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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Zinni Meets With Arafat; Israel Settles Score With Passover Massacre Mastermind; Al Qaeda Offers Bounty for American Soldiers in Afghanistan
Aired April 05, 2002 - 17:00 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.
KATE SNOW, GUEST HOST: Now on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS: First contact with Yasser Arafat. A U.S. peace broker makes it inside, but outside journalists get a scare.
Israel says it has settled the score with the mastermind of the Passover massacre.
A second Taliban American gets a homecoming of sorts, while back in Afghanistan a bounty is offered for allied soldiers, dead or alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. TOMMY FRANKS, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Afghanistan remains a very, very dangerous place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: And the royal family makes another sad trip through the streets of London.
I'm Kate Snow in Washington. Wolf Blitzer is off tonight.
Topping our news alert: Yasser Arafat makes contact with the U.S. after days of isolation.
Israel briefly lifted its steel curtain around Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah, letting U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni meet with the Palestinian leader to look for a way out of the current crisis. The two agreed that Zinni would meet next with Arafat's advisers to discuss cease-fire proposals, but Palestinians later said Israel would not let those talks take place.
Meantime, Secretary of State Powell, who heads to the region on Sunday, says he has no plans to meet with Yasser Arafat, at least not right now.
Israel has taken revenge for last week's suicide bombing, which killed 26 people at a holiday gathering in Netanya. A helicopter strike today in the northern West Bank killed six Hamas militants. Israel says one of them was the mastermind of the Passover massacre, which sparked the current offensive in the West Bank. Lebanese guerrillas may be seeking to open a second front against Israel. Fighting continued today, as Hezbollah guerrillas rocketed Israeli posts in a disputed border area, and Israel struck back with artillery and air strikes. Lebanese security forces have arrested several Palestinians believed responsible for rocket attacks on northern Israel.
Back in the USA, American-born Yasser Hamdi, a suspected Taliban loyalist seized in Afghanistan, was flown to the U.S. today from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. He was transferred to a Navy brig in Norfolk, Virginia. Hamdi was born in Louisiana to Saudi parents and left the country as a toddler. Authorities are trying to figure out what to do with him.
As U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni tries to lay the groundwork for a cease-fire, Israel continues its West Bank offensive and takes revenge for one especially bloody terror attack. Let's go live to CNN's Bill Hemmer in Jerusalem. Bill, good evening.
BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, good evening to you. The headline for this hour: Secretary of State Colin Powell will be in the region on Monday. He'll leave Washington on Sunday night. That late word earlier today from the White House.
Meanwhile, here in the region, the Israeli government right now is saying, Kate, that it has killed a person they believe responsible for masterminding the attack on Netanya a Wednesday a week ago, killing 26 people. This was the dinner taking place at that hotel right as the Passover seder was under way. The Israelis say a man by the name of Akis Edwan (ph) was killed in the West Bank town of Tubus (ph). Apparently, they say, he was inside of a home with five others. It took fire from Israeli military. All six men inside were killed, including, again, the man they link to the attack on Netanya about nine days ago.
Meanwhile, Anthony Zinni, Kate, did meet with Yasser Arafat inside of that besieged compound -- what's left of it anyway -- in the West Bank town of Ramallah. We have still photos to show you from that meeting.
That meeting lasted about 90 minutes. We do not have a lot of detail about what went on, but we have been told by the Palestinians that Zinni apparently brokered a deal to get the top leading Palestinian negotiators to meet tonight, in fact, in Jerusalem. Later we were told that the Israelis basically ended any prospects for that meeting getting under way. Now, it's possible it could change tomorrow. It's late tonight, probably will not be a change this evening on that front.
Also, what is not changing at this time is the military incursions. They do continue in various parts of the West Bank. In fact, we're getting reports from Nablus and also the town of Jenin in the West Bank, that heavy fighting does continue and did earlier today. Also in Bethlehem, Kate, 200 Palestinian gunmen, again, still inside the Church of the Nativity. That standoff is yet to meet an ending just yet, but perhaps -- we've been talking mediation for the past three or four days' time, but at this point it is still a stalemate.
Once again, the headline: Colin Powell will be here first part of next week -- Kate.
SNOW: And we'll continue to follow it. Bill Hemmer, live in Jerusalem tonight. Thanks, Bill.
A group of some two dozen reporters and photographers became part of the story today in Ramallah. CNN's Michael Holmes was one of them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): International journalists in Ramallah had gathered together this morning to travel to Yasser Arafat's compound in a convoy. Their mission was to film the arrival of General Anthony Zinni on this important start to a new U.S.-led peace initiative.
