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Connect the World
Israeli-Palestinian Ceasefire Agreements Falls Apart Before It Began; Iraq Parliament Elects Speaker: One Square Meter: Hong Kong Warehouse Conversion
Aired July 15, 2014 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: So much for any ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. One side never stopped shooting while the other is firing once
again after a brief pause. I'm Becky Anderson. This is Connect the World live from Jerusalem.
Coming up this hour, we'll examine exactly what is holding Hamas back from ceasefire talks.
And we'll explore the risks between its political and military arms.
Also ahead, Iraq's new parliament finally makes some progress. Leaders have chosen a new speaker, but can they really band together before
ISIS bears down on Baghdad?
And what would any nuclear deal look like with Iran? We're going to take a closer look at the question as world powers haggle over details
ahead of what is a key deadline.
Well, the deadly barrage of air strikes has resumed in Gaza dashing hopes of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. CNN witnessed several IDF
air strikes over Gaza City just hours after Israel accepted an Egyptian backed truce. That was about nine hours ago local time.
The IDF says it resumed operations some couple of hours ago, because Hamas refused to stop its rocket attacks on Israel.
Well, the IDF estimates Hamas launched nearly 50 rockets during the attempted ceasefire. So far, the conflict has killed more than 190 people
in Gaza and wounded some 1,400 more. And the UN says civilians are bearing the brunt of the offensive.
Let's get to our reporters on the ground in Israel and in Gaza. Ben Wedeman is in Gaza City. Diana, though, is in Ashkalon for us on the other
side of the border.
Diana, what are you seeing and hearing at this point?
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORREPSONDENT: Well, the citizens of Ashkalon are quite used to constant rocket fire, not as constant as it has
been for the last week, but they certainly are close enough to Gaza to get a constant stream, really, over the weeks and months. And they want that
to stop.
And over the course of that six hour one-sided ceasefire, really, plenty of rockets came over. And in the last nine hours, the siren has
gone three or four times, people rushing for cover, coming back and saying we simply can't go on like this, it's not OK to live under this kind of
bombardment. Our government has to do something to keep us safe.
And that is very much been the position of people in the south of Israel who face the threat of rocket fire on a sort of regular basis.
Here's what one girl I spoke to had to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like the war will continue until we know that their bombs are gone like we -- until we destroyed all their bombs.
MAGNAY: So you would have been happy to have seen the army go in?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. No, no, no. I don't want that, because we're going to lose some soldiers. They are young. I want -- I don't like
to have a war, but still it's not a normal situation. I think the government needs to give them land. We need our own lands. They need
their own land. And that's the situation, the solution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MAGNAY: if only it were as easy as that, Becky.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, clearly faces a dilemma as to whether to send in ground troops now. He said that he's going to expand
his operation given the failure of this ceasefire. He's getting attacked from the right within his cabinet, his own foreign minister basically wants
the IDF to go and take control of Gaza fully. And yet you have the risk, or what he risks, i.e. the fact that public opinion could turn against him
if soldiers start to die in Gaza, if Hamas were to get their hands on an Israeli soldier. We saw that with Gilad Shalit. That is exactly the kind
of thing that Hamas hopes that they could do, kid nap a soldier and then use him as a bargaining chip to get what they want.
And there are manifold risks of sending in the troops, but clearly this aerial bombardment, first of all, can't go on forever, and secondly
risks really alienating the support of the international community and an ever growing civilian death count in Gaza, Becky.
ANDERSON: Diana is in Ashkalon for you.
Let's get to Gaza and pick that stream of consciousness up with Ben, as it were.
Look, clearly Benjamin Netanyahu by getting his cabinet to agree earlier on at 9:00 today to agree to this initiative, not a ceasefire, but
this initiative proposed by Egypt, looking effectively, Ben, to legitimate anything that happens next, you know, on the understand look we tried. We
failed. But it wasn't our fault.
You've been in Gaza all day. There was a period of time when the air strikes were clearly on hold. But the rocks continue to be fire by Hamas.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's correct. In fact, just as you were coming to me two rockets were launched just to the
south of here, rather the northeast of here.
