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Mike Hanna: Sharon holds off far right

CNN's Mike Hanna
CNN's Mike Hanna

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CNN's Mike Hanna says Israel's government is weighing its response to an ambush in Hebron that left 12 soldiers and police dead (November 17)
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JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Sunday resisted right-wing pressure to take direct action against Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the wake of Friday's deadly ambush on a group of Israelis in the West Bank City of Hebron.

CNN Jerusalem Bureau Chief Mike Hanna spoke to CNN Anchor Miles O'Brien about the debate within Sharon's Cabinet, which had its weekly meeting Sunday.

HANNA: Well, Miles, the Israeli Cabinet meeting has just concluded. That is a regular meeting held every Sunday. [There was] much debate about that attack in Hebron on Friday night, but no firm decisions [were] taken, according to Cabinet sources. There was a degree of argument about what should happen next, according to these sources.

That attack in Hebron on Friday evening claimed 12 Israeli lives. Among them [were] border police officers, soldiers and three armed militia from the nearby settlement of Kiryat Arba. Three Palestinian militants were also killed as Israeli forces responded to that attack.

The Islamic Jihad movement claimed responsibility for the attack in Hebron, and they have borne the brunt of the Israeli military response.

Israeli forces have moved back into large areas of the divided West Bank city. A number of homes in Hebron have been destroyed. The Israel Defense Forces says these homes belong to those affiliated with the Islamic Jihad movement.

Elsewhere, Israeli operations [are] continuing in the West Bank and particularly in the West Bank city of Nablus. However, the focus of attention, according to the Israeli military, is Hebron, and says the Israeli military, they will continue the operations there until they have rooted out what they call all the elements of terrorist cells operating in that divided city.

O'BRIEN: Mike, the Israeli foreign minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says the agreement he signed when he was prime minister to create a power-sharing or divided control of Hebron is now null and void. What does that mean?

HANNA: Well, it's not clear what that means. Certainly, as far as practice is concerned, it is because Israeli forces have completely reoccupied that city. The deal that was met -- reached when Netanyahu was prime minister back in '97 --clearly [is] not in operation at all.

But the Israeli government and Sharon in particular is not ready to absolutely deny that all past agreements are null and void. This [is] very much seen by those supporting Sharon within the Likud movement as part of Benjamin Netanyahu's election campaign -- that is toward the end of the month very important primaries held in Likud in which Netanyahu will be coming up against Sharon for the leadership of that party, leading to Israeli elections next year.

So there have been several very hawkish statements from Netanyahu on that issue, also on the issue of expelling Yasser Arafat, which Sharon refuses to do at this stage. Netanyahu says that should be done.

So within the tragedy and the incidents of what happened in Hebron, very much politicking [is] emerging out of it and in particular relating to the ongoing rivalry between Sharon and Netanyahu.

O'BRIEN: It's interesting, Mike, because what you're seeing is Sharon being pushed to the right, of all places.

HANNA: Well, there are those who are attempting to put him to the right, but Ariel Sharon has been pretty consistent in terms of what his position is with regard to the Palestinian situation and with regard to attacks against the Israelis from Palestinian militants.

Sharon says that he has assured the United States, for example, that there will be no action taken against Yasser Arafat personally. He says he is not going to go back on this assurance at this stage. He has also assured the United States that Israel will maintain its present government policy and that the shift to the right within the members of the government is not going to influence the policy that he has outlined over recent months and through the months that he has been in power as prime minister.

So Sharon at this stage [is] holding to his position, resisting attempts from the extreme right, some of whom are members of his new Cabinet, to take stringent action, even more stringent action against Palestinians or even perhaps to take action against Arafat personally. Sharon at this stage simply [is] refusing to budge on these issues.

O'BRIEN: This has got to be something that concerns the U.S. administration greatly as it contemplates some sort of action in Iraq. I presume that it has been stated overtly or quietly or however that it would be in the interest of the United States if Israel would come up with a way to calm things down. It seems like just the contrary is occurring.

HANNA: Well, very much so. [T]here have been several messages being exchanged on a consistent basis between the Sharon government and the U.S. administration.

The U.S. obviously wants the situation as regards Israelis and Palestinians to be as quiet, as calm as possible, given the fact that there has been 25 months of incessant conflict, because any major outbreak of violence between Palestinians and Israelis -- each of them does have an impact on whatever plans and whatever designs the U.S. has in Iraq.

So, very much so: There has been constant interchange between Israel and the U.S. Ariel Sharon [is] continuing to say that he will do all that is possible to satisfy these U.S. requests. They're posed as requests rather than as demands, but there are those within the Sharon government, to the right, extreme right of Sharon, who are saying that Israeli security comes first, and whatever assurances are given to the U.S. must be counterweighed by the fact that Israelis continue to die in Palestinian attacks.

So Sharon [is] very much caught between some of his own constituents, those on the right of the Likud party, and demands of the United States. But at this stage ... as I said, he does seem to be holding a pretty consistent line -- refusing to budge and refusing to meet those demands from the right to take even more stringent actions against Palestinians, which would not be advantageous as far as United States is concerned.



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