CNN is happy to provide the following transcript of Wolf Blitzer's "The Situation Room."
Wolf: Hi, I’m Wolf Blitzer and you are in the Situation Room, where news and information is arriving all the time. Happening Now: The struggle to bring peace to the Middle East. Early last week CNN was informed that the United States State Department took a bold step and informally told several key international players that if Barak Obama is elected President in November, the U.S. will make a big push toward resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. In response, conferences where held throughout the world over the past few days as crucial actors in the peace process discussed strategy in preparation for possible peace talks. CNN’s news team was able to cover these conferences. I go now to a CNN correspondent in Tel Aviv.
Correspondent: Thanks Wolf. Last week in Tel Aviv, several prominent Israelis led by Acting Prime Minister Livni discussed the possibility of a two-state solution. In general, the proposal garnered much support; however, an extreme right leader of the settler movement and the leader of the Likud party needed convincing on the merits of a proposal. There was also a lot of concern regarding the possibility of an independent Palestine become too friendly with Iran. Back to you Wolf.
Wolf: Thank you! It is certainly a bright spot in this terrible conflict that Israel seems willing to make the necessary concessions to bring peace to the region. I think Acting Prime Minister Livni deserves a lot of credit for bringing together several different factions within Israel all with diverse interests in gathering support for a two-state solution. We go now to our correspondent in Nablus.
Correspondent: Thanks, Wolf. In Nablus, Mamouhd Abbas led a meeting between several prominent Palestinians, in which they enumerated a list of demands to bring to the peace conference. The list was long and detailed. It included the unconditional right of return for Palestinian refugees, the reestablishment of pre-1967 borders, Palestinian control over East Jerusalem, and the dismantling of all Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Back to you Wolf.
Wolf: Thank you very much. It seems to me that the Palestinian Authority it taking a hard line here. If they are unwilling to compromise on issue such as control over East Jerusalem, while simultaneously demanding that all Jews be removed from the West Bank, I do not see this peace process going very far. I guess only time will tell if the Palestinian Authority will be willing to budge on some of their initial demands. For now, we go to another CNN correspondent in Switzerland.
Correspondent: Thank you, Wolf. In Switzerland, several nations discussed their role and that of the United States in negotiating peace in the Middle East. Russia and China both were vocal about the need for a Palestinian State. Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey told CNN that Turkey supports a two state solution and realizes that the U.S. needs to play a prominent role in upholding the peace process. However, a representative from Russia seemed weary of the U.S. playing too large a role in the region.
Wolf: Thanks for that report. One thing is for certain: if peace is going to be achieved in the Middle East, the international community is going to have to be active in the peace process. In fact, we have another correspondent in Doha with an update on a conference between several major Arab nations.
Correspondent: That’s right, Wolf. In a meeting in Doha, leaders from several prominent Arab nations discussed strategy to resolve the conflict, and demands that should come from the Arab World. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon all voiced support for a 2-state solution. I talked to King Abdullah II in more detail. He called on Israel to dismantle settlements in the West Bank, calling the settlements “detrimental to the peace process.” King Abdullah II also denounced suicide bombings and urged the U.S. to play a large role in the peace process, stating that the process “needs the Western push, and the Western spotlight.” Meanwhile, a representative from Lebanon discussed ways to mitigate Hezbollah’s possible disturbance of the peace process.
Wolf: Thank you. I think that King Abdullah II is not alone in his opinion that the United States needs to play a large role in the peace processes. The Arab nations need not forget, however, that they too have a large part to play. Without acknowledging Isarel’s right to exist peacefully and without condemning terrorism against Israel, there will be little progress in the peace movement. Finally, we now go to a CNN correspondent who was able to sit in on a conference between Barak Obama and several prominent U.S. interest groups.
Correspondent: Back in the United States, Senator Barak Obama met with several interest groups to discuss the U.S.’ role in the peace process. In his usual idealistic tone, Obama stated the need to move “aggressively forward toward peace.” Obama seemed confident that a two-state solution would garner enough support. Jeremy Ben-Ami, leader of J-street, a pro-peace Israeli lobby group, agreed with Senator Obama. Howard Friedman, of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, voiced a slightly different version of the two-state solution than Obama and Ben-Ami. Freidman was adamant that Israel should not surrender land until Palestine renounces violence, cuts ties with Iran, and acknowledges Israel’s rightful claim to Jerusalem. J-Street then accused AIPAC of “keeping the peace process from continuing.” It seems that things are heating up between the different Israeli lobbies in the United States.