So what we saw all day, actually, was a fairly regular firing of volleys of rockets toward Israeli.
Now people here were actually hoping for a cease fire. People are exhausting. They're near to the death toll as nearly reached 200. So
there is a desire for some sort of quiet.
And we know that there's a split within Hamas, the military wing has come out quite frankly and clearly that they want to continue, they will
continue military operations against Israel. The political wing, however, says they are considering the Egyptian proposal.
What we saw was that many people want a ceasefire, but they say that there's a fundamental need to solve Gaza's problems. People in Gaza are
essentially stuck here. One man I spoke with in the market in the Shaati Refugee Camp (ph) just a couple of hours ago, he said, yes, of course we
want peace, but we live in a big jail. We want to live like the people in Sweden and Norway and Denmark and Egypt and Canada. We want to be free to
come and go as we please. We want to live in peace, but we also want to live as human beings.
And other people told me the same thing, that they want to see the borders to Gaza open. They realize they're not going to be going -- driving
to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv any time soon, but at least to Egypt to see some sort of normal flow of people and goods in and out, some resumption of a
normal life here in Gaza -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Ben Wedeman on the ground for you today.
When they are not joining us live on air, both Ben and Diana of course are busy getting to the heart of this story. And just ahead, we'll bring
you their reports exploring developments on both sides of the border.
Plus, conflicting messages from Hamas about the possibility of a truce with Israel. So who really holds the power in all of this? This group.
Hamas' military wing, or its political arm?
Ben describing that a schism between the two somewhat. That is coming up right here on Connect the world, exploring that after this.
We're going to move on, though, for the time being. After weeks of political wrangling in Iraq, the country's parliament has finally chosen a
new speaker. He's Salim al-Jabouri. He was a Sunni coalition leader. He was elected with an absolute majority, according to state television
reports. And this paves the way for lawmakers to choose the president and a prime minister.
Now this comes as Iraq's military launched an assault to retake the city of Tikrit from Islamist militants. CNN senior international
correspondent Arwa Damon joining us from Baghdad with the very latest.
Before we talk about what his happening on the ground, at least some movement in government, or in parliament. I mean, how significant is this?
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDNET: It is significant, Becky, in that it does get this process started. Parliament is actually
still voting on the two deputy speakers. Once that...
ANDERSON: OK, I'm -- I think -- all right, apologies. I wasn't sure whether we still had Arwa, but I don't think we have. It looks as if the
technology is letting us down just a little bit. If we can get her back, we come to her.
Let's take a very short break.
Still to come tonight, behind closed doors, Iran and six world powers locked in meetings trying to break a deadlock in nuclear negotiations. And
they arrived from Brazil to a rapturous welcome. Have a listen to this.
(CHEERING)
ANDERSON: We'll bring you up close with the winners of the World Cup and their parade in Germany.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Get you back to Iraq. We lost our senior international correspondent Arwa Damon just a moment ago for technical reasons. She,
though is back with me in Baghdad with the very latest.
And you were talking about political progress there and it's significance, Arwa.
DAMON: Right, Becky. So parliament today electing a speaker there now in the process of electing the two deputies.
If this is all completed today as we do anticipate it to be it then sets in motion a time table for the president to be nominated and elected,
and then most importantly at this stage to prime minister. A lot of controversy surrounding current Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. He says he
will be putting his name forward for candidacy for a third straight time. Others, though, very much in opposition of this, especially the Kurds and
the Sunnis. So that is going to be the critical stage.
Right now we have the initial first step, but we still could be months away from seeing a new government -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Stepping back for a moment and taking a look at what is going on on the ground, how would you assess the current situation?
DAMON: It is very grim. The battle lines seem to be quite stagnant in the sense that the Iraqi security forces at this stage have not been
able to recapture any of the territory that ISIS holds. ISIS continues to try to advance towards the capital from four different directions. The
Iraqi government security forces have been launching numerous air strikes in various different locations, but that has not slowed ISIS and its allies
down at this stage.
Becky, the U.S. also releasing its initial assessment on the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces. That is very grim as well.
