Rula Amin: Arafat expresses frustration

CNN's Rula Amin

RAMALLAH, West Bank (CNN) -- Israeli helicopters and warplanes attacked a building next to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat's Ramallah headquarters Tuesday. The move was one of several attacks on Palestinian targets in response to the weekend suicide bombings that killed 25 Israelis.

Arafat was not hurt in the Ramallah strikes. CNN's Rula Amin interviewed him after the attacks and filed the following report.

AMIN: The building that was hit is right behind me. There's only one wall separating this building from the headquarters for Yasser Arafat.

We went inside Tuesday and had an exclusive interview with Yasser Arafat but not in his usual office. He told us he had to change his office because he was concerned that the Israelis might hit his offices as well.

According to the Palestinian president, he says that despite all these missile attacks on different targets in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, he's still committed to fighting any kind of attempts by Islamic militants to strike at Israel by carrying out suicide bombings.

Yasser Arafat said he will commit 100 percent effort, that he is still committed to putting in that effort. But he warned that only peace can bring 100 percent results.

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And Yasser Arafat was very skeptical of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He told us he doesn't believe Mr. Sharon wants to reach the point where they both sit at the peace table, and he says that this latest escalation is a very intentional attempt on the part of the Israeli government to provoke reaction from the Palestinians to continue this cycle of violence and avoid meeting at the peace negotiating table.

He also said that his Palestinian Authority had succeeded in efforts to crack down on militant factions. Arafat told us that Monday night the Palestinian police continued its arresting campaign. They have arrested 11 suspects in the West Bank in connection with the weekend suicide bombings.

Meanwhile, Mr. Arafat and his aides were meeting Tuesday in Ramallah, trying to rally international support. Mr. Arafat expressed a lot of frustration to us. He said that when Palestinians are targeted and killed, he doesn't see the same kind of response as when the Israelis are being killed and targeted.

We have heard the same frustrations coming from Palestinians, who came here Tuesday to see the damage. Many here are wondering, what is it that Yasser Arafat can do to confront Israel as it is attacking Palestinian targets? There's a lot of frustration and cynicism and disappointment here. And yet it's those feelings that weaken Arafat's ability to crack down on the Palestinian Islamic militants.