They arrived at the compound, CNN included, and were standing around for perhaps five minutes, waiting for General Zinni's arrival, when two Israeli jeeps came at the group at speed. One of them ran in CNN's vehicle without warning. One solder stood up and threw a stun grenade into the gathering of journalists, perhaps 25 in all, and then another, and then another. Perhaps six or seven in all.
At the same time, a second branding of CNN's vehicles as the media scrambled to put their vehicles in reverse and head back up the street. Once we got to the top and turned around and were heading out of the area, there were two shots fired at our vehicle. They were rubber-coated steel bullets, and they struck the back windshield of our vehicle.
Later on, Israeli troops gathered journalists together. They took the press credentials of some, the passports of some, and some were asked to leave Ramallah. CNN was not spoken to. Our credentials were not removed, and we returned here to where we are staying. In the end, a nervous day for many journalists, and we didn't get to film Anthony Zinni's arrival.
Michael Holmes, CNN, Ramallah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon may be trying to take the pressure off Palestinians in the West Bank, but that has Israel warning of an even wider war. CNN's Beirut bureau chief, Brent Sadler, filed this report by telephone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Israeli war planes at the outskirts of Lebanese border town after Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas attacked a number of Israeli positions, at least six, we understand, in a disputed frontier area known as the Shebaa Farms, and that's a patch of mostly uninhabited land at the foot of the Golan Heights, where Israeli occupation troops are stationed. Hezbollah earlier this evening within the past couple of hours or so fired rocket launchers and mortars against those six Israeli positions. Manar TV (ph), that's the television station of Hezbollah, reporting that radar stations of the Israelis have been hit and would seem to be on fire. No confirmation of that.
That resulted in immediate Israeli retaliation. War planes as well as heavy artillery bombardments of areas where it's thought that Hezbollah guerrillas may be hiding out, as well as Israeli helicopter gunships also engaging in military action.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Brent Sadler in Beirut.
Secretary of State Colin Powell sets off on his Middle East peace mission this weekend. Joining us with a preview, CNN State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel. What can we expect, Andrea?
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, as if Powell's mission weren't already going to be incredibly difficult, it appears that the response to President Bush's speech yesterday, in which he was not only incredibly harsh on Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, but also on Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He didn't mention him by name, but he certainly made it very clear -- that is President Bush -- that the U.S. wants Israel to withdraw all of its troops from all the West Bank cities as soon as possible.
Now, when Secretary Powell was asked about that today, he made very clear that the Bush administration is not happy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: The president's statement of yesterday was rather clear. That he is asking Israel -- and the U.N. put this in the form of another resolution last night -- to cease operations and to begin the process of withdrawal. And it is the president's expectation that this will happen as soon as possible, and we will see what happens in the days ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Now, realistically, Bush administration officials tell me that they don't expect all of Israeli troops to be out of the West Bank cities by the time Secretary Powell arrives there sometime next week, but they want to see the beginning of it, at least, as soon as possible.
What you're looking at there is the foreign minister of Jordan who came suddenly this week, Kate, to meet with Secretary of State Powell, and Arab officials have told me that he was hand-carrying a letter from Crown Prince Abdullah of Jordan to President Bush, echoing really what we've heard from Arab leaders over the last couple of weeks. They are unbelievably frustrated; mass demonstrations out on their streets. Millions and millions of Arabs there under tremendous pressure. And as the Foreign Minister Muasher says in this little press conference outside the State Department today, there is no doubt in the minds of the Arab world what they want Israel to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARWAN MUASHER, JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We want to agree on what the next steps should be, to stop the incursion into Palestinian cities. And as the president said, to start the withdrawal process and get back to peace process on track. And we are all working hand- in-hand with the United States and with all other countries that are involved in the process in order to make that happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: And that is something that Secretary Powell has said the Bush administration will try to do, try to get a cease-fire, try to get political process moving even without a cease-fire, Kate.
SNOW: Andrea Koppel from the state department, we'll all be watching. Thank you.
For more perspective on the crisis in the Middle East, you can tune into LIVE FROM JERUSALEM with Bill Hemmer. That's tonight at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.
The second so-called Taliban American arrived on U.S. soil today. American-born Yasser Hamdi was flown from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Dulles Airport in Virginia, and then to the U.S. Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia. CNN's Jeanne Meserve joins us now from Norfolk -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, John Walker Lindh was one thing, born and raised in the United States. But this second individual is harder to classify and right now there are a lot of questions and few answers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): An Air Force C-130 transferred Yasser Esam Hamdi from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to the Norfolk Naval station. A motorcade then took him to the brig. How long he will be there is anyone's guess.