They are saying that they're very concerned about the sectarian nature of the Iraqi security forces. They are very worried that the ISF have
possibly been infiltrated by Shia militia individuals who are still very hostile towards the United States, possibly even by elements of ISIS in and
of itself.
But perhaps what's most concerning at this stage is the assessment that without the assistant of Iranian backed Shia militias, the Iraqi
security forces on their own would not be able to hold Baghdad, Becky.
ANDERSON: Arwa Damon in the capital for you. Arwa, thank you for that.
Well, back to the crisis raging on the Israeli-Gaza border now. And Israeli and Palestinian leaders are not the only ones with an interesting,
of course, in this conflict. Egypt and Qatar as well as Jordan and Turkey are some of the regional players working to negotiate peace here.
Well, Egypt has brokered peace deals between Israelis and Palestinians before, of course. But now that's a new el-Sisi government and anti-Muslim
Brotherhood that is far from friendly with Hamas, who of course control Gaza.
Qatar, on the other hand, has close ties with Hamas and is looking for a role to play. The U.S. sees that as a possibility, but needs to be
careful that it doesn't alienate Egypt, or at least Elise Labott. Notes that U.S. officials say they don't want Qatar propping up Hamas
financially.
And while its work towards Middle East peace for decades, this time Washington appears to be taking somewhat of a back step. Secretary of
State John Kerry is postponing a trip to the region that would have laid the groundwork for a ceasefire he hoped to allow the Egyptian efforts, he
says, now to gain traction.
Well, Israel says over the past week it's deflected more than 1,000 rockets fired by Hamas militants. And it's hit almost 1,500 terror targets
in Gaza.
Now that hopes of a ceasefire are up in smoke, Israeli troops continue to prepare for the possibility of a ground invasion.
Diana Magnay with more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAGNAY: Drive down the highways which skirt the Gaza Strip and you'll notice there is more military around. Tank battalion here waiting for
orders from supreme military command scattering at the sound of the sirens. Iron Dome doesn't intercept rockets heading for open country. These men
are vulnerable.
A little further, we're surprised to see an artillery battery, guns pointing west.
These are 155 millimeter Howitzers. We've heard them firing towards Gaza.
Now artillery is not as accurate as the ordinance that has been coming from the air throughout this week. The majority of what has struck Gaza
has been from Israeli air strikes. But it was artillery, which caused the biggest collateral damage, if you will, the biggest lost of civilian life
during operation (inaudible) in 2008, 2009.
It doesn't seem like a huge troop buildup, but there could be more in areas we can't reach -- closed military zones in a few hundred meters
between us and the Gaza Strip.
These are what even the Israeli troops are scared of.
What is the maximum amount of explosives that they've been sending over in a rocket or missile?
MICKY ROSENFELD, ISREALI POLICE SPOKESMAN: Well, what we know is that the large range missiles in terms of when they're fired into the central
region, they have capability of having more than 80 kilos of explosives, which is a huge amount, taking into consideration that people are walking
around 8:00 in the morning.
We've seen also, if we look over the last couple of days, a time frame of when the rockets have been fired -- 8:30 in the morning where people are
taking children to different day camps -- it's the summer holidays now -- so we can see that Hamas are clearly firing at specific times in order to
try and target as many people as possible.
MAGNAY: That's why some Israelis are happy to watch from the hills above Sderot (ph), waiting for the macabre display of firepower which has
scared this horizon all week.
"Hamas takes more kids and put them in a building. And that's why we're not sending our rockets to blow them up," this man says. "We simply
have to go in. I want a ground invasion into Gaza, destroy all those rockets and kill those murderers."
But Egypt's late night ceasefire proposal seems to have gotten nowhere. Israelis looking for the toughest possible action against Hamas
may still get what they want.
Diana Magnay, CNN, Sderot (ph), Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, another chance at peace slips away. And for those who live in the crowded Gaza Strip, destruction and despair, desperation
never far away.
Gaza's neighborhoods have become dangerous even for those with no ties to Hamas.
CNN's Ben Wedeman now shows us why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: It's a scene repeated hundreds of times in Gaza over the last week: a house blown to bits in an Israeli air raid, its contents
blasted into the road.
