Khaled Meshaal , the political leader of the Palestinian organization Hamas, spoke exclusively with Christiane Amanpour from Cairo, Egypt for the Wednesday, Nov. 21st edition of Amanpour. Amanpour pressed him on whether his organization was responsible for the bombing of a civilian passenger bus in Tel Aviv, whether Hamas would agree to a ceasefire with Israel, and under what conditions Hamas would agree to recognize the State of Israel.
The following is an excerpt from the interview:
AMANPOUR: You say you would prefer the route that did not cause so much violence, so much death. And yet, you say that you would accept a two-state solution, but that you will not recognize Israel's right to exist. Is that still the case?
MESHAAL (through translator): First of all, the offer must come from the attacker, from Israel, which has the arsenal, not from the victim. Second, I say to you from 20 years ago and more, the Palestinians and Arabs are offering peace. But peace is destroying peace through aggression and war and killing.
This idea (ph), this touch failed experiences, we have two options. No other. Either there's an international will, led by the U.S. and Europe and the international community and force Israel to go through the way of peace and a Palestinian state, according to the border of 1967 with the right to return. And this is something we have agreed upon as Palestinians, as a common program.
But if Israel can continue to refuse this, either the - either we force them or resist to - resort to resistance. I accept a state of the 1967. How can I accept Israel? They have occupied my land. I need recognition, not the Israelis. This is a reversed question.
The full transcript of this program may be found here. This edition of Amanpour aired on Wednesday, Nov. 21 on CNN International at 3:00pmET in the North America. In Europe, Amanpour airs on CNN International at 21:00 CET.
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London, 21st November 2012: Last night, the combined efforts of CNN Digital and CNN International saw the network triumph at the Foreign Press Association Media Awards, winning three categories. CNN won the Print & Web Feature, Arts & Culture, and Story of the Year by a Full Member of the FPA awards.
The CNN documentary World’s Untold Stories: Secrets of the Belfast Project won News Story of the Year by a full FPA member. The judges described the documentary as “absolute dynamite, a terrific story and a fine piece of journalism".
The Arts & Culture award was given to Leonardo – The Lost Painting, a documentary that explored the story behind the recent discovery of a Leonardo da Vinci painting. Judges praised the “love and lingering interest” that had gone into the piece, describing it as “a very well done cultural story”.
The Print & Web Feature award was clinched by Mauritania: Slavery’s Last Stand – a CNN Digital feature that revealed the shocking extent of slavery in modern Mauritania. The judges remarked that the piece was “in some ways the most convincing and best edited of all the categories". FULL POST
Israel Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren responds to bus bombing in Tel Aviv this morning and talks about long term goals of ending the conflict. Oren says that ground troops are on the table if attacks continue.
Oren says, “We think that the bus explosion in Tel Aviv is the essence of what this whole conflict is about. It’s about Hamas terrorists. And there are a number of other terrorists groups, not just Hamas, in Gaza that want to maximize the number of Israelis they can kill… They’re about killing civilians.”
He continues, “De-escalation is not going to be possible, if Hamas doesn’t stop shooting at us.”
Tel Aviv Chief Inspector Micky Rosenfeld updates latest on investigation in bus bomb that left at least 22 injured. Rosenfeld says they are looking for suspect who left a bomb on the bus.
Rosenfeld says, “What we know is that at least one person fled the scene, fled the area. We’re looking into the possibility if they left by foot or possibly if they arrived here by vehicle.”
CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports on early details after an explosion injures at least 10 on a bus in Tel Aviv, Israel.
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