GEN. TOMMY FRANKS, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Now, with respect to this particular case, I think it will unfold in the days ahead as judgments are made in Washington about what the correct handling of this detainee is.
MESERVE: The first judgment to be made, is Hamdi a U.S. citizen?
FRANKS: From the very beginning, there was a possibility in everyone's mind that he might be an American because he spoke English.
NOVAK: Although a birth certificate has been found which appears to confirm that he was born to Saudi parents in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, his family returned to Saudi Arabia when he was a toddler. The Justice Department is trying to determine if he holds dual citizenship, whether he might have renounced his U.S. citizenship or whether the U.S. could revoke his citizenship if he was fighting with the Taliban.
In the meantime, government officials say he is being categorized as a military combatant. Military officials have no complaint with his removal from Camp X-Ray. If he were kept there and did prove to be a U.S. citizen it could, one official said, pollute our legal strategy.
For now, the Navy is happy to act as a hotel, but when and if citizenship is proven, Hamdi will have to be moved. To keep him in a civilian detention facility, charges would have to be brought against him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): And what those charges might be is a big question. Unlike John Walker Lindh, Hamdi is not known to have made any incriminating statements and he appears to have been just a foot soldier for the Taliban, not a major player. So for the moment, he has moved from Guantanamo to limbo -- Kate.
SNOW: Jeanne, it is possible that they can simply hold him and not charge him?
MESERVE: In the short-term, that certainly would appear to be possible. But how long they can stay in this holding pattern is unclear. As I mentioned for the moment, the military is content to act as a hotel. How long that attitude will continue we just don't know -- Kate.
SNOW: All right. Jeanne Meserve, thanks so much from Norfolk, Virginia.
U.S. military officials say al Qaeda and Taliban supporters are distributing fliers in eastern Afghanistan, putting a bounty on U.S. soldiers. CNN national correspondent Bob Franken joins us from the Pentagon with more -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, in effect, those folders that say wanted dead or alive, but there's a premium for capturing a U.S. military person alive. It is $50,000 to the person who could produce a dead U.S. military type, $100,000 for someone alive. There's no explanation about how exactly this transaction would occur, but it is the kind of thing that raises eyebrows sometimes, but not to the people who have gotten very used to the fact that Afghanistan is so dangerous, like the central command commander, General Tommy Franks, who says that something like this, while interesting, certainly no surprise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKS: As we all recognized, there are groups of enemy troops still in that country and that's why I think we've all been a little bit reluctant to predict how long our operations to kill or capture those enemy troops are going to go on. So, concern about the leaflets, awareness is probably a better word.
We're going to pay attention to what we're doing in there, but we're also going to remember that we're also going to remember that Afghanistan is a dangerous place for us to be operating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: And by the way, Kate, General Franks went to great pains to crow about how well the United States has done, six months from Sunday from when the United States actually began its military operation in Afghanistan -- Kate.
SNOW: It is still a very dangerous place. Thanks, Bob.
In a moment, the start of what may be a journey to justice. American journalist Daniel Pearl's suspected killers appear in court.
And a royal farewell for Britain's queen mother.
As the world remembers the queen mother, our "News Quiz" asks: Who was her father? An earl, a duke, a knight, or a doctor? We'll have the answer coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SNOW: Taking a look now at a plane arriving in Waco, Texas. It is the plane of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, arriving there this afternoon, a live picture you're looking at there. From there, he will board the helicopter that you can just barely see there I think on the right side of your screen. The prime minister going out to the ranch at Crawford, Texas, where President Bush likes to spend his weekends. Mr. Blair will spend the weekend with President Bush. They plan to have talks on a variety of subjects over the weekend.
Four suspects in the kidnapping and murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl were in a Karachi, Pakistan courtroom today. But the judge says their trial won't begin until next week. CNN's Ash-Har Quraishi is following today's events.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): What appears to be another delay in the commencement of the trial of four men accused of the kidnapping and murder of "Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl.
Today, the four appeared in a Karachi court inside the Karachi central jail. Now, that venue is chosen for security reasons. A petition was filed by the defense yesterday that was dismissed to move it into open court. Today, some applications were filed by the defense, including one asking for the photographs and the e-mails that were sent showing Daniel Pearl in captivity. Now, the judge has granted those requests today, but the judge has also set a date, the 12th, next week, April 12, for this trial to formally begin.
Also issued today, seven warrants for those seven other suspects that were put on this charge sheet that have not been apprehended yet. Other things we're hearing of the courtroom today, which was closed to journalists and only a few relatives were allowed inside, is that one of the accused, one of the four accused, Salman Sakib (ph), made a statement to the judge today. Some conflicting reports about as to what exactly happened there, saying that -- Sakib (ph) was saying that he had been tortured by investigators, also saying that he had been robbed.
