Transcripts For CNNW The Situation Room 20140711 : vimarsana

Spying, germany kicks out the cia station chief describing u. S. Actions as stupid. Ill speak live this hour with the House Intelligence Committee chairman mike rogers. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Im wolf blitzer in jerusalem. Youre in the situation room. The breaking news. The palestinian rocket fire is relentless and so is the israeli response. Palestinians say the air strikes on hamas targets in gaza have taken 100 lives, many of them civilians. Both sides theyre preparing for a longer, more violent conflict. Israel has thanks massed at the border and 30,000 military reservists have now been called to their units. Hamas is threatening to attack israels International Airport. Our correspondents are standing by with the kind of coverage only cnn can bring to you. And ill talk with the spokesman for hamas this hour. Ill also speak with the spokes olympian for the israeli Prime Minister and the former u. S. Special envoy for the middle east, retired general anthony zinni. First my firsthand look at this growing conflict. At any moment here in israel, a rocket attack siren could go off. You can hear the sirens have just gone off. Were all being told to get to a shelter. So were running we had to drop everything to get to safety. Then an anxious wait for the all clear. Before coming out to see if anyone was hurt or killed. Earlier here, a rocket slammed into this gas station and a huge fire broke out still smoldering when we arrived. There was a rocket directly hit behind me. Did it hit the truck. No, it hit there where you the see now the tractor. Yeah. And, of course, because of the fire started from the truck and 11 cars were burned totally. How much warning is there for the folks to run to shelter . Maximum one minute. Maximum. Usually its less. Sirens went off in tel aviv, as well where at least one rocket was intercepted. And now is, hamas militants are vowing they plan to target ben gurian International Airport. According to the Israeli Defense forces around 100 rockets were fired at israel today. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed air strikes will continue till quiet is restored. Those strikes now responsible for at least 100 deaths according to palestinian authorities. This video posted online is said to show the threestory haas of the family where five people were reported killed in their sleep. Others injured are rushed into ambulances. Medical sources say the Emergency Rooms are overwhelmed and patients are being treated on the floor. In a video statement overnight, the military wing of hamas blamed israel for starting the clash and claimed theyve used only a small portion of their arsenal and could fight for weeks. Adding to the danger, a threat from a new direction. Overnight a rocket was fired from lebanon into israel raising the specter of a twofront war. I suspect this isnt a second front. You have to watch it because if it were to be, it would essentially fulfill one of israels worse nightmares and that is hamas and hezbollah literal lili being capable of reaching the entire country with their high trajectory weapons. In gaza maybe 700, 800, 900 are injured. Still the rockets keep firing into israel. Lets go to live to our Senior Correspondent ben wedeman joining us from gaza city with the latest. Whats the latest there, ben. Reporter the latest is weve seen a series of air strikes throughout the gaza strip. We were in the northern part of the strip today going from one house after another that had been hit by these israeli air strikes. We ended up in a house in ji ballia in the northern part of the strip where a missile had hit the house and a piece of shrapnel had flown off and ripped off half the brain of a 4yearold boy. Now, the people in the house told us they had received no warning whatsoever. This really underscores a basic fundamental difference between israel and gaza even though the israelis arent doing this knock on the roof system where they call someone in a house about to be targeted and warn them to leave, oftentimes that doesnt happen. Yes, the israeli people are running to bomb shelters. Here there are no shelters, no air raid sirens, no iron dome system. So people have to depend on their five senses. When you drive around gaza, you have your eyes wide open, youre listening carefully to whats above. And we were in one town where during a life shot for cnn international, i 15u9 two apache helicopters just above the town. People just watched. Nobody ran away. Everybody just watched and listened. I spoke to one man in the town who said were so used to this, we watch the missiles fired from gaza, we watch the israeli air strikes. Theres nothing else we can do. We cant hide so we just watch it. Wolf . Ben, do most of the palestinians and youve been going from the north to the south throughout gaza. Its not a very big area. Do most of those people youre speaking to, average palestinians support hamas firing these rockets and missiles into israel . Well, what ive seen in the four days ive been here is that initially there was annoyance. There was anger at hamas among many people here because of the current flareup. Not because they have any love for israel. They just didnt see the point of it all because its obviously very disruptive. But increasingly you go around. They talk about the death toll. More than 100 people dead. Over 500 people wounded. Theyre getting angrier and angrier. We were at one house that was completely obliterated. People were talking about im going to go out and get my own rocket and fire it at israel that theyre just fed up with this violence. And their annoyance with hamas is being replaced by a very old anger in israel for a long history. Ben wedeman in gaza be, be careful. We dont often get a chance to hear directly from