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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Terror Strikes Jerusalem Again; Secretary Powell Visits Israeli Prime Minister
Aired April 12, 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.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Now on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, "Live From Jerusalem": Terror hits the holy city, again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) will be welcoming, red carpet for Secretary Powell. Unfortunately, it is covered with Jewish blood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Another female suicide bomber. Will her acts set back Secretary Powell's search for peace?
A dispute over the death toll. The Palestinians accuse Israel of a cover-up.
And Israel's evidence against Yasser Arafat. Ariel Sharon sends documents to President Bush. Which side will the U.S. take?
It's just after midnight here in Jerusalem. We are coming to you live from a holy city in grief. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting live from Jerusalem. We are following several major developments right now. We'll get to all of that in a moment. First this Middle East "News Alert."
A suicide bomber has once more hit at the heart of Jerusalem, killing six people and wounding dozens outside a crowded marketplace. The bomber, a young woman, blew herself up next to a city bus. Responsibility is being claimed by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a wing of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.
Coming right after Secretary of State Powell's meeting with the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, the bombing has already had an impact on the search for peace. Palestinian officials say tomorrow's planned meeting between Secretary Powell and Yasser Arafat has been postponed for at least 24 hours. U.S. officials are now confirming that meeting has been postponed. Powell flew over the bombing scene on the way to visit Israel's northern border area with Lebanon.
Palestinian officials want Secretary Powell to visit the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, where they say a massacre took place. New pictures show the aftermath of the fierce fighting there. Israel confirms hundreds of casualties, but Israel insists they resulted from a battle with terrorists.
A Palestinian today opened fire and tossed hand grenades at the Erez (ph) crossing point between Gaza and Israel. An Israeli border policeman and a Palestinian worker were killed, and seven other people wounded before the gunman was shot dead. The Islamic Jihad group is claiming responsibility.
Earlier today, I landed in Ben-Gurion Airport just outside Tel Aviv, shortly after that meeting between Secretary Powell and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon wrapped up. They spent four hours meeting together. I also landed just as another terrorist explosion hit the holy city.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): It was just before the start of the Jewish Sabbath when terror once more hit Jerusalem. This time in the city's open-air market, where last-minute shoppers were preparing for the day of rest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We went over there, and we were the first ones together. So, I saw the bus, you know, the right side of the bus towards the shops over there was all black, which means this is where the explosion was. And then we saw some, you know, somebody, some people with no arms, with no heads, I mean, blood all over.
BLITZER: Israeli police confirm it was a female suicide bomber. Claiming responsibility was the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, affiliated with Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. It was precisely what visiting Secretary of State Colin Powell feared most, occurring just after 4 1/2 hours of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Sharon and Powell emerged just before the bombing.
ARIEL SHARON, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Terror cannot co-exist with peace. Terror cannot co-exist with peace.
BLITZER: Powell again condemned Palestinian terrorism, but acknowledged he won no timetable from Sharon for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: He is anxious to bring these operations to an end as soon as possible.
BLITZER: Powell also said the U.S. has to look at the broader regional picture.
POWELL: As a friend of Israel, we have to take note of the long- term strategic consequences of the incursions that are under way and its effect on other nations in the region and the international climate.
BLITZER: After the bombing, a Palestinian spokesman said peace will come only when Palestinian lives were as sacred as Israeli ones.
HASAN ABDEL RAHMAN, CHIEF PALESTINIAN REPRESENTATIVE: What takes Palestinians to the situation we are in is 36 years of one of the most brutal occupations in modern history. That's what turns people into suicide bombers.
BLITZER: Sharon and Powell left for a tour of Israel's northern border with Lebanon amid growing concerns of warfare breaking out along that frontier.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): CNN's Jason Bellini was standing by just as that suicide bombing explosion occurred. He was on the scene. He joins me now live here in Jerusalem. Jason, first of all, congratulations, you're a lucky man. You survived that. But I want to show our viewers some of the videotape you were shooting in a separate story, totally unrelated, obviously, just when that occurred. Let's watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Grab the tripod. Grab the tripod. Grab the tripod.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Jason, first of all what was going through your mind when that happened?
BELLINI: When that happened, I was stunned for a moment, just like everyone. And I think people watching the video will see that it is sort of eerie the way people are calm at first, because I don't think people wanted to believe that that's what it was, what it turned out to be, that it turned out to be an explosion. Started moving in the direction from where we thought it came -- we really didn't know how close we were to the explosion. I was in the market at the time. And so it was packed with people and people were loaded down with their bags of groceries, their vegetables, their fruits and the food that they were gathering because the market was about to close for the Sabbath. Made our way through those people and then out onto Jaffa Road, which is where this bus explosion -- where the explosion near the bus occurred.