Wolf: Thank you. I have to wonder if J-street seems too eager to grant Israeli concessions while neglecting what is in Israel’s best interest. AIPAC has served both American and Israeli causes for decades. For Ben-Ami to accuse Freidman of holding up the peace process is a bold statement. It seems that Freidman is not stalling the peace process; rather, he is simply making sure that the process unfolds in a manner that is acceptable to Israel and its people. Either way, it seems that the Israeli government is ready to offer a two-state solution to the Palestinians. Hopefully, the other side is willing to negotiate in good faith over some of the more controversial issues to come. Meanwhile, a CNN correspondent traveling in Paris reports being approached by a strange traveler and handed a note with the following words: “CNN, Justice is Coming, All the Jews will die, The West will Fall! We are Coming! Signed, Islamic Jihad and Al-Queda.” Scary stuff! Its time for a commercial break. I’m Wolf Blitzer and you are in The Situation Room. Happening after the break: do people who own dogs actually have a greater change of being struck by lightning?
Good Evening thank you for joining us I am Ghida Fakry, The Palestinian leadership are meeting today to discuss the up coming peace process and what their demands are in this process, our Gaza correspondent Nour Odeh was able to listen in on the talks.
Ghida: I understand you were not invited in for these talks?
Nour: Yes Ghida, although I was not invited I was able to listen in from the back with out much notice and listen in on the demands for the upcoming peace process.
Ghida: Nour, can you tell us who is at this meeting there today?
Nour: Yes Ghida, I am now standing outside of a bomb shelter in Nablus where Palestinian leadership is meeting on what they expect of the peace process, members of Fatah and the Palestinian Opposition Party are making demands.
Ghida: Nour what is the list of demands that they are asking for?
Nour: They expect full autonomy to the West Bank and Gaza strip as well as east Jerusalem as their capital and the right of return for the refugees, borders to be restored to 1967 outlines and Jewish settlements to be removed from Palestinian settlements.
Ghida; These are a list of demands that they are taking to the upcoming peace talks, from what you gathered Nour, How great are the chances that Arab leaders will make an effective case due to processes that had failure in the past. What will be different this time around?
Nour: Ghida The Fatah and Palestinian Opposition Authority agree to weapon inspections in return for aid. They also expect Israel to be accountable as they ask for bi lateral treaties be signed between Arab nations to give some security to the demands of the Fattah and the opposing party.
Ghida. If Israel is not held accountable did they say how that would affect their demands for the upcoming peace process?
Nour: Yes they say that any unaccountability would be a huge impediment to the peace process.
Ghida: Thank you Nour, for that update in Nablus.
Ghida: When we come back we will go to Correspondent in Davos Switzerland where Global Players, UK, Russia, France, China, Turkey and Iran had talks to discuss their roles for the upcoming peace process. This is Ghilda Fakry Al Jazeera.
3 comments:
Looks like CNN is too busy with the elections to report on the Mideast conferences.
CNN is happy to provide the following transcript of Wolf Blitzer's "The Situation Room."
Wolf: Hi, I’m Wolf Blitzer and you are in the Situation Room, where news and information is arriving all the time. Happening Now: The struggle to bring peace to the Middle East.
Early last week CNN was informed that the United States State Department took a bold step and informally told several key international players that if Barak Obama is elected President in November, the U.S. will make a big push toward resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict.
In response, conferences where held throughout the world over the past few days as crucial actors in the peace process discussed strategy in preparation for possible peace talks. CNN’s news team was able to cover these conferences. I go now to a CNN correspondent in Tel Aviv.
Correspondent: Thanks Wolf. Last week in Tel Aviv, several prominent Israelis led by Acting Prime Minister Livni discussed the possibility of a two-state solution. In general, the proposal garnered much support; however, an extreme right leader of the settler movement and the leader of the Likud party needed convincing on the merits of a proposal. There was also a lot of concern regarding the possibility of an independent Palestine become too friendly with Iran. Back to you Wolf.
Wolf: Thank you! It is certainly a bright spot in this terrible conflict that Israel seems willing to make the necessary concessions to bring peace to the region. I think Acting Prime Minister Livni deserves a lot of credit for bringing together several different factions within Israel all with diverse interests in gathering support for a two-state solution. We go now to our correspondent in Nablus.
Correspondent: Thanks, Wolf. In Nablus, Mamouhd Abbas led a meeting between several prominent Palestinians, in which they enumerated a list of demands to bring to the peace conference. The list was long and detailed. It included the unconditional right of return for Palestinian refugees, the reestablishment of pre-1967 borders, Palestinian control over East Jerusalem, and the dismantling of all Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Back to you Wolf.
Wolf: Thank you very much. It seems to me that the Palestinian Authority it taking a hard line here. If they are unwilling to compromise on issue such as control over East Jerusalem, while simultaneously demanding that all Jews be removed from the West Bank, I do not see this peace process going very far. I guess only time will tell if the Palestinian Authority will be willing to budge on some of their initial demands. For now, we go to another CNN correspondent in Switzerland.
Correspondent: Thank you, Wolf. In Switzerland, several nations discussed their role and that of the United States in negotiating peace in the Middle East. Russia and China both were vocal about the need for a Palestinian State. Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey told CNN that Turkey supports a two state solution and realizes that the U.S. needs to play a prominent role in upholding the peace process. However, a representative from Russia seemed weary of the U.S. playing too large a role in the region.
