On the scene with Fionnuala Sweeney in Jerusalem

Fionnuala Sweeney

CNN International anchor Fionnuala Sweeney is in Jerusalem where funerals were held Saturday for Palestinians killed in clashes Friday with Israeli soldiers.

Q: How is the mood different today in the region from what it was yesterday?

SWEENEY: It's relatively calm in the West Bank and Gaza after yesterday's clashes. There are funerals today for four Palestinians killed in those clashes and it's possible that the violence could resume when those funerals end later today.

Q: Regarding the continued clashes, we've crossed the one-month point since they began. Does that represent a psychological threshold on the ground? Is there a growing feeling that these clashes represent a second Intifada that could last years?

SWEENEY: Well among Palestinians, yeah, they're already talking about the so-called Intifada for independence. Many Palestinians don't agree with the peace agreements Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has made with Israel and have decided their best course of action is to engage with Israeli soldiers.

Q: What is the latest on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's efforts to form an emergency government?

SWEENEY: He's been meeting all week with members of the conservative opposition Likud party in an attempt to form that government, so far with no agreement.

Q: As Barak and Likud stretch out their negotiations, do chances decrease for the formation of a so-called unity government?

SWEENEY: It's hard to say, Barak is trying to keep all his options open. He continues talking with (U.S. President Bill) Clinton, while at the same time he has to convince Likud party leader Ariel Sharon that he is interested in strengthening his position among Israeli politicians suspicious of the peace process.

Just how he can push both sides together -- Israelis who favor returning to the peace process and those who are ready to abandon it -- is Barak's challenge.

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