BLITZER: How close did you actually get to the scene of where that bus -- near that bus -- where the explosion did occur?
BELLINI: We were quite close. Probably about five minutes after the explosion, close enough to take a look at the front of the bus where the windows were blown out and be able to see some bodies there around the bus. I, at one point, handed my camera over to my translator who then took the camera and he went up very close to the bus. He got some of the best video that we brought back from the explosion.
BLITZER: Jason, you'd never seen anything even closely resembling the horror, the sights that you saw?
BELLINI: Absolutely not. And I think the most frightening part was when it was coming right at us. When we were making our way out onto that street and we saw people who were gravely wounded and people who were very bloody, people with head injuries coming right in our direction. The one thing that was heartening to see was how civilians in the area helped them out. There was an amazing display of people who rushed over to the people who were injured and helped whisk them away.
BLITZER: So when this happened, the normal reaction -- most people, they hear an explosion, they assume a suicide bombing, they'd want to run away as fast as they could. What you're saying is instead of running away, people were running to the scene?
BELLINI: Some were, although the way this market was laid out, you had to go out one direction or another. And I think people who were closest to that side just wanted to get out because you're in this really confined area and I think that's what scared a lot of people. They just wanted to get away.
BLITZER: And how long did you wind up staying there before you left?
BELLINI: I stayed for about half an hour, and at that point, a number of other CNN journalists had arrived. Sheila MacVicar took over and gathered the information as it was becoming available on the death count, and I headed back to the bureau with our video.
BLITZER: You're a lucky man, Jason Bellini. You feeling all right? You OK?
BELLINI: I'm doing all right.
BLITZER: You're calmed down?
BELLINI: Now I am.
BLITZER: Thank you. Thanks for that report.
BELLINI: You're welcome.
BLITZER: The horror that occurred here in Jerusalem is not the only horror that's going on. There has been horror elsewhere. Palestinians accuse Israeli soldiers of engaging in a massacre in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin. Our Rula Amin is on the scene. She has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RULA AMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In addition to the loss of life at Jenin refugee camp, there is also a lot of destruction. Now today, representatives of three different aid agencies, the United Nations, the World Bank and the Norwegian government have tried go into the camp in order to try to assess the damage, assess the destruction in order to be able to mobilize as much help, as much supplies as soon as possible.
For the second day in a row, they were not allowed in. The Israeli army said it was too dangerous and it was not safe. They could not guarantee the safety of those representatives. Still, those representatives as well as the Red Cross said they are willing to take the risk, that this was part of their job. They are willing to take the risk and go in. Still, they were not allowed in just like the journalists. And the people at the camp are reported to be suffering very much shortage of supplies, water, food as well as medicine. Ambulances are still not allowed to go into the camp.
According to U.N. estimates, there are about 3,000 residents of Jenin refugee camp who have become homeless, and the situation is grave, as U.N. officials would put it, and a lot of concern among those aid agencies.
Rula Amin, CNN, on the outskirts of Jenin refugee camp.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And let's get some Israeli government reaction. Joining me here live in Jerusalem, Daniel Ayalon, the chief foreign policy adviser to the prime minister, Ariel Sharon. We're going to get to the postponement of the Powell/Arafat meeting in a moment. But first of all, you've heard the allegations. Your troops supposedly engaged in a massacre, Saeb Erakat claiming 500 Palestinians killed in Jenin.
DANIEL AYALON, SENIOR SHARON ADVISER: These are lies and incitement, Wolf. We lost 23 soldiers in Jenin in a very fierce -- in the fiercest battle in the territories. It was a real war there. It's a center of terror and we had to fight to get them out.
BLITZER: How many Palestinians do you believe were killed in Jenin during this battle?
AYALON: I don't have the number, but we clearly were engaging in fierce battle. We were shooting only at terrorists who were booby- trapping every corner, every house. Sometimes they may have been using some human shields, civilians as human shields. But the fight was very fierce. And the fact is that we lost many of our men there.
BLITZER: But you know the accusations that international humanitarian workers, the international news media. Your troops are preventing anyone from going into Jenin to get an independent eyewitness account.
AYALON: Well, Wolf, this is a war zone. Everything is booby- trapped there. We have to take care of it before we can let anybody in. But the fact is that we see another propaganda, lies of the Palestinians which is a scheme of inciting the whole Arab world and indeed world opinion and shying away from their real responsibility for stopping the terror, which they are perpetrating and really moving ahead for peace.