Wolf: Thanks for that report. One thing is for certain: if peace is going to be achieved in the Middle East, the international community is going to have to be active in the peace process. In fact, we have another correspondent in Doha with an update on a conference between several major Arab nations.
Correspondent: That’s right, Wolf. In a meeting in Doha, leaders from several prominent Arab nations discussed strategy to resolve the conflict, and demands that should come from the Arab World. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon all voiced support for a 2-state solution. I talked to King Abdullah II in more detail. He called on Israel to dismantle settlements in the West Bank, calling the settlements “detrimental to the peace process.” King Abdullah II also denounced suicide bombings and urged the U.S. to play a large role in the peace process, stating that the process “needs the Western push, and the Western spotlight.” Meanwhile, a representative from Lebanon discussed ways to mitigate Hezbollah’s possible disturbance of the peace process.
Wolf: Thank you. I think that King Abdullah II is not alone in his opinion that the United States needs to play a large role in the peace processes. The Arab nations need not forget, however, that they too have a large part to play. Without acknowledging Isarel’s right to exist peacefully and without condemning terrorism against Israel, there will be little progress in the peace movement. Finally, we now go to a CNN correspondent who was able to sit in on a conference between Barak Obama and several prominent U.S. interest groups.
Correspondent: Back in the United States, Senator Barak Obama met with several interest groups to discuss the U.S.’ role in the peace process. In his usual idealistic tone, Obama stated the need to move “aggressively forward toward peace.” Obama seemed confident that a two-state solution would garner enough support. Jeremy Ben-Ami, leader of J-street, a pro-peace Israeli lobby group, agreed with Senator Obama. Howard Friedman, of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, voiced a slightly different version of the two-state solution than Obama and Ben-Ami. Freidman was adamant that Israel should not surrender land until Palestine renounces violence, cuts ties with Iran, and acknowledges Israel’s rightful claim to Jerusalem. J-Street then accused AIPAC of “keeping the peace process from continuing.” It seems that things are heating up between the different Israeli lobbies in the United States.
Wolf: Thank you. I have to wonder if J-street seems too eager to grant Israeli concessions while neglecting what is in Israel’s best interest. AIPAC has served both American and Israeli causes for decades. For Ben-Ami to accuse Freidman of holding up the peace process is a bold statement. It seems that Freidman is not stalling the peace process; rather, he is simply making sure that the process unfolds in a manner that is acceptable to Israel and its people.
Either way, it seems that the Israeli government is ready to offer a two-state solution to the Palestinians. Hopefully, the other side is willing to negotiate in good faith over some of the more controversial issues to come.
Meanwhile, a CNN correspondent traveling in Paris reports being approached by a strange traveler and handed a note with the following words: “CNN, Justice is Coming, All the Jews will die, The West will Fall! We are Coming! Signed, Islamic Jihad and Al-Queda.” Scary stuff!
Its time for a commercial break. I’m Wolf Blitzer and you are in The Situation Room. Happening after the break: do people who own dogs actually have a greater change of being struck by lightning?
Good Evening thank you for joining us I am Ghida Fakry, The Palestinian leadership are meeting today to discuss the up coming peace process and what their demands are in this process, our Gaza correspondent Nour Odeh was able to listen in on the talks.
Ghida: I understand you were not invited in for these talks?
Nour: Yes Ghida, although I was not invited I was able to listen in from the back with out much notice and listen in on the demands for the upcoming peace process.
Ghida: Nour, can you tell us who is at this meeting there today?
Nour: Yes Ghida, I am now standing outside of a bomb shelter in Nablus where Palestinian leadership is meeting on what they expect of the peace process, members of Fatah and the Palestinian Opposition Party are making demands.
Ghida: Nour what is the list of demands that they are asking for?
Nour: They expect full autonomy to the West Bank and Gaza strip as well as east Jerusalem as their capital and the right of return for the refugees, borders to be restored to 1967 outlines and Jewish settlements to be removed from Palestinian settlements.
Ghida; These are a list of demands that they are taking to the upcoming peace talks, from what you gathered Nour, How great are the chances that Arab leaders will make an effective case due to processes that had failure in the past. What will be different this time around?
Nour: Ghida The Fatah and Palestinian Opposition Authority agree to weapon inspections in return for aid. They also expect Israel to be accountable as they ask for bi lateral treaties be signed between Arab nations to give some security to the demands of the Fattah and the opposing party.
Ghida. If Israel is not held accountable did they say how that would affect their demands for the upcoming peace process?
Nour: Yes they say that any unaccountability would be a huge impediment to the peace process.
Ghida: Thank you Nour, for that update in Nablus.
Ghida: When we come back we will go to Correspondent in Davos Switzerland where Global Players, UK, Russia, France, China, Turkey and Iran had talks to discuss their roles for the upcoming peace process. This is Ghilda Fakry Al Jazeera.
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