No one was hurt this time here in Javalia (ph) in northern Gaza.
The house next door was hit 20 minutes ago. They received a three minute warning.
The problem is, OK, the house next door might be a target, but this one wasn't and half of it is destroyed.
The neighbor, Mohammed Abu Hassan (ph) says there was no unusual activity in the house. And like many here, he doesn't understand why he
and his family are being punished.
"My son isn't even here," he tells me. "He's working in Libya. Only his wife is here. Is she fighting Israel? This is tyranny."
When we left that house, we saw another one being hit.
In Shesaiyah (ph) near Gaza City, 20-year-old Mohammed al-Batch (ph) prays at the grave of his father and 17 others who were killed in an
Israeli air strike Saturday evening, the bloodiest single strike since Israel launched its offensive against Gaza.
He recalls he has a strange premonition the first day of the war.
"I looked at my father's face. He looked strange," he recalls. "I went to my room, closed the door. I knew hew would die. I put my head on
the pillow and cried for my father and all the other people who would die."
There may be more to it than that, however. His father Nahel al-Batch (ph) was a leader in Hamas's military wing and in the compound where the
extended family lives, we found what looked like reinforced tunnels.
While the war rages on with no end in sight, many in Jebaliya (ph) are busy with what passes for ordinary life here. Lining up at a United
Nations center to receive their rations -- flour, rice, cooking oil and sugar. Rations like these make the difference between survival and
starvation in this impoverished sliver of land stuck between poverty and war with no way out.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Northern Gaza.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: At nearly 25 past 6:00.
Live from Jerusalem, this is Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson. I'll be back in a few minutes with your headlines and much more
analysis on these developments between Israel and Hamas. Before that, though, do stay tuned for this week's One Square meter, which examines how
one Hong Kong warehouse district is getting what can only be described as a new lease of life. That after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, so (inaudible) right now. This is one of the traditional industrial areas in Hong Kong. And as you can see, all that's
down there (inaudible) there's a gentrification going on right now.
DIRK DALCHAU, OVOLO GROUP: We were hoping to be part of a movement that sort of preserves this area in many ways and not like you know so much
in Hong Kong, you know, knocking down the old buildings structures and building from scratch. We want to preserve this raw environment of
industrial feel and you know this great (inaudible) galleries and you know (inaudible) outside next to it.
On the ground floor, actually, is the main entrance and point of arrival for guests. And they come in and come to this space, which is so
much dominated by moving art. And you can see that we kept one of the original pieces, which is the old turntable. And we will make use of it
for product presentations, art exhibitions, concerts and fashion shows. It's not your regular shiny dinner banquet space.
DENIS MA, JONES LANG LASALLE HONG KONG: So in 2010, the government released a number of policy measures aimed at use of industrial buildings
in Hong Kong. One of these policies was what they call the hotel conversion policy. And that basically allows owners of industrial buildings to relax
the usage for non-industrial usage.
So buildings have to meet certain criteria. They have to be, for example, more than 15 years old. They also need to be in industrial zoned
areas. And you can't have them converted for residential use, but commercial use is fine -- so offices, retail, hotels.
DALCHAU: You know, as it was somewhat still a groundbreaking project for Hong Kong, you know, quite often I think the authorities did not always
know exactly know what to do with us in terms of the areas we had to do. A lot of the times there was like I guess creating a precedent for new
buildings such as this to come.
MA: Well, from an investor's point of view, basically it's the cost, the overall cost. So you're looking at an office building here. You're
talking about 10,000 a square foot. An industrial building you're talking somewhere around $6,000 a square foot.
DALCHAU: I'm not sure if everybody will -- it's up to exposed trunkings and pipes and concrete walls, but I'm sure we will have
competition. And, you know, if people see that it works I'm sure there will be some who will copy it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: This is CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, live from Jerusalem this hour. The top stories.
Defense officials in Afghanistan say dozens of people are dead after a car bomb in Paktika province. These officials tell Reuters as many as 89
people were killed in an explosion in a crowded market.