hamas. But just awhile ago, i spoke with a top hamas official. Joining us now from bay ru, osama ham dedahamdan. You heard president Mahmoud Abbas call on hamas to stop the rocket fire into the israel. What will it take for hamas to stop launching rockets and missiles into israel . Well, it needs just only one condition. That israels stop its violation for the cease fire agreement which was agreed on in 2012 to stop the aggressions against the palestinians in gaza and west bank. The one who started the fight was israel. So them have to stop that first. Clearly the israelis are going to continue striking in gaza if the rockets come in from hamas in gaza. Is there any effort to achieve a ceasefire . I believe the israelis are targeting is the civilians from the first day. They believe this cause heavy pressure on hamas because the civilians are very precious and valuable for hamas. But its clear also that when they started that tact, they did not get net attention to the civilians. We are talking now about 70 of the casualties, mostly killed and injured people, women and children. And the other part is mostly civilians. So we believe in both ways the israelis are attacking the civilians. We want to protect our civilians and its not our own thing to do that by acting against the israeli attacks towards the civilian people. Youve heard the criticism of hamas not only from the israel but the United States, the europeans that hamas is launching rockets and missiles random little into israel aiming at civilian targets. What do you say to that . Everyone knows that hamas is not aiming against the civilians. If hamas wants to aim against the civilians, it would be more easier. All the targets which was declared by the militant wing of hamas was militant targets or semi militant targets. The one who attacked a navy base is not taking the civilians. The one who is attacking the militant airports is not attacking civilians. While on the other hand, israelis are daily every hour attacking the civilians. And this is i was down in the south not far away from the border between israel and gaza and a rocket came into a fairly populated civilian area, blew up basically a whole gas station there. It didnt look like there were any military targets nearby. Thats true because no one is talking about the Palestinian Civilians. When you up this story, no one is ready to listen. But when it came to israelis, everyone is taking care and talking. I want to ask, we have 100 civilians killed. 75 are women and children. Who is talking about that and blaming israel for that . Everyone is talking about israel right to protect itself. What about the right for the palestinians to protect themselves to protect their people . To live in occupied land. We are talked about occupied palestinian land. Everyone knows its occupied by the israelis. International solutions is asking israel to leave but theyre not doing that. If anyone want to stop this, he has to go directly to the point. And the occupation. Make an end for this occupation. You will make an end for all the problem. There were reports today that hamas is targeting commercial aircraft coming into ben gurian airport, israels International Airport outside of tell an veeb. Are you targeting planes coming into israel . This it is totally false. Hamas declared a message, has a declaration telling the commercial flights not to the approach Ben Gurion Airport. So they wont be hit by the missiles. So we are warning them because we want their safety. We want the commercial flight safety. We want the safety of the civilians and we know the israelis will not warn them because the israelis are wishing, hoping, maybe praying to have such a tragedy so they can use it against hamas. This is part of hamas where to avoid the civilians or avoid any attack or tragedy for the civilians. Are you bracing for an Israeli Ground invasion of gaza . We are not bracing for any kind of fight. In fact, we as palestinians are seeking our rights and we hope if we can have that peacefully for more than 20 years, the palestinians were negotiating and israel was undermining the Peace Process. Mainly the last round of the peace negotiations and everyone knows that, mainly in the United States administration. And now, everyone knows that nettenia shoe started this military operation to cover up himself after undermining the Peace Process. So the palestinians are not willing to have the fight but if there was no chances to have peace, they will fight for their dignity, their freedom, their independence and their independent sovereign state which they are seeking to have in the near future. One final question. Are you like president Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, ready to accept whats called a twostate solutionings . Israel and palestinian . Everyone knows there was an agreement between all the palestinian groups in 2006 that all the palestinians have a National Target to achieve a palestinian independent state on the lines of the fourth of june 67 with jerusalem as East Jerusalem as a capital and the right of return for the refugees. That was a National Agreement between all the palestinians. And it was at that time a good chance to achieve peace. Unfortunately, no one get that chance. We hope that the palestinians can achieve their goals with a minimum kind of sacrifices with a minimum the minimum number of casualties but unfortunately, the israelis are doing against that, acting against that, taking over the land, killing the civilians. And they are lying every time talking that hamas is targeting the civilians while they are the side who is targeting our civilians mainly women and children. Will you accept the twostate solution . We have a clear position about that. This is a decision is supposed to be made by the palestinian and independent sovereign state. There will be an