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Connect the World
Norwegian FM: Moves are a "Clear Signal" to Moderate Forces on Both Sides; Singapore Ministry of Transport Investigating Incident; U.S. Lawmakers Investigate Whether Big Oil Colluded with OPEC; Norway, Ireland & Spain to Recognize Palestinian State; Unbeaten Leverkusen Face Atalanta in Wednesday's Final. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired May 22, 2024 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR CONNECT THE WORLD: I'm Becky Anderson live from Abu Dhabi. This is "Connect the World". Its 7 pm here, it is not, it is 5
pm here. Coming up this hour, three Western European countries, Ireland, Spain and Norway are making a bold move to support Palestinian statehood.
We speak to the Foreign Minister of Norway about this decision. Crowds fill the streets of Tehran as Iran's Supreme Leader prays over the coffin of the
country's Late President Ebrahim Raisi. And an investigation into a Singapore airline incident is underway after severe turbulence caused one
death and many injuries. We are live in Bangkok.
Well stock markets in Europe will open in about 30 minutes from now. Let's have a look at the futures market for you. These numbers are pointing at
least in principle to a rather lower open. It looks a weak day things may improve later for tech stocks after NVIDIA's results come out that of
course is the major AI Company on the markets.
Will Norway's lead up is calling it a necessary move to help end the Israel-Hamas war. That country joining Ireland and Spain today and
announcing they will formally recognize a Palestinian state and the Palestinian Authority and Hamas praising the moves and calling on other
countries to follow suit. Here's what each Prime Minister had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEDRO SANCHEZ, SPANISH PRIME MINISTER: After having reached a consensus between the two parties that make up the progressive coalition government
and echoing the majority feeling of the Spanish people. Next Tuesday on the 28th of May, Spain will approve his council of ministers the recognition of
the State of Palestine.
JONAS GAHR STORE, NORWEGIAN PRIME MINISTER: Recognition of Palestine is in support of moderate forces that are on a retreating front in a protracted
and cruel conflict. This is an investment in the only solution that can bring lasting peace in the Middle East. It is a strong call to other
countries to do the same as we are doing today.
SIMON HARRIS, IRISH PRIME MINISTER: Each of us will now undertake whatever national steps are necessary to give effect to that decision. In the lead
up to today's announcement, I've spoken with a number of other leaders and counterparts. And I'm confident that further countries will join us in
taking this important step in the coming weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Israel's government is condemning the recognitions and recalling its ambassadors to the three nations. Its foreign minister
describing the route moves as a reward for terrorism. Jeremy Diamond is in Jerusalem. That is certainly the position of the foreign minister, Israeli
leaders' friendly, furious over this. What more can you tell us?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, there's no question about it. I mean, these are not the first countries to recognize Palestine as a state
officially. But of course, the timing of this announcement and the context matter. And beyond that, of course, Israel wants to send a strong signal to
other countries that might be considering such a move, the way in which it would react.
And so we're watching that all play out. Today, as the Israeli Foreign Minister recalled Israel's ambassadors to Spain, Ireland and Norway. He
also summoned the ambassadors of those countries who are in Israel for formal reprimand talks. He said that he would actually make them watch
video of the kidnapping of people on October 7.
So you can understand the picture that he's trying to paint there. He also described this decision by these three countries as awarding a gold medal
to the murderers and rapists of Hamas, and he vowed serious consequences. It's not clear yet what those consequences actually will be.
But we are starting to get a sense of what some in the Israeli government would like them to be including the far right of finance minister of the
Israeli government, Bezalel Smotrich, who says that he believes that Israel should institute harsh punitive measures including approving tens of
thousands.
[09:05:00]
He said of housing units and Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, new settlements in the West Bank as well as the cancelling of crossing
permits for Palestinian Authority officials. Now, we have watched as there has been growing pressure on Israel to move towards a two state solution to
take steps to recognize a Palestinian state in the aftermath of this war in Gaza, particularly the United States, of course, which is looking for a
grand bargain here.
Normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia that would also include concrete steps towards establishing a Palestinian state, but so far, those
efforts have yet to bear fruit and the pressure on Israel is falling on deaf ears at least as far as this current government as the Israeli Prime
Minister continues to effectively rule out the notion of a Palestinian state in particular, in the aftermath of this war.