BLITZER: What is your government's reaction to the decision by Secretary Powell to postpone, at least for 24 hours, his meeting with Yasser Arafat in Ramallah?
AYALON: Well, this is clearly an American decision. What we see here is the devastating pattern of Palestinian terror greeting any peace mission. This has happened before with General Zinni here, with Tenet and with others. We have made gestures, but the Palestinians have responded with terror.
BLITZER: Did Prime Minister Sharon encourage the secretary of state not to meet with Arafat?
AYALON: No. This is not our decision. It is clearly an American decision and we do not interfere with the itinerary of the secretary, of course. We do see Arafat as responsible for all the terror. In fact, he is committing all the terror. He is inspiring it. He is inciting for it. He's financing it. We have all the documents to prove it.
BLITZER: But if there's any way for the secretary to emerge from this region with a relatively modest goal of a cease-fire, doesn't he have to meet with the Palestinian leader?
AYALON: Well, this is the dilemma. He is, on the one hand, the Palestinian leader, but he's also a terrorist. This dilemma is not just ours, it should be the dilemma of the Palestinian people.
BLITZER: So you haven't necessarily completely written off Yasser Arafat as a potential partner in negotiations with your government?
AYALON: No, he has written off himself. He is the one who is conducting all the terror. And we, as I said, once we move into the area, we were appalled by the extent and the depth of the infrastructure of terror. We thought all these organizations of security which were supposed to take care of the terror, they were the ones who are also engaging in terror.
And let me tell you one remark and one reservation that I have is that if the Palestinians were concentrating on building a nation, we all would have been far better off. But indeed they were concentrating on destroying a nation, our nation.
BLITZER: So the prime minister gave the secretary no commitment for a complete withdraw from those territories recently reoccupied?
AYALON: No. We're going to withdraw from all of the territories. We have the highest respect to the president of the United States, to the secretary, to the American people. And we have, in fact, started the withdrawal. We have significant withdrawal already done from Tulkarem, from Qalqilya, from 24 other areas, and we will do some more. But we must ensure that terror doesn't bounce back once we withdraw. We have to take care of the -- root out the infrastructure of the terror.
BLITZER: Daniel Ayalon, the chief foreign policy adviser to the prime minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, thanks for joining us.
AYALON: Thank you.
BLITZER: Thank you very much. Following all of these developments back in Washington, the president of the United States. He was at the White House when word of the latest suicide bombing occurred here in Jerusalem. Our White House correspondent, Kelly Wallace, is standing by with all the late developments there -- Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Wolf. The president was, in fact, in the middle of his national security council briefing when an aide handed him a note alerting him to the latest suicide bombing. The president then immediately condemning it, something he is now calming a homicide bombing and saying he will not be deterred from seeking peace.
But, Wolf, U.S. officials saying on this night that this latest attack, complicating what was already going to be a very difficult mission for Secretary Powell.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Ignoring reporters' questions, President Bush heads off to the Camp David presidential retreat while his administration says it is now reassessing the scheduled meeting between Secretary of State Colin Powell and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Senior U.S. officials stress they are looking for action from Arafat.
ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president believes that Yasser Arafat needs to publicly come out and condemn today's attack, that this is terrorism, this is murder, and Yasser Arafat needs to renounce it and renounce it soon.
WALLACE: Complicating the decision, pressure from the Israelis, who say such a meeting would reward terror, since the Al Aqsa Martyr Brigades, linked to Arafat's Fatah organization, claimed responsibility for the bloodshed.
On the other side, pressure from Arab leaders and the Palestinians, who say Arafat deserves Powell's ear. Some analysts say there's more to lose by snubbing the Palestinian leader.
GEOFFREY KEMP, THE NIXON CENTER: It will appear that the secretary of state of the most powerful country the world has ever seen is cutting and running in the wake of terrorism. And that will send a terrible message.
WALLACE: The administration says Arafat has not done enough to crack down on terror. Now U.S. officials say the Israelis have given them document, documents the Israelis say they seized from Arafat's Ramallah headquarters and show Arafat's top aides financed attacks by Palestinian militants. The Israeli military has been showing some of those documents on its Web site.
U.S. officials say they are determining if the documents are authentic, but do say there is broad agreement within the administration that Arafat's top aides or Arafat himself were involved in the purchase of weapons that may have been used in terror attacks. (END VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): And U.S. officials continue to say the president has given Secretary Powell, quote, "maximum flexibility" for his mission. One senior aide telling me the president has great faith in the secretary's judgment. Wolf, the indication is that ultimately, the decision whether or not to meet with Arafat rests with the secretary of state -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Having said that, Kelly, was there any debate as far as you can tell within the White House, within the Bush administration about postponing the meeting with Yasser Arafat?