Now, prosecutors say that they did not hear this. The defense maintains, though, that Sakib (ph) did say this in court. But since it is a closed court, it's difficult to verify those things now.
Still, this latest appearance has been something that people anticipated the trial to begin today. It did not begin, and right now the judge is saying that it will begin next week, on April 12.
Ash-Har Quraishi, CNN, Karachi, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Back in the U.S., Congressman James Traficant rested his case today without taking the witness stand to defend himself on corruption charges. The Ohio Democrat is defending himself. Closing arguments are set for Monday.
Congressman Gary Condit has postponed a scheduled appearance before a grand jury looking into the disappearance of his former intern, Chandra Levy. The reason for the delay has not been disclosed, but "The Washington Post" reports Condit's testimony may be rescheduled in a few weeks.
Two senators say they want a meeting with President Bush to discuss Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge, and they have sent their demands to the White House in a letter. Democrat Robert Byrd and Republican Ted Stevens want Ridge to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee. The White House contends that he being a presidential assistant, Ridge is not obligated to appear before Congress.
A member of the U.S. Capitol Police force could go on trial this month on charges he staged an anthrax hoax. Prosecutors say Officer James Picket (ph) left two packets of a sugar substitute on a desk, along with a note. Picket's (ph) lawyer says it was a joke. The tentative date for the trial is April 30.
There is more fallout from the Enron collapse. Sources say Arthur Andersen will let go as many as 7,000 employees. The layoffs are part of the accounting company's effort to stay in business after being shaken by the Enron scandal and losing many of its clients. The government has charged Andersen with obstruction of justice.
A protest in support of the Palestinian cause under way in New York City. We'll go there live. Great Britain bids farewell to the queen mother. And the joke is on the world's richest man. We have the tape of the prank played on Bill Gates.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SNOW: Checking the latest developments in our news alert: British Prime Minister Tony Blair just about to arrive in Waco, Texas. You see a live picture there of the British Airways plane delivering Tony Blair to meetings for the weekend that he'll be holding at Crawford, Texas, at the ranch with President Bush. The Middle East crisis is expected to dominate those discussions, as well as the war against terrorism.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf wants to hold on to his job a little while longer. He announced today he will hold a referendum next month on whether he should stay in office for what's expected to be another five years. Mr. Musharraf says he wants to remain president to ensure his economic, political and social reforms won't be reversed by what he calls "corrupt politicians." He came to power in a coup back in 1999.
Thousands of demonstrators in Istanbul, Turkey gathered today to show their support for Palestinians. Some carried signs calling Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "a killer." Police dispersed the crowds with tear gas, and took many people into custody.
As Israel presses ahead with its offensive against Palestinian militants, new polls find strong support among Israelis for the campaign. Joining us to discuss the results is Gil Tamary, the Washington bureau chief of Israeli Television. Appreciate you being here tonight.
Let's take a look first at one of the key results from the "Jerusalem Post" poll taken today, talking about whether people in Israel support the Israeli government's decision to wage wide scale war in the territories. Look at these results, 72 percent, more than 70 percent saying that they support this decision fully. It seems like people are saying fight, fight, fight, don't give in, don't negotiate.
GIL TAMARY, ISRAELI TV: You know, it seems to be that the Israeli public right now wants to -- not get revenge, but it wants -- it feels that the terrorist activities until now make the day-to-day life in Israel unbearable. It's similar to the case here in the United States, after September 11 when everybody feels that they cannot lead their day-to-day life, and this is the results of these polls. More than that, if you look on the Prime Minister Sharon's job approval rating, it has jumped very, very highly in recent days.
SNOW: We actually have that result too. Let's show that from another poll taken by the largest Israeli daily paper.
(CROSSTALK)
TAMARY: Forty-five percent, and today 68 percent, because all of these people are unifying behind Prime Minister Sharon. They believe that right now he can deliver.
SNOW: That's a stark contrast there. I mean, he was not widely supported just a month ago. TAMARY: People in Israel right now compare the situation to the situation that was before the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel felt that it might strike back because of the suicide bomber. The day-to- day life in Israel doesn't look the same, and this is the reason that the Israeli population are backing up the government. And I don't remember such a tremendous support for the Israeli government and its action.
SNOW: Where are the doves? Where are the peace activists?
TAMARY: In these polls, only 16 percent. And it's a very, very -- because -- but there is still a hope for peace, because if you look on these numbers, the majority of the Israeli people are saying that if the terror stops, 70 percent are willing to return to negotiate on establishing the Palestinian state.