Russian news reports say 20 people are dead after a rush hour train derailment in Moscow. Dozens of other people have been hospitalized, 50 of
them in critical condition. Now, this happened on Tuesday morning. Three metro train cars came off the track in a tunnel. The cause of the
derailment isn't clear as of yet.
Libya's government says shelling of Tripoli Airport has destroyed 90 percent of the planes there. It may request international troops to stop
rival militia fighting for control of the facility. With Libya's government too weak to control the situation, the UN has temporarily pulled
its staff out of Tripoli.
And an attempted cease-fire between Israel and Hamas have collapsed after just six hours. Israel says it resumed airstrikes on Gaza because
Hamas militants refused to stop firing rockets across the border. Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 190 people in Gaza over the past week.
The cease-fire proposed by Egypt appeared destined to fail right from the start, I'm afraid. That's because Hamas seems to be split into two
wings, political and military, and they had a conflicting response to the cease-fire proposal.
Earlier on Tuesday, a senior political member of Hamas said on his official Facebook page, and I quote, "We are still discussing, and there is
no official position yet from the movement on the Egyptian initiative."
But the armed wing of Hamas contradicted that, saying, and I quote, "We in the al-Qassam Brigades reject altogether the proposal, which for us,
is not worth the ink that it was written on."
To discuss the apparent split between two factions of Hamas, we are joined now by Zaki Chehab. He's the political editor of Hayat and one of
the leading journalists in the Arab world. He's written about Hamas extensively, and he joins us now from our London studio.
More than 70 rockets launched at Israel since 9:00 AM local time, which is when we heard from the Israelis that their cabinet was prepared to
sign up to this initiative. Clearly seen as a sign by the Israelis, at least, that Hamas don't want to see an end to this conflict, or that it
can't control the elements fighting under the umbrella of Hamas. Which is it?
ZAKI CHEHAB, POLITICAL EDITOR, AL-HAYAT: I think, Becky, to be straightforward on this front, Hamas made it clear that it has its own
condition about the cease-fire. In the last confrontation between Israel and Hamas, Israel have accepted all the conditions made by Hamas made at
that time.
The same from day one, Hamas said we will not stop firing our rockets because Israel started it all over again. And they made their conditions
clear. So from last night, it seemed that Hamas leadership, first they were not convinced by what has been offered to them by the Egyptian
government --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: That's interesting.
CHEHAB: -- and this morning also Islamic Jihad made it clear that they would follow --
ANDERSON: Right.
CHEHAB: -- Hamas on that front and they will continue firing missiles.
ANDERSON: So, Zaki, two of the conditions that Hamas had laid out earlier in the week that the Israelis found unacceptable was the release of
prisoners who'd been re-arrested after the Gilad Shalit situation, and also that the siege, as it were, of Gaza were to stop, and that would include
the opening of the Rafah Crossing with Egypt.
Is this a situation whereby you think that even the political side of Hamas doesn't trust the Egyptians, who clearly have no truck with Hamas at
present, do they?
CHEHAB: Becky, it's not matter of trust. I'm sure Hamas is -- in their situation, Egypt is their window to the world. They can't do
anything with the outside world without going through Cairo. This is one. But Hamas conditions are not something unjustified. They have a right to
make a request, because they've been under siege.
The second thing is Israel not respecting its commitment by releasing and then arresting prisoners released. It's a sign that Israel has not
respected its commitment.
ANDERSON: Sure.
CHEHAB: So, Hamas conditions --
ANDERSON: All right.
CHEHAB: -- for stopping the firing of rockets is something acceptable.
ANDERSON: So, what I was trying to get to was whether you believe that there was a real schism between what is happening on the ground with
the rockets being fired and what Hamas as a political organization are saying --
(CROSSTALK)
CHEHAB: I really don't think that --
ANDERSON: -- they're saying they don't necessarily see -- hang on a minute, yes. Yes, go on.
CHEHAB: I really don't think that there's a rift between Hamas military wing and its political politburo. They seem all in one line. The
kinds of statements made by Khaled Mashal, the kind of statements made by Hamas leaders and spokesperson in Gaza, they are all on the same line,
which is very clear. Now, the challenge for Israel --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: All right, Zaki --
CHEHAB: The challenge for Israel, how to stop this? Five days ago, six days ago, Benjamin Netanyahu have threatened to go into Gaza. He's
done nothing yet, they tried to stop missiles falling into Israel. Also they feel, I'm sure, he has no options.