ANDERSON: Jeremy Diamond is on the ground for you, Jeremy, thank you for that. While Israel reacts with anger to the Palestinian statehood
announcements by the set countries. Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu is again lashing out at the pursuit of an international criminal court arrest
warrant against him and his defense minister denying accusations that Israel is starving Gaza's civilians and not allowing enough aid to enter
the Enclave.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Let's take this charge of starvation. We've put in 500,000 tons of trucks of food and medicine for
this population. We've taken 20,000 trucks; we've paved roads to put those trucks in. We've opened border crossings that Hamas closed down. I've had
airdrops that have facilitated sea routes, supplies. I mean, the whole thing is absurd.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR "THE LEAD": We should note though, it's not just the ICC, expressing concerns about the lack of humanitarian aid getting
into Gaza, President Biden and his administration and their officials, not to mention European allies of Israel and their officials. They've all been
making this case for month that Israel is not letting enough aid in. So when President Biden expressed his concern about you not letting enough aid
in, is he wrong?
NETANYAHU: Well, no, we have the same concerns. We were trying to get the aid in, we got the aid in and Hamas was looting the aid. That's what was
happening. They were taking it for themselves, or extorting the population. We were letting the aid in from the start. And look I've been this was my
directive from day one.
The day one thing was we have to provide, we comport with international law. We comport with the rules of war. We have to get those trucks and
we're getting hundreds of trucks every day in and that's been an aspect of our conduct of war because we try to get civilians out of harm's way.
We've done things that no country, no army has done in history. It's not me saying that it's General Petraeus saying that the head of the urban warfare
at West Point, Colonel John Spencer says Israel's gone out of its way both in humanitarian aid and getting civilians out of harm's way with millions
of text messages, millions of phone calls, and leaflets that we've been dropping, giving up the element of surprise, Israel is given here a bum
rap.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The Israeli Prime Minister there offering no acknowledgement of the reality of the hunger that has evidently spread throughout Gaza, in
terms of the number of aid trucks that he referenced, having gotten those numbers were accurate, and Israel did open another crossing this month.
But they were, frankly devoid of context. That context being the tremendous amount of pressure, aid agencies and countries around the world, including
the United States had to apply on Israel in order for it to allow that amount of aid to be let in and that was not nearly enough to prevent
hunger.
Take the month of February, for example, where humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza declined by 50 percent month-over-month. According to the United
Nations fewer than 100 trucks of aid per day got into the Enclave, compared to approximately 500 per day before the Hamas attack on October the 7th and
subsequent war.
This has prompted urgent warnings of imminent famine to reach the North. In a report released in March by aid group several agencies urged Israel to
open up border crossings and road access to prevent that catastrophe. The Prime Minister failed to mention that context. More on this as we move
through the next couple of hours.
While Israel will be closely watching what is happening in Iran. The country says it's hosting 60 foreign delegations, who, are now, paying
their respects huge crowds packing the capital to pay their final respects to President Ebrahim Raisi.
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Iran's Supreme Leader that prayers earlier for the late president and the others killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday including of course the
foreign minister. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in the middle of today's crowds in Tehran and sent us this report.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ever since that helicopter crash that killed Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi as well as of
course, the Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several others received big displays of public warning here around the country in Iran,
especially here in Tehran, with this massive procession.
It's been part of the funeral processions, to lay to rest the people who were killed in that helicopter crash, this public mourning, of course,
extremely important to the people here in Tehran, but also very important to the governments here in Iran. They have been plastering the cities with
posters depicting the president, the foreign minister and the others were killed in that crash.
And they have encouraged people to come here to participate in this mourning. As far as the people themselves are concerned. Many of them of
course say that they are very sad. They're shocked by what's happened. But many of them also say they need to know what happens next.
It's interesting because the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei he will -- while the helicopter was still missing. He came out and
he said there would not be any disruption in the government. Iran's government has already called for new elections that are going to take
place on June 28, as they tried to portray stabilities but also tried to force by a new government to lead the country forward.
ANDERSON: Fred Pleitgen reporting on the ground there in Tehran in Iran. Getting new details about what happened on border Singapore Airlines Flight
after it was struck by extreme turbulence on Tuesday. Flight tracking data shows the Boeing 777 rapidly dropping and climbing multiple times within 90
seconds.