WALLACE: You know, that is a hard one to answer. We're trying to find that out, Wolf. As you know, some members of this administration, Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in the past have take a harder line when it comes to Yasser Arafat, basically recommending the administration sever ties with the Palestinian leader.
Others in the administration, Secretary Powell to name one, believing that he is the leader of the Palestinian Authority. This administration must work with him in order to get any cease-fire and get the two parties back to the bargaining table. So, unclear if there is major debate going on. But the words of senior officials, ultimately since Secretary Powell is on the ground, that he has the best sense of the situation. So most of the decision will rest with what he decides to do, Wolf.
BLITZER: Kelly Wallace at the White House, thanks for that report.
And Sari Nusseibeh is often seen as a moderate by both Israelis and Palestinians. He has called for co-existence and cooperation. He's a professor of philosophy. He's also the PLO's representative in East Jerusalem. Earlier today, I spoke with Sari Nusseibeh.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Sari Nusseibeh, thanks so much for joining us.
The key question, at least, one of the key questions right now in the aftermath of this suicide bombing in Jerusalem earlier today is whether or not the secretary of state, Colin Powell, will go forward and meet with the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, tomorrow. First of all, do you have any inside information on whether that meeting will go forward?
SARI NUSSEIBEH, PLO REPRESENTATIVE FOR JERUSALEM: I wouldn't call it inside information, but what I know of the situation is that he will probably go ahead with the meeting in any case. And we heard already earlier, President Bush saying that he isn't going to allow these acts of violence to deter him from pursuing the peace process.
BLITZER: Is it your sense though that if the secretary of state for some reason decides not to meet with Yasser Arafat, what would happen, from your perspective?
NUSSEIBEH: Well, I think even assuming hopefully that they will meet, still the path is going to be extremely difficult to try and construct again, a path of negotiations, a path that will take us back into negotiations and back into a peace environment.
But if he doesn't meet with Mr. Arafat, then obviously the difficulty is going to be multiplied 100 times. Indeed I think it would be catastrophic. So I very much hope that the meeting indeed will take place. I very much hope that Mr. Powell will succeed in trying and arranging for a return to the path of negotiations.
BLITZER: It is your sense, Sari Nusseibeh, that the group that claimed responsibility for today's bombing in Jerusalem, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which is affiliated, as you well know, with Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, that they are acting deliberately to torpedo this effort that Powell is undertaking to achieve a cease-fire?
NUSSEIBEH: Well, it's quite possible, of course, that this is the case, that certainly this would be a good excuse for Mr. Sharon to tell Mr. Powell that he's justified in going ahead with his policy of incursions into Palestinian cities and towns.
But on the other hand you must also remember that the person apparently who is associated with this comes from Jenin, which is a city and a camp as you know that has been visited by death. I think one shouldn't really be surprised if things like this continue to happen. I think one should try to do one's best in order to try and calm the situation, try to calm the anger on both sides. I know it's very difficult, but I think it must be done.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Sari Nusseibeh speaking to me earlier today just before word that the secretary of state has postponed for 24 hours his meeting with Yasser Arafat.
And our Web question of the day is this: Should Colin Powell go ahead and still meet with Yasser Arafat? You can vote. Go to my Web page, cnn.com/wolf. While you are there, let me know what you're thinking. There's a "click here" icon right on the left side of the page. That's where you can send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also, by the way, where you can read my daily online column, cnn.com/wolf.
Coming up, terrorism, followed by heroism. A look at the first responders: Israelis and Palestinians who risked their lives on the frontlines of the conflict. Plus:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POWELL: I hope we can find a way to come into agreement on this point of the duration of the operations, and get back to a track that will lead to a political settlement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Just hours after Secretary of State Colin Powell and Prime Minister Sharon spoke of ways to end the violence, a new attack. Will today's bombing take the search for peace off track?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is their attitude with which we have to deal with on a daily basis. All the fantasies from European leaders and where leaders may head, it is entirely cut out from the reality of our lives or these people's lives.
RAHMAN: When your police is under attack, you cannot ask the police to defend Israel and ensure the security of Israel. Mr. Sharon has an agenda. I hope that the United States does not fall into his trap.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Bringing you up-to-date now on a devastating development here in Jerusalem earlier today, a day that began with so much promise as the secretary of state, Colin Powell, opened his talks with Israelis. A female suicide bomber blew herself up at a bus stop in the central part of the city, near a crowded open market. At least six other people were killed, more than 60 others were wounded. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, affiliated with Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, has claimed responsibility.