That's why we have seen no Western leaders, representatives trying to make some kind of cease-fire which would be acceptable for Israel. And
that's where Hamas saying no, that's our condition.
ANDERSON: There is certainly a sense amongst experts, even those associated with the American administration, who say that by at least
signing up to or showing willing with this initiative that the Israelis to a certain extent are legitimizing anything that happens next.
Netanyahu clearly under some pressure from the right wing of his government to actually get on with what would be a ground offensive, which
we're told for some time could be imminent. Clearly --
(CROSSTALK)
CHEHAB: It is not going to be --
ANDERSON: Hold -- yes, let me ask you --
CHEHAB: Go on.
ANDERSON: I'm interested to see how you think Qatar fits into all of this, because I want our viewers to get a sense that this roiling conflict
here in the Holy Land isn't just being watched by and talked about in the Western world, but this is incredibly critical to this region, and I want
to see how you think mediation efforts might work going forward.
The Muslim Brotherhood clearly got a relationship with Qatar. How do you see Qatar fitting in in any mediation efforts going forward?
CHEHAB: At the end of the day, Qatar is not a super power. I know that they are influencing Hamas, influencing Islamic Brotherhood in general
and on very single front. But there are facts on the ground that there is a battle here, Hamas has decided to go into it, they started firing
missiles, and I'm sure they can't go back without meeting the commitments and the conditions which they have promised their people.
Because people would ask them at the end of the day, what have you achieved for us? So many places, neighborhoods, have been destroyed. So,
they have to come with answers that we come with the conditions which we said, we were clear from day one, that's what we want.
So, I think it's -- as Hamas is in trouble, I can see seriously that Netanyahu is in serious trouble. First, the dome, which would stop Israel
from receiving missiles, has been a big failure in spite of the billions of dollars Israel invested to stop Palestinian missiles coming into Israel.
This was a big failure.
All the airstrikes being carried out the last few days have achieved nothing. Missiles still in -- coming into Israel, and Hamas even more
challenging Netanyahu. They have been announcing dates at what time missiles would be fired, so Israel is doing nothing about it.
So, the only option for Israel now is to have a ground attack. This is an extremely big risk for what Hamas have at the moment to receive it.
ANDERSON: All right.
CHEHAB: Because the days where a small jeep with five soldiers can go around and arrest many people has gone forever. Hamas now is extremely
well-equipped.
ANDERSON: All right.
CHEHAB: And they have all the means to fight an Israeli ground force attack.
ANDERSON: Well, some analysis there for you, and just to point out that the Iron Dome, which you were alluding to, of course, is the missile
defense shield.
I think the Israelis would say it had been highly effective, but you're right to point out that at least it hasn't intercepted all of the
rockets that are being fired from Gaza. The Israelis might say, well, they don't intercept everything. Those that they see are heading for open
ground, they just leave.
All right, for the time being, though, sir, we thank you very much, indeed, for joining us. Your analysis is important.
Live from Jerusalem, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. We'll move away from here just for the moment, although a story
that is clearly important here as well. Deal or no deal? Iran has outlined its proposed nuclear deal, but will it be enough for Western
negotiators?
And they are heroes to every German football fan, and many, many others. We're going to show you how the World Cup winners were welcomed
home. That after this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD SINGING IN GERMAN)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: I want to get you back to our top story this hour. An attempted cease-fire or initiative, at least, between Israel and Hamas for
a cease-fire has collapsed after just six hours. Israel says it has now resumed airstrikes on Gaza because Hamas militants refused to stop firing
rockets across the border.
Let's get the Israeli perspective on today's developments. For that, I'm joined by Dore Gold, the senior foreign policy advisor to the prime
minister. He's also president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
We just learned from Israeli TV that the Israeli security cabinet will convene at 21:00 Tel Aviv time, that's about two hours from now. Will the
prospect of the start of a ground offensive be discussed at that, do you think?
