Renewed Violence in the Middle East Leaves Four Palestinians Dead and More Uncertainty
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: An Israeli was killed and four Palestinians injured in the latest of the continuing clashes in the Middle East. There was, among other places, a fire fight in Bethlehem. Surviving victims are sometimes forced to deal with broken families or broken communities. And this bloodshed is a top issue for the new prime minister- elect. Will the new Bush administration play a role in finding a solution? We have two reports tonight; first we begin with CNN's Jerrold Kessel with the latest from Jerusalem.</s>JERROLD KESSEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A second meeting within 48 hours as Ariel Sharon asks Ehud Barak to continue as his defense minister, though Mr. Sharon says, Mr. Barak's approach to peace failed. And, says Israel's prime minister-elect, Barak made it very difficult for every future government in Israel. Mr. Barak appears to be paving the way for Mr. Sharon's new peace-making approach. He told his government he'd inform several top world leaders the proposals he'd offered and tentative agreements with the Palestinians don't obligate Mr. Sharon. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat says he is prepared to give Mr. Sharon the chance to show he means to move towards peace. "We have to wait and see," Mr. Arafat said in an interview with Reuters news agency. "We will judge him," he added, "according to the policies he adopts as prime minister and with whom he forms a government." Mr. Sharon says there can be no real peace talks as long as violence is not completely ended in the West Bank and Gaza. But mindful of what aides to the new Israeli leader call "his demonized international image," Mr. Sharon is launching a worldwide diplomatic blitz that he does want a political settlement, though he argues peace talks can't be resumed where they left off.</s>DORE GOLD, FORMER ISRAELI U.N. AMBASSADOR: There are people who believe negotiations should nonetheless be tried in a way that they failed. Like, for me, it's like banging square pegs into round holes. If it doesn't work, you have to try something else.</s>KESSEL: After months of furious on-off talks under U.S. direction, Sharon's emissaries say they'll be telling the Bush administration they welcome its expected less hands-on approach.</s>ZALMAN SHOVAL, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: If I heard correctly that they want to return to the previous American roles as go betweens, as facilitators and intermediaries, I think that's fine. I think that's fine because Israel and the Palestinians have to negotiate with each other, not with Washington.</s>KESSEL: But already, Mr. Sharon is reported to have heard from the U.S. ambassador, Washington is concerned that funds for the Palestinian Authority, held up by Israel, should be transferred forthwith because of the dire economic straits of Mr. Arafat's administration. (on camera): Although the Bush administration has made plain it will avoid a Bill Clinton-style heavy involvement in Mid-East peace making, no one is ruling out a still-active U.S. role to avoid peace prospects being allowed to deteriorate further. Washington's direction is expected to become clear when Secretary of State Colin Powell makes his inaugural visit to the area two weeks from now. Jerrold Kessel, CNN, Jerusalem.</s>FRAZIER: Still in the Middle East, now, but now to Gaza, where the legacy of bitterness felt by many Palestinians will last way beyond the time when the shooting stops, and why is that? Here is CNN's Ben Wedeman on the outrage felt by some families there.</s>BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sadia Abdin (ph) used to live over there in a house shaded by palm trees, but she and her family don't live there anymore. The house and the palm trees are gone. (on camera): This is all that remains of the home of the Abdin family. Their home and five others behind me were bulldozed along with their fields and almost everything they owned. (voice-over): In December, Israeli bulldozers came in the middle of the night, demolished the houses and uprooted trees following violence in the area. An Israeli army spokesman says the houses and trees were removed to prevent attacks on a nearby position guarding the Jewish settlement of Gush Katif (ph). The spokesman said the operation was carried out at night and without notice to minimize the risk to their soldiers. Showing us what she managed to retrieve from her house, Sadia says she and her family had no warning. "They didn't give us a minute to clear out," she says. They now live in tents, scant shelter on damp winter nights. Fourteen people sleep on this tent alone. The cooking, the washing, everything is done here. Since their homes were destroyed, the Abdins have been on their own. "The United Nations didn't help us," says Samiha Abdin (ph). "The Palestinian Authority did nothing. They didn't left a finger." Sadia claims Palestinian gunmen never used her house to fire at the Israelis. "The Israelis have no morals," says Sadia. "How can they come and bulldoze people in the middle of the night? What kind of peace is this?"