The meeting took place just after the prime minister, Ariel Sharon, met with the visiting secretary of state Colin Powell, only about two miles from that Mahane Yehuda (ph) market. The Israeli police force was out in force. Immediately after that word came of the explosion, which is always the case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): The rhythms of tragedy, by now, all too familiar. A bomb blast, a rocket attack, or ripping gunfire followed by the churning wail of sirens. For the emergency response teams on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, this is a day at work. Right there with the police and military, these doctors, paramedics and ambulance drivers work the frontlines of the conflict.
HOSSAM SHARKAWI, PALESTINIAN RED CRESCENT: It's not an easy job, at the best of times, and in this context, it's what drives them is essentially their will to save lives.
BLITZER: But on each side, teams deal with elements, physical, political and religious, in order to get to and treat the wounded. The Israeli National Emergency Service, called Magen David Adom, is older than the country itself. Well-trained volunteers speed to the scene, using the most sophisticated equipment, including a new feature: bulletproof ambulances. YONATAN YAGODOVSKY, MAGEN DAVID ADOM, JERUSALEM: The danger is one obstacle, which we overcome it because of the people and their determination. The other obstacle is the stress.
BLITZER: While the medical teams work on the shell-shocked wounded, another group is there for the dead. Volunteers from Hesed Shel Emet (ph), meaning "true acts of kindness", pray over the bodies and collect remains, ensuring the dead are properly honored under Jewish law.
Palestinian emergency teams, working with the Red Crescent Society, often have trouble just reaching the scene, and some ambulance workers have been killed in the war zone. They are sometimes stopped at checkpoints and searched by Israeli troops. The Red Crescent complains the delays have cost lives.
The reason for these checks, say the Israelis, ambulances have been used to ferry weapons and explosives through Israeli checkpoints to Palestinian militants.
JACOB DALLAL, IDF SPOKESMAN: The reason they have to be checked is because there were incidents in which either explosive devices or terrorists themselves were being transported in ambulances.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (on camera): But the Palestine Red Crescent Society adamantly completely denies this Israeli accusation.
Joining us now, someone intimately familiar with the first response, Gil Kleiman. He is the spokesman for the Israeli police. First of all, tell us about -- are you suggesting that the Palestinian Red Crescent Society cooperates with these terrorists?
GIL KLEIMAN, ISRAELI POLICE SPOKESMAN: As far as that's concerned, as far as the Israel police are concerned, that's more of a military matter. I know as far as we have -- the dealings that we've been dealing with, I know that last night we had an ambulance that came through a checkpoint in which a body was being transported from Ramallah to Gaza. And on the body, we suspected it was a suicide vest and it turned out to be not true. So, as far as what the military has been doing, I really can't comment.
BLITZER: So, you personally have never been involved? You've never seen that?
KLEIMAN: No. I deal with all victims. I deal with what we see, what the Israel police, which is, like I said, day-to-day violence and day-to-day suicide attack. We had one this morning. The day started off with a border policeman being killed down in Gaza. From his funeral at 3:30, we went to the suicide incident on Jaffa Road. So this has been a very difficult period for us, over a year and a half.
BLITZER: Now, you were there at the open-air market, the Mahane Yehuda (ph) market. When you got there, what's your immediate responsibility? KLEIMAN: Well, as a spokesman, of course, my responsibility is first to see the scene, get the outlay of the scene, see what's going on. But I'm just a smart part of it. Policemen are responding almost immediately. As far as suicide bombings or any bombings are occurred, the response time is almost -- we get there within a second. That's because we have policemen on the scene. Today, a couple of policemen were wounded at the Mahane Yehuda bombing. The response time is zero. They have targeted mostly civilians. So, immediately with the bomb going off, we have calls flooding our 911.
And, like I said, we get their first and the first cause -- thing that we must do or try to do is save those lives. So even policemen who are slightly trained in paramedic work or medical work, deal immediately with the people who are wounded, that's our first option.
BLITZER: What do you say to frustrated Israelis, who see this operation under way now in the West Bank for two weeks, yet suicide bombings continue?
KLEIMAN: Well, we've said that, we have said that we as Israeli police, we haven't taken a day off in a year and a half. We're dealing with a situation today where even if we catch 99 out of 100 suicide bombers, one suicide bomber that gets in can do, like we saw today, a lot of devastation. So we don't have that luxury of saying OK, someone else is taking care of the problem. We're on the scene. As I said for about a year and a half for mobilization.
