On the scene with Jerrold Kessel in Jerusalem

Jerrold Kessel

CNN.com spoke with CNN Correspondent Jerrold Kessel who is in Jerusalem reporting on the heightened tensions in the Mideast.

Q: What's the situation like there on the ground following the intensification of violence Friday?

KESSEL: It's been the deadliest day of fighting in two weeks. ...

(The mood) is very gloomy and very militant. There's almost nobody who believes anymore, on either side, that the situation can be hauled back from this intensifying confrontation. ... There are those who are deeply concerned. There are some in the Palestinian side who believe that ... this is part of a struggle to achieve the end of Israeli occupation and (the beginning of) their independence.

This is all but destroying the hopes that the cease-fire, which the two sides had committed to at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, will hold.

But it would be just, just, just premature to completely say that the Sharm el-Sheikh commitments have failed. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak spoke on Israeli television this evening and said Israel will wait and see what happens at the weekend Arab League summit in Cairo.

Q: What are the expectations for that summit from the Israeli side?

KESSEL: Up until now, Israel had been hoping that the position adopted by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt for a fairly measured tone of the summit and not total condemnation of Israel would hold sway more so than those of more radical Arab leaders (who favor) severing of ties with Israel and other strident steps.

But after the ferocity of today's confrontations, that may change. Barak said, "If it appears that the violence is continuing, we will take time out to reevaluate the situation of the peace process."

Q: What are both sides doing to try to control or limit the spreading of violence in the region? Is there a possibility that Arafat or Barak might meet this weekend for an emergency session?

KESSEL: There is no possibility of that (an Arafat-Barak meeting). Arafat will be in Cairo for the summit; Israelis will be watching it. But as of now, the only thing the two sides are saying is that the other side must fulfill its commitments from Sharm el-Sheikh. Each side is now insisting that the other side is not keeping its commitments.

The Palestinian leadership says that so long as Israel continues to use what it calls "excessive force" in combating the Palestinian demonstrations, then they have difficulty restraining their protesters. It's not clear at this stage, as it has not been throughout this confrontation, just how much control Yasser Arafat has or is willing to exert over the Palestinian streets.

The Israelis are now beginning -- publicly for the fist time -- to ask the same question. Until now, Israel has said Mr. Arafat could effectively control the violence if he chooses. Today, Israel's foreign minister Schlomo Ben-Ami said bluntly that it's no longer apparent whether or if (Arafat's message) that he wants the violence to be reigned in is reaching through to the Palestinian community.

Israel announces 'time out' in wake of violence
October 20, 2000
Israelis, Palestinians trade charges at U.N. session
October 18, 2000

United Nations
Israel Defense Forces
Addameer: Palestinian Human Rights Association
• Clashes Information Center
Palestinian State Information Service
Live Western Wall Camera at Aish
Palestinian National Authority Home Page
The Israeli Government's Official Web site
About the West Bank
Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees
U.S. State Department

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.