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CNN LIVE SATURDAY
Interview With Ramesh Ratnesar
Aired September 6, 2003 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KELLI ARENA, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Matthew Chance has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the scene in Gaza, eyewitnesses say Hamas' spiritual leader Sheikh Yassin narrowly escaped what Israeli officials confirm was a strike at the Hamas leadership. The sheikh, who is a quadriplegic, was slightly wounded, but was carried to safety by his bodyguards. Thousands turned out on the streets in his support.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): These will prove that the assassination policy will not finish the Hamas. Hamas leaders wish to be martyrs and they're not scared of death. Jihad will continue, and the resistance will continue until we have victory, or we will be martyrs.
CHANCE: In the West Bank town of Ramallah, the future of the U.S.-backed road map was plunged into further uncertainty, with the resignation of Mahmoud Abbas as prime minister. Palestinian officials say their president, Yasser Arafat, has accepted the resignation, but it's not clear the decision is final.
SAEB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: President Arafat may accept the resignation of Mahmoud Abbas, and then ask Mr. Abbas to form a new cabinet. This is an option, and I am not saying that this is an unlikely option. I think this is a strong option.
CHANCE: Tensions between the two leaders have intensified in recent months, with Mahmoud Abbas being sharply criticized by President Arafat and his followers, for his handling of the negotiations with Israel.
But there has also been resistance to the transfer of sweeping powers to the prime minister from the Palestinian Authority president, who Israel and Washington regard as a spoiler of peace hopes.
GIDEON MEIR, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY: It was Yasser Arafat, who constantly day in and day out undermined the Palestinian prime minister. This is an internal Palestinian issue, and the Palestinian people must make up their mind, who do they support, do they support the forces of peace, or do they support the continuity of terrorism?
CHANCE: Intensive negotiations over the coming days and weeks may decide if this damaging Palestinian crisis will be healed. (on camera): This resignation has blown wide open the divisions that have paralyzed the leadership of the Palestinian Authority. Now, Yasser Arafat must decide whether he is willing to give his own prime minister more powers, or face the prospect or greater isolation, as a man with whom Israel says it will not deal.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Ramallah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: Well, joining me now to discuss today's dramatic developments in the Middle East and whether this could signal the end of the road map for peace is Ramesh Ratnesar, a reporter for "Time" magazine. He's with us by phone from New York.
Thanks for joining us.
RAMESH RATNESAR, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Thank you.
ARENA: Do you think that there is any chance that Abbas will change his mind?
RATNESAR: Well, what we're hearing from our sources over there is that he's very reluctant to change his mind. He's quite bitter at Chairman Arafat for what he believes is a campaign by Arafat to undermine his powers and make it impossible for him to do his job. He gave every indication when he stepped down today that he was determined to do this, and that he really had no interest in coming back. There is always a possibility with enough pressure that he may come back in some circumstances, but it doesn't look particularly hopeful right now.
ARENA: What does this mean for Yasser Arafat? I don't know if you heard Matthew Chance's report just earlier, predicting that this could even further isolate him.
RATNESAR: Well, I think there is that possibility. I think as far as the U.S. and Israeli governments are concerned, this is a crisis that has not reflected well on Arafat. On the other hand, this has put him in a very strong position in a lot of ways, politically, in the Palestinian political arena. He has removed a rival to his power. He has sort of consolidated control. He now has really the authority to form a new government, appoint a new prime minister who would be more in keeping with his positions, and in some ways it's put him in a much more central role than he was certainly a few months ago.
ARENA: Is there somebody who you see as a possible replacement, someone who fits that bill, that the U.S. might be willing to deal with?
RATNESAR: Well, I don't think we're at that point right now where people are seriously looking at other candidates. Nabil Shaath's name has come up. He's the current foreign minister. The current speaker of the Palestinian Parliament has been mentioned as a possible successor or a possible prime minister. But I think the American position right now is just to sort of wait and see, try to sort out what happened, try to see whether Abu Mazen can be coaxed to cooperate with Arafat, is willing to work with him again, but right now the atmosphere is very poisoned, I think, in sort of the Palestinian political establishment.
ARENA: So what can the administration, the U.S. administration and its road map partners do during this transition to keep the road map alive?
RATNESAR: Well, I think there needs to be just continued vigilance in the area, just an effort to work with those people on both sides of the conflict who are interested in reaching some sort of agreement, because the basics, everyone knows of what the ultimate agreement and the ultimate settlement of the conflict will be are there and are known. So if the administration is serious about this, I think they need to continue to show that this is a priority, it hasn't been sidetracked by what's going on in Iraq, that their attention is still very much on this, and I think there needs to be pressure placed both on the Palestinian leadership that exists even without Abu Mazen, to crack down, continue cracking down on the militant groups, and also on the Israeli leadership, to show restraint in dealing with the Palestinian Authority, because we know that in - when the Israelis have gone too far or used excessive force, the results have been catastrophic in terms of the retaliation by Palestinian groups. So I think that's the only option right now for the U.S. administration.
ARENA: All right, well, Ramesh Ratnesar, we thank you so much for joining us. He's with "Time" magazine. Take care.
RATNESAR: Thanks.
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