Our work assumption is that this is going to go on for some time. We've been at the same level of alertness for the last three weeks, and we'll be at the same level for the next three weeks until this is over. We've seen over 36 suicide bombing incidents since the 22 of January. We don't have that window of time where we can relax. It has to be full press, full-time, knowing that we can't do it 100 percent. We can only give 100 percent effort, and that's what were doing.
BLITZER: And the Israeli police force, as you go about trying to prevent these kinds of suicide bombings, is there anything different you're doing now as opposed to a week or two weeks ago?
KLEIMAN: Well, not one week or two weeks of course, because like I said we've seen a rash of suicide bombers, 35 suicide incidents even since January, since the 22 of January. But it is true that the situation, I mean suicide bombers have been in this country for many years, but the rate we've been seeing them have taught us a lot of things. Unfortunately we're very experienced and we've had our successes. We had a police officer who stopped a shooting attack who died, but on April 1 a young policeman, 18 years old, approached a car and it blew up. So we've had situations where we've succeeded.
Unfortunately, you cannot close down that city 100 percent. You can't hermetically close a city, and put it into a Ziploc bag. It can't be done.
BLITZER: All right. Joe Kleiman, spokesman for the Israeli police. Thank you for joining us. And let us get a view from a first responder from the Palestinian side. Dr. Mustafa Bargouti is president of the Palestinian Medical Relief. He joins us live now on the phone. Dr. Bargouti, thanks for joining us. What are your major problems in dealing with the Palestinian civilian injuries from your end?
DR. MUSTAFA BARGOUTI, PALESTINIAN MEDICAL RELIEF: Many problems. The biggest problem is that the Israeli army is preventing us from reaching the injured. During the last period of time, so many people, hundreds of people died because they were not accessed by our medical teams. Injured people were left to bleed to death. They bled to death literally, including more in the Jenin area because Israel itself admits that they did not allow a single ambulance, a single doctor to arrive and treat the people who are injured.
More than that, we are shocked -- shot at constantly. We have counted 112 attacks on our ambulances during the last 15 days by the Israeli army. I want to remind you that up until now the Israeli army has killed 17 doctors and nurses working with different medical teams. One hundred eighty of them have been injured with high velocity bullets, and with different kinds of bullets.
More than that, we are witnessing a very severe health crisis. A humanitarian crisis created by the Israeli army, which is preventing at the very moment the provision of normal care to ordinary people. Pregnant women are unable to reach hospitals to give birth.
BLITZER: Doctor...
BARGOUTI: And we have patients who need cancer treatment, and they cannot get treatment and kidney dialysis patients.
BLITZER: Dr. Bargouti, I want to read to you a statement that was released by the Israeli army, the IDF. The Israeli Defense Forces, among other things, they said this: Ambulance and medical crew are not being checked and examined thoroughly at IDF check points, and our cynically exploiting the instructions give to soldiers with an emphasis on their behavior toward a civilian population, the ill and the children. The statement goes on to say the protection given to the medical teams will cease when they take part in fighting activity in accordance with their humanitarian role. In other words what the Israeli army is suggesting is that some of your people are cooperating with terrorists.
BARGOUTI: There is no limit to Israeli lies. As I can see Israel has a very sophisticated propaganda, and unfortunately you don't get the truth because we don't have the press coverage that the Israelis have. For instance, today, the suicide bombing was shown on TV for hours while nobody has shown the fact that yesterday the Israeli Apache helicopter bombarded a civilian house in the city of Nablus.
And only an hour ago they managed to take the people out of that house. Eight people from the same family, a father, his son, the wife of his son and three of their children, a woman who is pregnant in her eighth month were killed by an Apache helicopter. Civilians were killed, the propaganda is too sophisticated and it is covering the truth. The truth is that we are the victims. The truth is that Israel is presenting itself as a victim, although we all know that because of the violence is occupation. And what Sharon is doing is expanding occupation.
Sharon is expanding the cancer that has been eating the lives of both people. To me, I think, Mr. Sharon is responsible for the death, not only of Palestinians, but also of Israelis because he's taking us into a bath of violence that's endless. And preventing medical teams from providing medical care to patients who are sick is unacceptable.
BLITZER: Dr. Bargouti, unfortunately we have to leave it right there. Dr. Mustafa Bargouti of the Palestinian Medical Relief. Thank you so much for joining us.