And investigation now underway into the incident which left one passenger dead and more than 100 injured are looking at evidence of the inside of the
plane there and -- those who were injured been taken away from the tarmac. CNN's Ivan Watson is live for us in Bangkok, where that plane was diverted
to. Ivan any update on the people those who were critically injured and indeed, the individual who died?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean, the number of people who were injured is kind of staggering, the hospital
authorities here, I'm at one of the hospitals in Bangkok where people are currently being treated at least 85 people initially were hospitalized. 20
remain in intensive care so very seriously injured and by all accounts the speed with which this violent turbulence hit the plane that took nearly
everybody by surprise.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON (voice-over): Injuries and death after a moment of terror 30,000 feet in the sky. A Singapore Airlines Flight hit with severe turbulence
throwing some passengers around the cabin, just moments after the seatbelt sign was switched on. Lighting and air ventilation tubing spilling out from
the ceiling, food trays from breakfast littered across the floor.
Emergency workers raced to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport on Tuesday afternoon. After the flight turned deadly, traffic control on the
tarmac quick to redirect ambulances and set up makeshift medical tents for injured passengers. Flight SQ 321 departed from London and was on route to
Singapore.
But severe turbulence forced pilots to make an emergency landing in Thailand. The condition of the skies resulted in the death of one person
while aboard the flight. Many others now in critical condition with dozens more injured.
KITTIPONG KITTIKACHORN, GENERAL MANGER OF SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT: The plane landed at the airport and the medical team was sent to the same. Many
injuries occurred so the airport had to issue an emergency plan. All our teams went to help.
WATSON (voice-over): The airline has launched an investigation into the incident with the British Embassy also deploying officials to support those
in hospital. That passenger is left with a question of how this all went so wrong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON (on camera): Becky, CNN's Erin Burnett spoke with one of these passengers and listened to his account of what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW DAVIES, SINGAPORE AIRLINES PASSENGER: The plane just felt like it dropped. It probably only lasted a few seconds but I remember vividly
seeing shoes and iPads and iPhones and cushions and blankets and cutlery and plates and cups flying through the air, crushing into the ceiling. The
gentleman next to me had a cup of coffee which went straight all over me and up to the ceiling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[09:15:00]
WATSON: And, you know, we spoke with a man here whose wife is being treated here at this hospital. And he said that she had been up out of her seat
waiting in line to use the bathroom again when this turbulence hit. You know, I think one stark example of evidence of how sudden this was, is that
many of the people injured were in fact the cabin crew themselves. They were not prepared for how this plane started to move, back to you, Becky.
ANDERSON: Frightening stuff. Ivan is in Bangkok. Thank you, Ivan. Well you're watching "Connect the World" live from Abu Dhabi time here at
quarter past 5 in the afternoon. Still ahead, both sides in Donald Trump's hush money trial have now rested their cases.
We'll take a look at the next steps and when the Former U.S. President could learn his fate. Plus, paying more to fill up some U.S. lawmakers want
to know our oil companies conspiring to drive U.S. gas prices higher.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Donald Trump is planning to attend a series of fundraisers later today in Texas. Now that this hush money trial is entering its final phase,
the defendant's residence case on Tuesday without the Former U.S. President testifying. And the jury will begin deciding Trump's fate next week. CNN's
Brynn Gingras gets you up to speed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The hush money trial of Donald Trump will soon be in the hands of a jury.
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- I think we have the -- case was put on.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Without hearing from the defendant at least in the courtroom.
TRUMP: The good news is they have not proven a case, there is no crime.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Instead, jurors will be left with the key moments from the prosecution's three star witnesses. Michael Cohen, the Former
Trump Fixer and prosecution star witness spending 17 hours on the stand testifying he paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels quote, at the
direction of Donald J. Trump and for the benefit of Donald J. Trump to cover up their alleged affair which Trump denies.
Cohen said he paid the money to ensure that the story would not come out, would not affect Mr. Trump's chances of becoming president of the United
States. In fierce cross examination the Trump defense got Cohen to admit, he has at times been a liar and a thief, also bringing up text messages and
phone calls questioning Cohen's motives, including a tense confrontation between Cohen and Defense Attorney Todd Blanche over text messages Cohen
sent to Trump's bodyguard Keith Schiller on October 24, 2016.
