releasing a statement on behalf of the president saying, "he condemns these brutal acts of terror in the strongest possible terms. For those who want to derail the peace process, we are not deterred. People have a right to live in peace and security."
Clearly, frustration for the White House who has been involved, really, in this road map to Middle East peace, the idea of two states, one for Palestinians, one for Israelis living side by side to be developed in some three years, but again, the administration saying that it is determined to move forward.
Also President Bush dealing with the situation in North Korea, trying to convince North Korea's Kim Jong Il to abandon his nuclear weapons programs. In the next couple of days, what we're going to see is at the State Department talks that are being held, Assistant Secretary of State of East Asian Affairs James Kelly to host those talks with representatives from Japan and South Korea to try to convince them that economic pressure and diplomatic pressure is the best way to go in terms of dealing with Pyongyang. But clearly, this is also a policy that's up for debate and has created quite a bit of controversy. Republicans and Democrats today weighing in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), NORTH CAROLINA: I think the Bush policy in North Korea has been a failure. I mean, what happened was they embarrassed the president of the South Korea when he came here. The secretary of state, Secretary Powell believed that we needed to engage with North Korea just as the Clinton administration had engaged. I think that over time that disengagement has really cost us.
SEN. DON NICKLES (R), OKLAHOMA: North Korea, frankly, was fragrantly violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and President Clinton almost rewarded its noncompliance by paying ransom. And, guess what? During those several years that we were paying the ransom, North Korea was still building nuclear weapons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, tomorrow the International Atomic Energy Agency, that is the group that had their inspectors kicked out of North Korea just last week, they are going to be holding a meeting, really an emergency meeting to try to determine whether or not they're going to bring North Korea before the U.N. Security Council. If that happens, then North Korea could face economic sanctions.
As far as the showdown with Iraq, President Bush in the weeks to come has a critical decision whether or not the United States will use military action to force Saddam Hussein to disarm. The president says he has not yet made up his mind -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks very much tonight, from the White House blanketed in snow. Quite beautiful there, thank you very much, Suzanne.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