And in just a moment more on the road to peace. Obstacles for the secretary of state. We'll speak with our woman Andrea Koppel. She's covering the secretary's visit. She'll join us live with all the late breaking developments. Stay with us.
In comparative size, Israel is slightly smaller than New Jersey. The West Bank is slightly smaller than Delaware. The Gaza Strip is about twice the size of Washington, D.C.
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BLITZER: Welcome back. It's a little past half past midnight here in Jerusalem. Time for another Middle East "News Alert."
Egypt's foreign minister today became the most senior Arab official to visit Yasser Arafat since Israeli forces confined him to his Ramallah headquarters. According to Egypt's Middle East news agency, the diplomat gave Arafat a message of support from the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak.
In the wake of today's bombing here in Jerusalem, Secretary of State Powell's meeting with Yasser Arafat has been postponed, at least by 24 hours. There is no immediate word if in fact that postponement could go beyond 24 hours.
The U.N. secretary-general, Kofi Annan, says it is time to send an international force into the Middle East. Annan told reporters the situation has grown so dangerous and appalling that intervention no longer can be deferred. He did not specify the nature or the composition of any international force.
A new CNN/"Time" magazine poll conducted before today's bombing indicates most Americans are only mildly optimistic about Secretary Powell's visit to this part of the world. Fifty-two percent predicted it would result in only minor progress; 46 percent of those interviewed said the Palestinians are more responsible for Middle East violence; 20 percent blame the Israelis.
Obviously, it's been a day of ups and downs here for the Secretary of State in Jerusalem. Our state department correspondent, Andrea Koppel, is covering his visit. She has been covering it since day one. She joins us now live from Jerusalem -- Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Wolf. After almost an absence of one year, Secretary Powell's day one back in Jerusalem was suddenly interrupted.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): As if to illustrate the point, Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon fired on Israeli soldiers even as Powell was briefed on the volatile situation by Israeli generals.
The day had already gotten off to a bad start. Following a marathon meeting with Israel's prime minister, Powell walked out empty handed, Prime Minister Sharon defiant, refusing repeated U.S. demands to immediately withdraw Israeli troops from West Bank towns and cities.
SHARON (through translator): Israel is conducting a war against the Palestinian infrastructure of terrorism and it does hope to conclude it shortly.
KOPPEL: But with Palestinian and Arab anger over Israel's continued military occupation growing by the day and no end to this cycle of violence in sight, Powell's plan to pull both sides back from the brink hinges on cooperation.
POWELL: We do understand what terrorism is. As we have responded to terrorism, we know that Israel has a right to respond to terrorism. The question is, how do we get beyond just the response? What is the next step? How do we get past that?
KOPPEL: Within hours, Powell got an answer, but not the one he wanted. Another Palestinian suicide attack in the heart of Jerusalem had dealt another blow to Powell's mission, forcing the U.S. to put Powell's meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on hold.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And, Andrea Koppel, there are suggestions as you well know that the decision by the secretary of state to postpone for 24 hours this meeting with Yasser Arafat is the direct result of that terrorist bombing, the suicide bombing in Jerusalem earlier today. What are you hearing?
KOPPEL: This was a very difficult decision for the Bush team, for Powell's aides and for the secretary himself. They had intended over the strong objections of Israel's prime minister to go forward with this meeting tomorrow, Wolf. They have been hearing for the last weekend, every Arab country that they visited that Powell had to show the world, had to prove to the international community that Israel's attempts to isolate Arafat, to make him irrelevant had not worked, and that that was really a pre-requisite for Arab cooperation in trying to break this deadlock right now.
So, this was not a decision that came easy to the Bush team. But they felt that in light of the terrorist attack and they also put a demand before, a new demand before Yasser Arafat to publicly condemn the terrorist attack. And when he didn't do that, they felt they had no choice but to delay the meeting by at least 24 hours, hoping that between now and Sunday, Yasser Arafat will come out and make these statements, Wolf.
BLITZER: So, Andrea, there is still no definite decision that there will in fact be a meeting on Sunday. That remains up in the air, is that right?
KOPPEL: It absolutely does, Wolf. They're still waiting to see if Yasser Arafat will come out and condemn this terrorist attack. They feel that in light of what happened today, it would be really unseemly for Secretary Powell to travel to Ramallah to meet with Yasser Arafat.
BLITZER: Andrea Koppel reporting live from Jerusalem, thank you very much for that update. And I know Andrea will be covering all of these latebreaking developments in the next hours and days. Thanks, Andrea.
In just a moment, we will check the other news of the day, including the future of a cardinal in Boston.