[09:20:00]
Cohen had told prosecutors that he had reached out to Schiller to speak with Trump about the Daniels' payment. But under cross examination, Blanche
read Cohen a text sent minutes before the call. Cohen texted Schiller who can I speak to regarding harassing calls to my cell in office, the dope
forgot to block his number.
Schiller texted back soon after, call me. The exchange key as prosecutors need to prove Trump knew about the payments and violated campaign finance
laws by authorizing them. Prosecutors highlighting a different call, Cohen made to Stormy Daniels' Attorney Keith Davidson, when Cohen expressed
referring to Trump, I can't even tell you how many times he said to me, you know, I hate the fact that we did it.
Earlier in the prosecution's case, David Pecker, the Former Chief of the National Enquirer who called Trump a mentor. Pecker, explaining how he
worked with Cohen to catch and kill salacious stories about Trump which defense attorneys, painted as just usual business. Stormy Daniels may have
been the testimony that angered Trump the most as she walked jurors through her alleged affair in vivid detail. Daniels explained how Cohen's interest
in her story skyrocketed.
TRUMP: You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful. I just start kissing them.
GINGRAS (voice-over): After the infamous Access Hollywood tape and discussions about payments began days before the election. They were
interested in paying for the story Daniels said of Cohen and Trump, defense attorneys painted Daniels as money hungry and driven by a hatred of the
former president.
Am I correct that you hate President Trump? Trump's attorney asked? Yes, Daniels replied. You want him to go to jail if he's found guilty?
Absolutely! Daniels responded. Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, later today Kenya's President William Ruto will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden during his country's first state visit in two
decades. The two men will attend an event with business leaders this afternoon, President Ruto working to improve economic and security
relations with the United States.
Well, this visit is to coincide with the start of a Kenyan led multinational security mission in Haiti. A delegation of Kenyan command
staff arrived in Haiti on Tuesday ahead of the U.N. approved mission that is according to a law enforcement source there who spoke to CNN. Meantime,
Haiti's International Airport resumed commercial flights this week. CNN's Patrick Oppmann has more.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After being closed for nearly three months because of ongoing gang violence. The airport in Port-au-Prince,
Haiti, the main International Airport in that country, has reopened the first flight on Monday traveled back from Port-au-Prince to Miami carrying
people who had been stuck there for weeks and weeks.
It has been incredibly dangerous and difficult to leave Haiti as is ongoing gang violence has raged for weeks and weeks displacing tens of thousands of
people. The only options for diplomats and foreigners, for the most part was to take helicopter rides, risky helicopter rides out of Port-au-Prince,
or to take the dangerous land crossing other parts of Haiti where they were able to fly out.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he hopes that by the end of May or beginning of June, those U.S. airliners would be able to begin traveling
more regularly to Haiti that they will be able to restart their flights because so far, there's a handful of flights scheduled each day.
But he warned that a while the gang's all hold control over much of Haiti, that Haiti risks, increasing risks falling into the category of being a
completely failed state. There are representatives of Kenya's government in Haiti right now preparing a force of about 1000 soldiers that is expected
to arrive in Haiti in the coming days or weeks.
They are expected to bring some security to this problem where the gangs have essentially taken over the streets, but it's unclear if they will have
enough firepower to completely wrest back control. Patrick Oppmann, CNN Havana.
ANDERSON: Now to a story you're hearing first here on CNN. We've just learned the U.S. lawmakers are looking at whether several major oil
companies illegally worked with OPEC and each other to drive up gas prices. This comes weeks after U.S. regulators accused Texas oil tycoon Scott
Sheffield have tried to conspire with OPEC to keep output low and prices higher.
One lawmaker says Sheffield may have encouraged other companies to do the same. Well CNN's Matt Egan broke this story for us. He joins me now from
New York. Let's just step back here. Matt, tell us exactly what it is, that lawmakers are looking into and who all of those lawmakers doing this?
[09:25:00]
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Becky, House Democrats they are demanding answers from Big Oil. The big question that they want answered is whether
or not these major oil companies either conspired with each other, or with OPEC to artificially keep gas prices high. Now, this letter went out from
New Jersey Democrat Frank Pallone to seven of the biggest players in oil, including Exxon, Chevron, BP, Shell, Devon Energy, Occidental and Hess.