SNOW: But only if the Palestinians stop first.
TAMARY: Stop the terror. Because Israel believes, like we think the Americans believe, that terror is terror, and right now the Israelis cannot live their usual life.
SNOW: But if no one will go to the negotiating table, I think that's what's so difficult for Americans maybe to understand. We have one more poll result that shows what people think about Yasser Arafat. Many of them saying that he should either be exiled or isolated, 30 percent exiled. Isolated, 27 percent believe that. Twelve percent want to see Yasser Arafat killed. These are Israeli public. And 25 percent free.
TAMARY: And 25 -- well, you see, there is no unanimous decision. Everyone thinks differently. Because when it's time for tactic, and this is tactic, there is a great difference between the Israeli points of views. But regarding right now, the fight against the infrastructure of terrorism, this thing is a unanimous decision for the Israeli people.
SNOW: Does that indicate that the Israeli people are not willing to negotiate or sit down with -- I mean, the majority of them say either isolate him or exile him, so does that mean that they're not going to sit down and negotiate with Yasser Arafat?
TAMARY: I think the majority of the Israelis don't believe Yasser Arafat, they don't want to deal with him anymore.
SNOW: What -- you were talking a little bit about the Israeli public and the change in attitude a few minutes ago. You mentioned a change in the whole way of living and the whole approach. You said some things earlier that I thought were interesting on that. What do you mean? What do see changing in the mentality?
TAMARY: You know the Israeli attitude, that they are very, very macho style or macho attitude. Nothing deters them. They are free to do anything.
And right now, because of the current suicide bombers, you see 70 percent of the Israeli population that are saying that, from now on, they will go out less. They will change their way of life. And they will avoid the public places. And I think this shows you how -- why the Israelis so much support right now the offensive against the infrastructure of the terror.
SNOW: I finally want to ask you about Colin Powell, Secretary Powell, going to the region. Do you think Israelis on the street see that as a hopeful sign, or do they see that as a positive step?
TAMARY: I think the Israelis see that his chances to succeed are very, very slim, because what he will give to the table now? What he can renew now? What are the new offers he can brick to the table? And what will make Yasser Arafat this time to starting fighting terrorism?
SNOW: Not a very helpful outlook.
TAMARY: This is the situation right now, according to these polls.
SNOW: Gil Tamary, very interesting insight form Israeli TV. Thank you so much for coming in.
TAMARY: Thank you.
SNOW: Our "Web Question of the Day" tackles the poll that you just heard about; 72 percent of Israelis support their government's decision to wage war in the Palestinian territories. Do you share their support?
You can vote online at CNN.com/Wolf. While you're there, let us know what you are thinking. There is a "Click Here" icon on the left side of Wolf's page. You can send us your comments and we will read some of them each night on the air.
Israel's war on terror doesn't just depend on a strong offensive. The country also relies on guards posted at shops and restaurants to boost their security and to try to stop and -- spot and stop suicide bombers.
CNN's Chris Burns reports it is a job that can exact a heavy toll.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anatoly Guslister (ph) still winces from the shrapnel that fractured his legs. A Jewish immigrant from Uzbekistan, Guslister is construction engineer who settled for a job as a security guard at a Jerusalem supermarket.
A week ago, a Palestinian woman strapped with explosives tried to get in. She refused to be searched. Guslitser shoved her away from the door and she blew herself up.
"I heard the bomb, saw a flash. And I was thrown back," Guslitser says. "In the first seconds, I thought I had no legs." He is still haunted at night about the other guard at the store, who didn't survive. A teenage girl also perished. "I have dreams," he says. "I go to the shop and I see the guard after the bomb explodes."
The market is open again for business with two new security guards.
(on camera): Guards like Oleg Puhily (ph) work here on the front line against suicide attacks, working for a minimal wage with minimal training, trying to prevent this supermarket from being targeted yet again.
(voice-over): Puhily, a Russian immigrant with an engineering degree, took this job to support his wife and three children.
"Seeing all these people makes me scared sometimes," he says. "It is something like a nightmare. But I must protect the people here."
Tel Aviv's lively cafe scene is also looking more like an armed camp, this after the latest wave of suicide bombings that killed 125 Israelis in March alone. Guards look for anyone or anything suspicious.
(on camera): Some people say that being a guard in places like this is like being a human shield. How do you feel about that?
OFER BELSHIMOL, SECURITY GUARD: A little bit afraid. But what we can do here in Israel? This is our city. We love Israel.
