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October 7, 1997NEWSHOUR TRANSCRIPT |
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On October 6, Israel released the imprisoned and ailing founder of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. The move follows an alleged assassination attempt by Mossad agents an Hamas official in Jordan. Over the weekend, there were calls in the Israeli press for Prime Minister Netanyahu's resignation. Following a background report on recent events, Margaret Warner leads a debate between Dore Gold, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, and Ehud Sprinzak, professor of political science at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
A RealAudio version of of this segment is available.
NEWSHOUR LINKS:
September 12, 1997:
Albright admits failure to mediate peace in the Middle East.
September 9, 1997:
Jim Lehrer discusses former American secretaries of state in light of Madeleine Albright's trip to the Middle East.
September 4, 1997:
Suicide bombs in West Jerusalem put the peace process in jeopardy.
July 30, 1997:
A Dore Gold participates in a panel discussion on the state of Israeli/Palestinian peace following a series of Hamas suicide bombs.
April 4, 1997:
Middle East Forum: Mohammed Halaj and Amos Perlmutter answer your questions.
February 13, 1997:
Charles Krause discusses Clinton and Netanyahu's meeting with Dore Gold, foreign policy aide to Netanyahu.
Browse the NewsHour's coverage of the Middle-East.
OUTSIDE LINKS
The United States and the Search for Peace in the Middle East
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Jerusalem Post
MARGARET WARNER: Major furor has erupted inside Israel over an attempted assassination in Jordan. The target was this man--Khaled Mashaal, a leader of the militant Islamic movement, Hamas. On September 25, in Amman, Jordan, two men carrying Canadian passports attacked Mashaal attacked with some kind of poison-injecting instrument. Once apprehended, his attackers were widely identified as agents of Mossad, Israel's intelligence service.
The news became public last week when Israel--responding to the demands of an infuriated King Hussein of Jordan, released the imprisoned founder of Hamas, the ailing 61-year-old Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Earlier, King Hussein had also demanded that the Israeli government provide the antidote that saved Mashaal's life. Yesterday, Yassin returned to Gaza to a hero's welcome. In addition, Israel released about 20 other Palestinians from Israeli jails, and reportedly promised to release 50 more in return. Israel won the return of their two Mossad agents. Over the weekend there were calls in the Israeli press for Netanyahu's resignation. But on Sunday the prime minister's cabinet stood behind him. Yesterday Netanyahu spoke publicly for the first time about the affair. He appointed a commission to investigate the incident. But he vigorously defended the way Israel has conducted its fight against terrorism.
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: In recent moths we witnessed two suicide bombings in Jerusalem. Hundred of our citizens were wounded and 21 Israeli men, women, and children. Small children were murdered. It was a tragedy. It was an outrage; as prime minister it is my responsibility to do everything in my power to fight this terrorist evil. We operate with a clear idea and a clear convict that we cannot give in to terrorists and that we must fight it, fight its infrastructure, fight its leadership and its operatives.
MARGARET WARNER: Now for more we turn to Dore Gold, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations. Previously he served as Prime Minister Netanyahu's chief foreign policy adviser. And Ehud Sprinzak, professor of political science at Hebrew University in Jerusalem who's written extensively about terrorism in Israel, among other things. He's currently a senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington. Professor was this assassination attempt a good idea as the prime minister said, the right thing for the right reason?
"It was a terrible idea. It was a terrible decision."
EHUD SPRINZAK, Hebrew University: It was a terrible idea. It was a miserable decision. It lacked thinking and you have to judge by the results, but the point is that many of these things should have been seen in advance. You don't succeed in every attack. And then the question is what comes next. It was not difficult to see what happens if this is a failure, and this, indeed, was a failure. The only victor in this campaign is Hamas, exactly the opposite of what Mr. Netanyahu wanted to achieve, exactly the opposite of Mr. Arafat, troubles for Jordan, this was a very, very poor decision.
MARGARET WARNER: Mr. Ambassador, respond to the overall point, a terrible idea, poorly conceived.
DORE GOLD, U.N. Ambassador, Israel: Prime ministers of Israel have the responsibility to defend the people of Israel. As Prime Minister Netanyahu stated just a few minutes ago, we have had a situation where innocent Israelis have been repeatedly killed, attacked through a series of bombings in the heart of our cities, in Jerusalem most recently but of course in the past years in Tel Aviv, in fact, in all Israeli cities. The prime minister must do what is necessary to protect the people of Israel. We're not going to sit with our hands down. We have to do what is necessary.
Now we're not going into details about what exactly happened in Jordan, but we are enunciating a very clear principle: terrorists all over the world have no safe havens. In the 1970's, in 1972, 11 Israelis were killed in the Munich Olympics, and the Prime Minister Golda Meir knew what had to be done to protect the Israelis from more terrorism from black September. She took courageous decisions. Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin faced a spate of terrorist attacks from Hamas. He also had to take special actions sometimes overseas, sometimes in the areas around Israel, itself. Prime Minister Netanyahu is equal committed as his predecessors, Golda Meir and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, to defend the people of Israel. We cannot be in a situation where we are repeatedly facing massive terrorist bombings in the heart of our cities, and we say we won't do anything.
"Is assassination a legitimate tool in the fight against terrorism?"
MARGARET WARNER: What about the point that an assassination like this might be a legitimate tool in the fight against terrorism, do you disagree with that point?
EHUD SPRINZAK: I am talking about prudence not about morality. Not a single Israeli citizen is today better secured from Hamas than two weeks ago. On the contrary, it played right to the hands of the Hamas. The issue is not whether or not Israel has the right to do it but how you do it. Mr. Netanyahu is--in the 70's forgot that he is now the prime minister--h
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