And the big question here is Pallone he wants these companies to turn over documents a trove of documents, including a list of meetings with OPEC
officials, communications with each other over production, nonpublic communications with investors about production and efforts to influence the
government and efforts to kind of keep production and supply low.
Let me read you a key line from this letter from Pallone to these oil companies he wrote, if U.S. oil companies are colluding with each other and
foreign cartels to manipulate global oil markets and harm American consumers, Congress and the American people deserve to know. Now remember,
oil, cartels, OPEC and OPEC+, they exist to sort of coordinate on production.
They're trying to move production up and down to influence prices. That of course, though, is not allowed in the United States. It's supposed to be a
free market here. CEOs are not allowed to team up on supply. And it's very different from what we see in OPEC. And just a reminder, we talk about
OPEC.
We're talking about Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Iran, and other nations. So a lot of questions here, out to oil companies, and
they're going to have to turn over a lot of documents in the coming weeks, Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Matt. Thank you. Matt Egan is on the case for you. Well, after more than seven months of war inside Gaza, three European
nations say they will recognize a Palestinian state. So what does this move by Norway, Ireland and Spain really mean? What's the significance here and
what are the consequences? Well, the Norwegian Foreign Minister joins me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:30:00]
ANDERSON: Well, there goes the opening bell and on the balcony today, members of Integer holdings one of the largest medical device manufacturers
in the world. Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson. I'm in Abu Dhabi where the time is 5:30 in the evening. It is 9:30 in the morning, in New York. This
is "Connect the World".
And we had a first look at the markets. We were looking at the futures markets, of course, half an hour ago, they didn't look particularly
eventful. Well, this is the story as the markets open and they are pretty flat. Investors really still considering what is the state of play as far
as interest rates are concerned, are they likely to stay high and for longer than expected, that is exercising investors amongst other things.
And that is one of the reasons that these markets are pretty flat. Now, more on our top story, Israel, recalling its ambassadors to Spain, Norway,
and Ireland after the nation said that they will recognize a Palestinian state. The Prime Ministers of all three countries held the move as an
important step towards peace in the region.
Both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority President called on others to follow suit but the Israeli Foreign Minister warns the decision will have
serious consequences saying it equates to awarding a gold medal to quote, the murderers and rapists of Hamas. Well Norway's Foreign Minister says the
move is a clear signal that the world community needs progress in the peacemaking process.
And he joins us now from the Norwegian capital of Oslo. It's good to have you. Let's just see where we're at this point. Israel's Far Right Minister
Bezalel Smotrich is proposing and I quote here, harsh punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority for seeking statehood unilaterally,
including he says the approval of an Israeli settlement for every country that recognizes Palestine.
What's your response to that? And there will be those who say, could this, frankly this decision you have taken with others backfire on the
Palestinian people at this point?
ESPEN BARTH EIDE, NORWEGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, my sense is this is very much what the Palestinian people and what the Palestinian authorities
want. They want us now to lift the hope of a two state solution, a peaceful solution for the people of Palestine and the people of Israel, as some
research in the original Oslo Accords.
We have always been supporting a Palestinian state. But for many years, we thought that we would wait with our bilateral recognition to the very end
of such a process. But given the very deplorable situation on the ground, not only what has happened after Hamas' terror attack and the response from
Israel.
But also over the years past, we've seen that the original hope of a purely negotiated settlement with no pressure from the outside simply did not
work. So we think that this is the right thing to do. We think this is a handshake the moderate forces and we are the countries will follow.
ANDERSON: Do you expect other countries very specifically European countries to follow suit?
EIDE: Yes, indeed, we are aware of discussions in a number of European countries that are ongoing right now. This is also why Spain, Ireland and
Norway came out now and said that we will do this with effect from next week from next Tuesday, which is after a series of meeting to be held
between Arab and European Foreign Ministers.
But I am not the spokesman of any other country. So they should speak for themselves. But I can confirm that this is a conversation that has been
hold for a long time and I think more useful --
ANDERSON: Yeah, and very specifically Belgium and Slovakia have been two countries who have been named as potentially taking the same path at least,
Israel has recalled its ambassador to -- right. Israel as recalled its ambassador to your country, your reaction?
[09:35:00]
EIDE: Well the Israeli Ambassador to Norway is actually the ambassador of all the ambassadors also have been seen more frequently. And I've always
enjoyed conversations with him. So I recognize that he's now called the home for consultations. That's one of the tools in the diplomatic toolbox.