BURNS (voice-over): Do the security guards make cafe-goers any safer?
LISA PHILOSOPH, CAFE PATRON: Yes, absolutely. But I still look myself. I don't rely completely on them.
BURNS: Just down the street, another cafe is being rebuilt after a Palestinian suicide bomber blew it up last week, killing himself and an Israeli woman.
(on camera): Lifeguards aren't the only guards here on Tel Aviv's beachfront. Some restaurants have started posting watchmen just in case.
(voice-over): Watchmen like Charlie M'Hamed, an Israeli-Arab.
(on camera): And by stopping it, that could quite likely mean your life, too.
CHARLIE M'HAMED, SECURITY GUARD: Well, you know, everybody think about the life, everybody, all of us. But some of us, we have to keep the country, keep the restaurant -- we work here. We work. We have to keep it.
BURNS (voice-over): Even if it means sacrificing himself. Chris Burns, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Israeli watchmen couldn't stop a suicide bombing that now connects two young women, teenagers, from two different worlds, yet with much in common. Tragically, they met for only a few moments, the last moments of their lives.
Rachel Levy was a 17-year-old high school senior from Jerusalem on her way to buy groceries last Friday. She walked up to another high school senior with long black hair, 18-year-old Ayat al-Akhras, as they reached the entrance of a Jerusalem supermarket. And that's when the Palestinian teen from a West Bank refugee camp set off a bomb she was carrying, killing herself, Rachel Levy, and a security guard.
President Bush spoke of their deaths yesterday in his call for an end to the violence in the region.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When an 18- year-old Palestinian girl is induced to blow herself up, and in the process kills a 17-year-old Israeli girl, the future itself is dying, the future of the Palestinian people and the future of the Israeli people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Ayat al-Akhras was planning to get married this summer and study journalism in college next fall. Rachel Levy loved photography and was a fitness buff. Ayat al-Akhras left behind a videotape calling herself a living martyr. Rachel Levy never had a chance to say goodbye.
We're going to take a look now at pictures that just came in from Tony Blair, the British prime minister, just departing -- just arriving, rather, in Waco, Texas. There you see him coming down the steps. We were looking at that plane live a little bit earlier -- being greeted there by Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser. He will be at Crawford, Texas visiting with President Bush over the weekend.
His wife, Cherie Blair, is joining them a little later. They will be in Crawford for the weekend talking about subjects like the Middle East and subjects like Iraq and the war on terrorism -- Prime Minister Tony Blair arriving in Texas.
A familiar but painful procession for Princes William and Harry. Coming up: mourning the loss of another mother figure.
And later, caught on tape: We will play you the prank on Bill Gates.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SNOW: Earlier we asked whether the queen mother was the daughter of an earl, a duke, a knight or a doctor. She was the ninth of 10 children born to an earl. Another well-loved royal, Diana, princess of Wales, was also the daughter of an earl.
British subjects and visitors from other countries lined up for hours today to pay final respects to Queen Mother Elizabeth. The flag draped, crown-topped coffin was pulled through the streets of London to Westminster Hall, where the queen mother's body now lies in state.
CNN's Diana Muriel was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Private grief and public pageantry. His pain clearly etched on his face, Prince Charles remaining tight-lipped as he followed the coffin of his grandmother from Saint James's Palace to the ancient medieval hall of Westminster, where she now lies in state. With him marched his sons. Prince William, also heir to the throne, and Prince Harry, who clearly felt the emotion of the day. It was not long ago that these boys marched behind the coffin of their mother, Diana, princess of Wales.
ROBERT JOBSON, ROYAL COMMENTATOR: The memories of their mother's funeral here, five years ago almost this summer, will obviously come flooding back to them, and it will evoke all those memories and all that sadness.
MURIEL: As the procession marched, guns were fired every minute from nearby Green Park by the King's Troop Royal Artillery. It was very much a military show. Commander-in-chief of eight regiments, the queen mother was regarded with great affection by many in the military. More than 2,500 of them were involved in the military.
The 1st Battalion Irish Guards were chosen to be the pall bearers. Accompanying the gun carriage first used 50 years ago to carry the coffin of her husband, King George VI. Twelve guardsmen were selected according to their height at the shoulder. The coffin was brought in from the gun carriage to Westminster Hall, and placed on the catafalque seven feet high and covered in Braemar-purple pleated velvet and gold braid.
After prayer from the archbishop of Canterbury, four officers of the Household Cavalry took up their positions for the vigil around her coffin that will last until her funeral.