DORE GOLD, SENIOR FOREIGN POLICY ADVISOR TO ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I don't think it's wise to sit and speculate about what Israel will do, will
not do. I think the prime minister has made pretty clear the Israeli position.
He convened the Israeli security cabinet early this morning because Egypt came forward with a proposal for a cease-fire. The Israeli side
approved the cease-fire and stopped all military actions against the Gaza strip.
Nonetheless, Hamas rejected the cease-fire, and not only in word, but in deed. They, in fact, continued rocket launches all over Israel. Not
one of two cities, but virtually all the cities in the country. So, obviously, this situation was completely untenable, and therefore, military
action has been resumed.
ANDERSON: How much pressure is the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, here, under from the right wing of the party to get on with
this, to get into Gaza, to clear Gaza of Hamas and to demilitarize the entire area?
GOLD: Frankly, I don't think this is a matter of right or left in Israel. The people of Israel want a secure country. Nobody is going to
accept a situation whereby Hamas, which is an international terrorist organization, defined as such by the US, the European Union, and others,
where this organization can just launch rockets at will, thinking they can attack us with impunity. And this is not the first war we've had from
Gaza.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: So --
GOLD: It's at least the third.
ANDERSON: Let me then ask you, if that is the thinking, if that is the narrative, why not just start a ground offensive now?
GOLD: Again, I'm not -- it's not up to me to sit in a studio and start moving chess pieces on a board and figuring out what's the best way
to secure Israel. The Israeli government, the security cabinet, the general staff of the Israel Defense Forces, know how to defend our country.
And they discuss it, they regularly analyze it, and they will reach conclusions about what has to be done. But one thing's for certain. The
goal is clear. The goal is to make sure we don't have rocket fire on Israel in an untenable threat existing in the Gaza strip that could be
exploited anytime against our country.
ANDERSON: You have seen the images on our television screens from across Gaza. Clearly there have been 76 launched from that area into
Israel, as you rightly point out, since Israel agreed to this cease-fire at 9:00 local time.
You have seen these images, day in, day out, of Palestinians who are losing their lives, losing their homes, they are injured, there have been
disabled hospitals that have been hit. When you see those images, what do you think? How does it make you feel?
GOLD: Well first of all, I want to say this: on the Israeli side, the loss of life, even among our adversaries and enemies, is something that
we deeply regret. But you know something? Among Hamas, when they hear that an Israeli child has been killed or somebody slit the throat of an
Israeli that they've captured, they embrace it. They pass out candies. It's a moment of joy.
That's all the difference between Israeli, which is a democratic country, part of the West, and Hamas, which is not only disliked and
defined --
ANDERSON: All right.
GOLD: -- as a terrorist group, also by the Arab world, by Egypt, by United Arab Emirates, by Saudi Arabia. They all understand what Hamas is
about, and therefore, it is a terrible diplomatic mistake to think you can integrate Hamas into a peace process, that you can somehow accept them as a
partner.
They want jihad. They are part of that network that's now rising in the Middle East, and they have to be defeated.
ANDERSON: Dore Gold is a senior foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Netanyahu, joining us on CNN as we learn from the foreign minister
that there will be a security meeting, a cabinet meeting at 9:00 local time, which is two hours from now, so watch this space. For the time
being, Mr. Gold, we thank you very much, indeed, for joining us.
GOLD: Sure.
ANDERSON: With just days to go before Sunday's deadline, Iran and six world powers are still at loggerheads on the terms of any nuclear deal.
So, both sides have set out their positions, nothing that we haven't seen before, of course. But we have for the first time been given a glimpse of
what a final deal with Iran may look like.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Iran's foreign minister outlined his proposal in an interview with "The New York Times," saying it would essentially freeze the
country's capacity to produce nuclear fuel at current levels for several years.
That means Iran would extend the sort of restrictions on its nuclear program that it agreed to back in November, when negotiations for a final
deal got underway, in return for step-by-step sanctions relief by the international community.
But here's where the proposed offer can run into trouble. First, there's the issue of breakout capacity. The Iranian offer would reportedly
leave thousands of working centrifuges spinning in place. That gives the country to enrich uranium that could eventually be used in any bomb-making
operation. Iran says it has never been nor even will be interested in a bomb, a claim the West doubts.