We are not going to do anything reciprocal with them. And when he comes back, he is welcome for a coffee in my office. I always enjoy speaking to
him. And we want -- we were friend to Israel, we want to remain a good partner with Israel. But we also make our own decisions based on what we
think is right.
And right now, we believe that this is the right thing to do, which is why we do it. And we do it together with others. And we do it also in support
of the more moderate forces who still believe that settlement that will create peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike are good. Then I know
there are peaceful people in Israel also would like such a settlement.
ANDERSON: Yeah. And I stand corrected, and you're right to do so Slovenia and Belgium are two of the countries that have been named as likely to
follow suit. Here's the opposing argument. The Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz says and I quote, Israel and Norway intend to send a message to
the Palestinians and the whole world today. Terrorism pays, he says.
After the terrorist organization, Hamas carried out the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, after it committed the most horrific sex crimes
the world has seen, these countries chose to give a reward to Hamas and Iran and recognize a Palestinian state. To which you say, what sir?
EIDE: That is absolutely wrong. We are selling the opposite signal, we are supporting the Palestine authorities, which brings out of the PLO who
renounced violence, and who have many decades ago promised to leave the violent struggle behind and work for peaceful settlement with Israel with a
promise that they have kept, by the way, the emergence of Hamas is very much a product of the non-settlement that this is an anti-Hamas measure.
Because what we are strengthening are the forces in the region and in Palestine, who believes in peace with Israel, and who detests the work of
Iran and its proxies, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in the region, I think those are the ones that have been stricken by the ongoing violence,
we want the opposite.
ANDERSON: But the problem is that the PA has no real power, sir, does it?
EIDE: Well, this is exactly the problem that we have, although we had an embryonic Palestine state that does come on some assumptions in the West
Bank, of course, but very little in Gaza, but West Bank and East Jerusalem, they have been weakened by gradual expansion of illegal Israeli
settlements.
And by the lack of progress on the original Oslo track where the assumption was that the two sides would negotiate within five years to solve the four
sets of outstanding issues, the Status of Jerusalem there, the Status of Refugees, security and borders, this did not happen. And that has created a
lot of frustration, which has undermined the authority of the Palestinian state.
I'm very happy that the state of Palestine, as it's called today was very happy with this because they see this is recognition of the moderate path
to a settlement where Israelis and Palestinian can live in peace side by side, that's the Palestine that we recognize. And I noticed that when there
was a vote in the general assembly of the U.N.
We had the record number of countries who voted in favor of full membership for Palestine in the U.N., including 23 states that have not yet recognized
Palestine. So there's clearly a move in that direction at the site to rebalance the position of Palestine versus Israel.
ANDERSON: Yeah. It's good to have you sir. And your insight into the decision and why it was taken is extremely important. Thank you very much
indeed for joining us more news after this.
EIDE: Thank you -- very much --
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
ANDERSON: Well, they wiped the floor with all their Bundesliga rivals but Bayer Leverkusen is not taking things for granted. Tonight, they are
meeting Atalanta in the UEFA Europa League final and let's just say that the German club has some past scores to settle with the Italian opponents.
Amanda Davies joining me now, Amanda.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Hi Becky. Yeah, Atalanta did something admittedly 22 years ago that nobody has managed to do to Bayer Leverkusen
so far this season and was to beat them in both legs in their round of 16 meeting. But for Leverkusen it is 51 matches down 2 to go, only 2 to go.
And what they hope would be an unprecedented unbeaten season in which they will win a treble of trophies. They've already gone all the way through the
Bundesliga this, the biggest one really that the European Europa League Trophy later this evening. The finish would be the German Cup on Saturday.
Their coach Xabi Alonso understandably calm and confidence, I think it's fair to say ahead of this match here in Dublin if ever there was a city for
a team to visit with the party well and truly underway. It is Dublin isn't it in Ireland?
ANDERSON: Yeah.
DAVIES: But as you rightly said Atalanta would love to spoil those celebrations.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
DAVIES: So yeah, plenty more to come in a couple of minutes.
They'll get a sense of that crack in Dublin tonight wherever it happens ultimately but what is season for them fantastic good stuff. "World Sports"
up next, I'm back at the top of the hour, the second hour of "Connect the World". So please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WORLD SPORT)
[10:00:00]
END