Also, new allegations of cruelty to the first Taliban American.
And a conversation with Donald Rumsfeld on the challenge of conducting the war against terror.
Also, the painful pictures of today's attack in Jerusalem. But first, our "News Quiz."
Following the 1973 war between Israel and Syria, how many days did Secretary of State Henry Kissinger travel non-stop, conducting the now famous "shuttle diplomacy" negotiations? Was it 10, 18, 26 or 34. The answer coming up.
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BLITZER: Welcome back on this day of more terror here in Jerusalem. There are other developments back in the United States. Let's get a quick check of all of those developments. Here's CNN's Fredricka Whitfield with our "News Alert."
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Wolf. Dozens have been killed in the latest earthquake in Afghanistan. It's in the same region hit by a massive earthquake last month. Officials say three villages in the northern part of the country were devastated by today's quake which had a magnitude of 5.8.
U.S. special forces troops posed for a picture with a blindfolded John Walker Lindh after his capture in Afghanistan. The Pentagon found the snapshot on a defense department computer and it is not amused. One official says taking the picture was just plain stupid, but Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says he has not ordered any investigation. Rumsfeld appears tonight on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE." He talks about the challenges of fighting terror in a free society. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE")
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Free countries have a wonderful advantage, that the energy and vitality that comes from freedom and opportunity is just a great advantage. And as a result, countries that have free political institutions and free economic institutions tend to be the most successful countries on the face of the earth.
They also have a disadvantage. Because we are free, we want an open society and we don't want to spend our time living in basements, and we don't want to spend our time going around carrying weapons and looking around the corner to see if someone is going to throw a hand grenade or blow up the place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: You can see the full interview with Defense Secretary Rumsfeld on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight at 9:00 Eastern.
Boston's beleaguered Cardinal Bernard Law says he will remain on the job. Critics have called for Law's resignation, citing allegations he tried to cover up reported sexual abuse cases involving priests. But in a letter to priests in the Boston archdiocese, the cardinal rejected calls for his departure and said he will continue to serve the Boston archdiocese with, in his words, every fiber of my being.
When we come back, Wolf Blitzer returns with the pictures that tell a horror story.
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BLITZER: Earlier we asked, how many days did Secretary of State Henry Kissinger travel non-stop conducting the now famous "shuttle diplomacy" negotiations? Kissinger traveled 34 days non-stop to broker a disengagement of forces agreement between Syria and Israel in 1974.
Today's picture of the day is one that's become all too familiar to Israelis. Normal everyday patterns of life shattered by an explosion, the wail of sirens. The remarkable developments, the agony emerges as our picture of the day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SIRENS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Terror in this holiest of cities.
Let's go to New York and get a preview of "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE." That begins right at the top of the hour -- Lou.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you very much. Coming up, the lingering effect of that suicide bomb attack today in Jerusalem. The latest violence postponing Colin Powell's meeting with Yasser Arafat and further delaying any prospect for peace. We'll be going live to Jerusalem, of course, to the White House for the very latest.
In Venezuela, the overthrow of the government there means a big impact on the world oil market. We will have a special report for you on the political changes and what they mean for global energy prices.
And the markets today bounce back from yesterday's sell-off. We will have our weekly look behind the numbers on Wall Street. All of that, a lot more, Michael Moore, in point of fact, and his book "Stupid White Men." We will be talking about that with that at the top of the hour. Please join us. Now back to Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Lou.
And our poll is about to close. You only have a couple minutes left to vote. Here is our question of the day. The results of our poll, should Colin Powell still meet with Yasser Arafat? That story plus what some of you believe about Yasser Arafat and Ariel Sharon. Stay with us.
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BLITZER: Welcome back.
Time now for the results of our Web question of the day, should Colin Powell meet with Yasser Arafat? Look at these numbers; 50 percent say yes, 50 percent say no. A reminder, this poll is not scientific.
Time now to get some feedback from you. Ann writes this: "The Palestinian violence skyrocketed when Ariel Sharon entered office. The only solution for peace is for the Israelis to move settlers out of the West Bank. Since this will never happen while Sharon is in power, we can expect a very bloody, long-term guerrilla war.
Raquel asks: "Where is the Palestinian leader's effort to stop the bombings? They have time to speak to the media. Why can't they find time to speak to their own people?"
That's all the time we have for this program. Remember, 8:00 tonight, Bill Hemmer with a live report, "LIVE FROM JERUSALEM", 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 on the West Coast. And this special note, I'll be back tomorrow, 4:00 p.m. Eastern for a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
Until then, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem. "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE" begins right now.
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