Outside, the crowd gathered, stretching along the river banks on both sides of the Thames and across three bridges. Thousands waited in the spring sunshine to enter Westminster Hall.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We didn't want to go back again until we had gone past the coffin and paid our last tributes to the queen mother, who was a wonderful lady and I don't think there will be anyone else quite so marvelous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was a very kind lady. You know, she was very good to the country and in the war times and things like that. She was a people's person. And I think this is how she will definitely be remembered.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have never met any of the royals, only the queen mum, so that's why I have come here today.
MURIEL (on camera): As the vigil gets under way at Westminster, the queen has returned to Buckingham Palace with members of her family. The next few days, we will see final arrangements made for the ceremonial funeral on Tuesday, where once again the crowds will gather to pay their final respects to the lady who came to be known as the queen mum.
Diana Muriel, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: In the years leading up to her death, the queen mother was, by almost all accounts, the most beloved member of the British royal family. We spoke with Andrew Roberts, a British journalist and the author of the book, "The Royal House of Windsor." I asked whether the queen mother enjoyed the same level of public popularity as the late Princess Diana.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW ROBERTS, AUTHOR, "THE ROYAL HOUSE OF WINDSOR": In Britain, she was far better known than Princess Diana, because, of course, she had been around for as long as the Second World War. She became queen in 1936 and stayed queen until the death of her husband in 1952. So, she was very much a staple scene on the British royal scene.
SNOW: Is it fair to say the queen mother was more of a political activist, particularly during the World Wars, than any of her counterparts today in the royal family?
ROBERTS: Oh, yes, very much. But she wasn't party political in any sense, because, of course, that's not allowed under our constitution. But she was political in that she was a great enthuser at the time of the Second World War. She wouldn't stand for totalitarianism. And she fought it. And she was much loved for that.
SNOW: Tell us a little more about her ability to unite the people.
ROBERTS: Well, it was very much the personal touch.
She made only one interview in the whole of her life in 1923. The king asked her not to do another one, and she didn't. But she did, nevertheless, make 300 visits during the Second World War to bombed-out cities, where she gave enormous amounts of encouragement to the people there who had lost their homes and, in many cases, their loved ones. And that's what really endeared her to the British people. SNOW: Now that she is gone, who fills the void? Princess Diana is no longer there. The queen mum is gone. Is there someone there to fill that void, particularly for the two princes?
ROBERTS: Well, the queen herself, of course, will be the inevitable recipient of a loss of affection, especially in this, her jubilee year. She has been on the thrown for 50 years. And we are going to be celebrating that later on in the year. Unfortunately, very sadly, of course, she lost both her mother and, seven weeks ago, her sister, Princess Margaret, as well.
But, nonetheless, I think there is going to be a great outpouring of affection for her in the time of the golden jubilee. I think, also, the roles of the younger princes will be interesting to watch. Prince William and Prince Harry did very well today. They behaved with great dignity. And I think that their popularity will still be tremendously strong.
SNOW: And Princess Anne -- one final quick question -- she today walked, I understand, with the funeral procession, something very interesting for a woman do. I don't think any woman had done that before.
ROBERTS: No, no woman has done that before. But it wasn't, in any sense, controversial. She asked to be given the chance to do this. She was, of course, a much loved granddaughter. And so the royal family thought that that would be a good thing. And I'm sure that what she has done now is to set the precedent and open it up to other royal women to do this again in the future.
SNOW: Andrew Roberts, author of "The Royal House of Windsor," thanks so much for being with us.
ROBERTS: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: We want to take a quick look now at some live pictures coming in to us from New York City: Times Square in New York, where a protest was planned for this evening. I believe we have a live picture to show you of Palestinians protesting over the conflict in the Middle East. You see there a lot of people gathered at Times Square. Again, these are Palestinians gathering for a protest, to protest over Israeli operations in the Middle East.
It's not every day you can have a laugh at the expense of the world's richest man, but we're not laughing at Bill Gates; we are laughing with him. We will play you the tape coming up. And will he go free or will he go to prison? The jury is out for a guitarist from the band REM -- details and the scoop.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SNOW: Taking a look at our news scoops: REM guitarist Peter Buck left a London court a free man today after a jury cleared him of assault charges in an air rage incident. Prosecutors said Buck acted like a -- quote -- "drunken lout" on a flight last year. Crew members said they had to pull him away from an exit door when he announced, in mid-flight, that he was going home.
She was on the scene long before the Beatles and once predicted that a young Bruce Springsteen would be a superstar, but Jane Scott is giving up her job as rock critic for "The Cleveland Plain Dealer" after half a century at age 82. She says it's time now to call it quits.