Then there's the issue of how long Iran will accept any sort of freeze on its program. Iran's proposal suggests it will accept short-term limits,
with a view that it will be free to operate like any other country in the future.
But there will be some in the US, specifically in Congress, that would want Iran to be limited for much longer, if not permanently.
So, after a decade of nuclear standoff and months of intense negotiations, the finish line does seem to be in sight. Now, it's just
whether or not both sides have the drive to get there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: It certainly sounds like Iran is willing to accept some limits to its nuclear capabilities, but it's not clear if that will be
enough to satisfy the six world powers at the negotiating table.
Let's get some perspective on all of this, on Iran's proposals from Ali Vaez, the senior analyst on Iran at the International Crisis Group,
joining me now from Vienna. And I think you were in the room as both John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart spoke to the press today. How would you
assess what has come out of Vienna?
ALI VAEZ, SENIOR ANALYST, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: Well, I think both Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Zarif, Becky, were trying to do a
little bit of damage control, because in the past few days, there was a little bit of public posturing, which is never useful in negotiations.
Strong public red lines just diminishes the parties' room for maneuvering. And I think they were trying to restore this positive
momentum and avoid the --
ANDERSON: Right.
VAEZ: -- first negative impacts of the statements over the past few days.
ANDERSON: Well, Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, certainly deciding to release the general outlines of the final deal from the Iranian
perspective. Will they be acceptable in Washington and their Western capitals? And why do you think he released a contour of the deal so
publicly, do you think?
VAEZ: Well again, I don't think public posturing in any way was useful, but I have to say that Foreign Minister Zarif's position in general
was consistent with a proposal that he put on the table in 2005 when he was negotiating with the European troika of France, Britain, and Germany.
The idea is still the same, and basically, it caps Iran's enrichment capacity for a certain period of time until trust is built with the
International Atomic Energy Agency. And then, gradually, Iran would be able to increase its enrichment capacity to meet its fuel needs.
However, the details of this are still a matter of disagreement between the parties, because neither the initial threshold nor the duration
of this final step are matters that the parties can agree on. And as we see --
ANDERSON: All right.
VAEZ: -- a storm has gathered over Vienna, and as things stand at the moment, I think it's quite unlikely that we reach an agreement by Sunday.
ANDERSON: Yes, interesting. Sunday being the deadline. So likely, you are saying that that deadline will be pushed back somewhat. As you
say, there is a real storm over Vienna, there, and you can see just on the camera that's shooting that interview, it is really quite wet. But we
thank you very much, indeed, for coming outside and joining us here on CNN.
Coming up after this short break out of Jerusalem here, I'm Becky Anderson, this is CONNECT THE WORLD. We're going to take you to Germany,
where the nation is celebrating a win, and the players, well, they have joined in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, Germans have come out in droves to welcome their World Cup winning team back from Brazil. Christina Macfarlane, my
colleague, was at the heart of the celebrations today in Berlin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: The German national team returned home here to a hero's welcome and to one of the biggest
parties in German history -- 500,000 fans packed into the "fan mile" just behind me here to see their team take to the stage with the trophy they've
waited for for the past 24 years to return here to Germany.
For the first time as a united Germany, they will now have four stars on their national German shirts. And this day will live long in the memory
of all those who've witnessed their team bring home football's greatest prize.
Christina Macfarlane, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, as always, the team at CONNECT THE WORLD wants to hear from you. Tell us what you thought of the World Cup,
facebook.com/CNNconnect, you can have your say. Tweet me @BeckyCNN.
You can also talk to us -- this is a global conversation -- about what is going on here in the region as we hear that the Israelis are due to hold
a cabinet meeting on the roiling issue. The cease-fire, of course, off now, after six hours.
The Israelis had decided to -- that they would sign up for that, nothing from Hamas. We are getting word from Tel Aviv that there will be a
meeting in two hours' time. Stick with CNN for that. More from the region.
I'm Becky Anderson, that was, for the time being, at least, CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you for watching. Your headlines follow.
END
