On the scene with Jerrold Kessel in Jerusalem

Jerrold Kessel

CNN.com talked Tuesday with Correspondent Jerrold Kessel about the ongoing crisis in Palestinian-Israeli relations.

Q. You've covered the Middle East peace process from Jerusalem for many years, witnessing many summits and clashes between the two sides. Is there anything unexpected about the latest conflict?

KESSEL: I've rarely seen such deep-seated emotions coming to the fore on both sides. Perhaps never before. The nerves are really raw. It's not just lack of trust -- it's real red, raw animosity. The intensity of the emotions is surprising because, even though there has been a lot of opposition on both sides to the peace moves, by and large, one still had the perception that the majority of people on both sides did want a peaceful resolution of the conflict. It's as though there never was a peace process, that they weren't coming close to a deal. And yet we know how tantalizingly close the leaders were to a deal. The ferocity of emotions has taken perhaps even the Israelis and Palestinians themselves by surprise.

Q. What about the moderate elements on both sides?

KESSEL: Even with the people within the so-called "peace camp" on both sides, you have a sudden sense of anger. I don't recall the people who believed in peace being so ready to blame the other side and not to even consider putting some of the blame on themselves. In other words, people are now talking in absolute terms on both sides. This is a dramatic difference. Slowly, during the years of the peace process, you had each side at least gradually coming around to understand, or at least accept, the other side's pain, problems and difficulties. During these three weeks, that was forgotten. It went back to this side was right, this side was wrong. No in-betweens.

Q. What has been the reaction in Jerusalem to the summit agreement?

KESSEL: Fear, trepidation and a lot of anger. A couple of hours after the summit, there was a clash on the edge of Jerusalem. An Israeli neighborhood came under fire from a Palestinian town and Israeli tanks fired back with machine guns. It's in an area on the outskirts of Jerusalem that was built after 1967 by the Israelis and the Palestinians regard it as part of occupied territory. An Israeli security man is in critical condition. One hundred forty Israeli families were evacuated from their homes. That's a very traumatic development for the Israelis. Up to now, the Palestinians have borne the brunt of the violence. As we speak, there's a demonstration taking place in this neighborhood. People are yelling, "Death to Arabs!"

Q. In a story such as this, do you get the sense that the presence of television cameras affects events?

KESSEL: Not in a nefarious way. But I have no doubts that television coverage of events has an effect on how people relate to things. The lynching of two Israeli soldiers was captured on video. Similarly, the killing of the little Palestinian boy in Gaza. We know, of course, the political ramifications of these events but we don't know much about the impact of those images on the deeper psyche of people on both sides. But what are we to say, that television shouldn't cover this? Of course not. Television is part of our lives. We can't ignore it but we also can't ignore that it has an effect.

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