Weapons Shipment Could Be Major Obstacle to Peace
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Last week Israel seized a ship loaded with weapons and ammunition. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon accuses Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat of being behind that shipment. All this is just another obstacle in getting the Israelis and Palestinians to talk with each other about peace. CNN's Jerrold Kessel has this update.</s>JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Outgoing and incoming, as Europe's top foreign policy man Javier Solana arrived to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders and upbeat assessment from the U.S. envoy General Anthony Zinni, who is returning to Washington. Serious challenges remain, but there are real opportunities for progress Zinni was quoted as saying in a news release. During these four days of talks, the American envoy made a point of staying away from the issue, which has framed his latest visit and threatened to overshadow it. This arms boat, now in the southern Israeli port of Eilat. Israel says it seized the vessel loaded with 50 tons of armament that were bound for the Palestinian authority in Gaza. An array of Israel's top political and military leaders paraded the weapons in front of diplomats and military attaches who heard Prime Minister Ariel Sharon say the arms cache operation shows Yasser Arafat has made himself Israel's bitter enemy.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was led by Arafat. It was his initiative. He instructed to pay the money. He sent the people and he's fully responsible.</s>KESSEL: Now Israel' Army Chief of Staff General Shira Mufaz (ph) is calling for an overall reassessment of Israel's approach to Mr. Arafat's authority suggesting it's no longer possible for Israel to keep on talking to him, even about security coordination. Whereas in the past Mr. Sharon has chided his army commander for such political statements, this time the prime minister says his government will soon engage in such a strategic reappraisal. The Palestinian leadership denying any involvement whatsoever in the boat incident, says Mr. Sharon is simply intent on sidelining the U.S. effort to secure an effective cease-fire.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe he's preparing the ground to escalate the attacks on the Palestinian people, on the Palestinian authority. Maybe he wants to use this as a pretext to escalate this campaign against President Arafat and the Palestinian authority.</s>KESSEL: In Cairo, Israeli Parliamentary opposition leaders met with top Egyptian officials reportedly agreeing that Mr. Sharon seems to be shying away from new political negotiations. But a senior aide of President Mubarak said that the boat affair could potentially be a major complication for renewed peace efforts.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it is proven, beyond a doubt, that this was done by Palestinians who are linked to the Palestinian authority or with the advantage of the Palestinian authority or any Palestinian. I believe it would be very detrimental. It can be a blow to the peace.</s>KESSEL: Israeli officials insist they provided the United States with what they called cast iron evidence of the Palestinian authority's involvement in the arms boat incident. (on camera): Apart from the boat row, a definite quiet is gradually taking hold. How the United States, which has maintained a steady silence on the boat affair decides to treat it between now and General Zinni's return at the end of next week could be a critical factor in determining whether the U.S. envoy is able to consolidate a cease-fire. Jerrold Kessel, CNN, Jerusalem.