And now from our money-isn't-everything-department: the latest evidence that being very, very wealthy is no insurance policy against embarrassment. Some Canadian radio personalities proved that point with a phone call to the chairman of Microsoft.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): The mission to embarrass Bill Gates took plenty of persistence: four weeks of calls just to get the guy on the phone.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MARC ANTOINE AUDETTE, RADIO DISC JOCKEY: Hello, Mr. Gates?
BILL GATES, CHAIRMAN, MICROSOFT: Hi, this is Bill Gates. Good to talk to you.
GATES: Yes, thank you, too. It's an honor to speak with you.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SNOW: Pretending to be the Canadian prime minister, the radio jocks see how far they can take it.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
AUDETTE: I would like to take the opportunity to invite you in Canada.
GATES: I get up there about once a year. And I'm actually going to be up in August, is my next trip. And so, if that happens to be a time that it works for us to get together, I would love to do that.
AUDETTE: Oh, that would be great, because I'm going to run again in a couple of years, even though I'm the oldest prime minister Canada has. You understand.
(LAUGHTER)
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SNOW: So far, he's fooled, but the D.J.s start giving Gates some hints.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AUDETTE: Damn computer. Well, who invented that (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Windows? OK, I got the 16th of August, sir, yes?
GATES: That's right.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SNOW: And, eventually, they fess up.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
AUDETTE: By the way, sir. You know what date it is today?
GATES: Yes.
AUDETTE: It's April Fools Day.
GATES: Ah.
AUDETTE: I'm not really the prime minister of Canada, sir.
GATES: I thought so.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Microsoft says it is taking the prank in good fun. A spokesman says the company is glad the pranksters didn't call collect.
Let's go to New York now and get a preview of "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE," which begins at top of the hour -- Lou.
LOU DOBBS, "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE": Kate, thank you very much.
Exactly one week after Israeli tanks storm the West Bank, that offensive continues. U.S. Envoy Anthony Zinni met with Yasser Arafat, trying to end the violence. We will be going live to Jerusalem and to the White House. And tonight, I will be talking with the foreign minister of Jordan. Also, looking for compromise, Andersen and the Department of Justice, negotiations for a possible settlement of that criminal indictment began today, Andersen's chances of survival hanging in the balance. And I will have a few thoughts in this broadcast about what has been an incredibly stormy week in the Andersen-Justice Department issue. On Wall Street, blue chips gain for a second session. We will have our weekly market roundtable.
All of that and more at the top of the hour. Please join us -- now back to you, Kate.
SNOW: Lou, thanks.
In a moment, the results of our "Web Question of the Day": The Israeli government is waging war, and most Israelis are supportive of it. Do you agree with Israeli public opinion? You can vote now at CNN.com/Wolf.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barbie is still sitting pretty, as Mattel dominates the toy category for the Fortune 500 list. Mattel brought in revenues totaling $4.8 billion, while profits totaled $299 million. The world's top toymaker has impressed Wall Street with its ability to bounce back after a botched acquisition of The Learning Company and management troubles under former CEO Jill Barad. The new team, led by CEO Robert Eckert, is now faced with the challenge of reinventing a 43-year-old Barbie and reviving her sales, which have fallen 12 percent. Ideas Mattel is toying with now include TV specials, plush dolls and Barbie apparel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SNOW: We're taking a look at live pictures from the air just over Times Square in New York City, a pro-Arab protest going on there, Palestinians rallying in the streets.
We have on the phone CNN's Brian Palmer to tell us a little more about what is going on -- Brian.
BRIAN PALMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kate.
I am going to have to speak up because we are right in the middle of this demonstration. It started out with several hundred people. And that blossomed into, I would say, at least 1,000, taking the police, I think rather off guard. People are chanting things like "Five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a state," "Down with Israel" -- so rather extreme positions being expressed here in Times Square.
We attended a press conference earlier where the opposite side was expressed, the Israeli side: Senator Chuck Schumer and other New York politicians expressing their unqualified support for the Israeli government and for the course of action that they are taking. So, I think I can sum it up by saying that this has not really been a day of moderation or compromise -- some very strong positions being expressed on either side, but not much talk of a road map to compromise or peace -- Kate.
SNOW: CNN's Brian Palmer on the phone in that protest there that you see from the air, right around Times Square in New York City -- the Middle East conflict being reflected on the streets of New York.
Our "Web Question of the Day" asks: "Do you support Israel's decision to wage war?" Fifty-seven percent of you said yes, while 43 percent of you said no. A reminder: That poll is not scientific.
I'm Kate Know in Washington tonight. Wolf Blitzer will be back on Sunday for "LATE EDITION," his guest: National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
Thanks so much for joining us. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" begins right now.
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