elected government and this government will make the decision and all the palestinians including hamas have to respect the decision of this government. Osama hamdan joining us from beirut, thanks very much for joining us. And coming up live, were here in jerusalem. Well get israels response. Ill speaking with mark regular ga, the spokesman for Benjamin Netanyahu. How close is israel to sending Ground Troops into gaza . Ill ask him. Well also go inside the iron dome. Thats israels hitech Missile Defense system, shooting hamas rockets right out of the sky. I saw that up close earlier today. Stay with us. Youre in the situation room. Were live from jerusalem. Were live here in jerusalem. Youre looking at live pictures of jerusalem. You see a live picture of the israeli supreme court. We just heard a spokesman for hamas blame israel for this conflict. Joining us the spokesman for the israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He says you started this most recent campaign and you have to stop. We would think hamas is a movement of boy scouts just interested in good deeds. Hamas is officially designated a terrorist organization by the United States, by canada, by the European Union and many others. This is a brutal terrorist organization. This flowery language and kind words cant obscure that fact. Is there a ceasefire negotiation going on right now . I can say the following. Our goal is to bring peace and quiet to the israels citizens they dont have the to live in fear of the rockets coming from gaza. Too many rockets, hundreds over the last few weeks. It has to stop. It canning stop one way or another but it has to stop. Is the egypt is, turkey, qatar, the United States involved . Many people want to help. We cant agree to a ceasefire that hamas wants. Hamas wants a bandaid. As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, they would like to have a few minutes tonight rest and bandage their wounds and start firing again. Thats not in the cards. We want to come out of this conflict knowing for a sustained period of time the people of israel can live without the fear of rockets coming in from gazaing there really arent any serious negotiations under way fur a ceasefire . We see. Hamas continues to shoot rockets even tonight. They say theyre going to continue doing so as long as israel pounds targets in gaza. Thats putting the cart before the horse because its hamas that over the last few weeks fired hundreds of rockets into israel. We didnt really respond. We responded in a way to give diplomacy a chance. We deliberately gave them time to deescalate and they chose to keep shooting rockets. Thats why the ben wedeman reported the palestinians themselves where is angry at hamas saying why have you escalated the crisis so we have this conflict. The and the Palestinian People of gaza are right. There have been very few casualties, no fatalities in israel. 100 palestinians are dead. Many of them civilians, young kids, elderly, 700 or 800 severely injured. There seems to be a disproportionality going on. Im not going to apologize there arent israeli deaths. Hamas has fired hundreds of rockets into our cities and our townships trying to kill and murder as many israeli civilians as they can. Why havent they succeeded . Israel has invested billions in irons, air raid shelters, fortified buildings all the things because we care about the publicing to safeguard our population. Secondly, the iron dome, a technological feat, a u. S. I israeli joint venture, a very effective combat tested antimissile system. Here id like to take the opportunity to thank the american people, the american administration, the congress. This iron dome system, would. Its an americanisraeli joint venture. We thank you for your participation. Are commercial aircraft flying out of ben gurion in danger . No, we take precautions. Ive got family coming in and out in the airport. I dont think theres any serious danger. Theyre telling International Flights dont go to the israel because of all the missiles going on. Those flights could be in trouble. Hamas says a lot of things. 100 israelis dead here and there. Theres a lot of bravado there. The International Flights in and out of the Ben Gurion Airport are safe. You heard me when i pressed him, they accept the twostate solution. He was being a little bit diplomatic there. He didnt say yes but at the same time, he said if this is the will of the Palestinian People at some point down the road, they would accept that. You heard him say that. I wamped the whole interview. I smiled a bit. Ive never seen someone be so disingenuous. He said were not targeting civilians. No one believes that. Even the hamas people dont believe that. Everyone knows hamas has a history of targeting innocent civilians. You only have to read the Hamas Charter which has been translate flood many languages. Thats what theyre all about. Thats why so many countries around the world have declared them a terrorist organization. If israel sends Ground Troops, armored personnel carriers into gaza, what would be the mission be . The mission is clear. The mission is to safeguard the israeli public. I said to you yesterday our mission is defensive. Its to protect our people. Id ask viewers if you were living in a country in the United States or around the world and terrorists on the other side of the frontier were shooting rockets into your country, what would you demand of your government . You would demand your Government Act to protect you. Thats what the Israeli Government will deliver. Mark, thanks very much for joining us. My pleasure, sir. Well stay in close touch with you, as well. Coming up, live from jerusalem, well get another palestinian perspective. Ar beauty is a member of the House Intelligence Committee<\/a> chairman mike rogers. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States<\/a> and around the world. Im wolf blitzer in jerusalem. Youre in the situation room. The breaking news. The palestinian rocket fire is relentless and so is the israeli response. Palestinians say the air strikes on hamas targets in gaza have taken 100 lives, many of them civilians. Both sides theyre preparing for a longer, more violent conflict. Israel has thanks massed at the border and 30,000 military reservists have now been called to their units. Hamas is threatening to attack israels International Airport<\/a>. Our correspondents are standing by with the kind of coverage only cnn can bring to you. And ill talk with the spokesman for hamas this hour. Ill also speak with the spokes olympian for the israeli Prime Minister<\/a> and the former u. S. Special envoy for the middle east, retired general anthony zinni. First my firsthand look at this growing conflict. At any moment here in israel, a rocket attack siren could go off. You can hear the sirens have just gone off. Were all being told to get to a shelter. So were running we had to drop everything to get to safety. Then an anxious wait for the all clear. Before coming out to see if anyone was hurt or killed. Earlier here, a rocket slammed into this gas station and a huge fire broke out still smoldering when we arrived. There was a rocket directly hit behind me. Did it hit the truck. No, it hit there where you the see now the tractor. Yeah. And, of course, because of the fire started from the truck and 11 cars were burned totally. How much warning is there for the folks to run to shelter . Maximum one minute. Maximum. Usually its less. Sirens went off in tel aviv, as well where at least one rocket was intercepted. And now is, hamas militants are vowing they plan to target ben gurian International Airport<\/a>. According to the Israeli Defense<\/a> forces around 100 rockets were fired at israel today. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> vowed air strikes will continue till quiet is restored. Those strikes now responsible for at least 100 deaths according to palestinian authorities. This video posted online is said to show the threestory haas of the family where five people were reported killed in their sleep. Others injured are rushed into ambulances. Medical sources say the Emergency Rooms<\/a> are overwhelmed and patients are being treated on the floor. In a video statement overnight, the military wing of hamas blamed israel for starting the clash and claimed theyve used only a small portion of their arsenal and could fight for weeks. Adding to the danger, a threat from a new direction. Overnight a rocket was fired from lebanon into israel raising the specter of a twofront war. I suspect this isnt a second front. You have to watch it because if it were to be, it would essentially fulfill one of israels worse nightmares and that is hamas and hezbollah literal lili being capable of reaching the entire country with their high trajectory weapons. In gaza maybe 700, 800, 900 are injured. Still the rockets keep firing into israel. Lets go to live to our Senior Correspondent<\/a> ben wedeman joining us from gaza city with the latest. Whats the latest there, ben. Reporter the latest is weve seen a series of air strikes throughout the gaza strip. We were in the northern part of the strip today going from one house after another that had been hit by these israeli air strikes. We ended up in a house in ji ballia in the northern part of the strip where a missile had hit the house and a piece of shrapnel had flown off and ripped off half the brain of a 4yearold boy. Now, the people in the house told us they had received no warning whatsoever. This really underscores a basic fundamental difference between israel and gaza even though the israelis arent doing this knock on the roof system where they call someone in a house about to be targeted and warn them to leave, oftentimes that doesnt happen. Yes, the israeli people are running to bomb shelters. Here there are no shelters, no air raid sirens, no iron dome system. So people have to depend on their five senses. When you drive around gaza, you have your eyes wide open, youre listening carefully to whats above. And we were in one town where during a life shot for cnn international, i 15u9 two apache helicopters just above the town. People just watched. Nobody ran away. Everybody just watched and listened. I spoke to one man in the town who said were so used to this, we watch the missiles fired from gaza, we watch the israeli air strikes. Theres nothing else we can do. We cant hide so we just watch it. Wolf . Ben, do most of the palestinians and youve been going from the north to the south throughout gaza. Its not a very big area. Do most of those people youre speaking to, average palestinians support hamas firing these rockets and missiles into israel . Well, what ive seen in the four days ive been here is that initially there was annoyance. There was anger at hamas among many people here because of the current flareup. Not because they have any love for israel. They just didnt see the point of it all because its obviously very disruptive. But increasingly you go around. They talk about the death toll. More than 100 people dead. Over 500 people wounded. Theyre getting angrier and angrier. We were at one house that was completely obliterated. People were talking about im going to go out and get my own rocket and fire it at israel that theyre just fed up with this violence. And their annoyance with hamas is being replaced by a very old anger in israel for a long history. Ben wedeman in gaza be, be careful. We dont often get a chance to hear directly from hamas. But just awhile ago, i spoke with a top hamas official. Joining us now from bay ru, osama ham dedahamdan. You heard president Mahmoud Abbas<\/a> call on hamas to stop the rocket fire into the israel. What will it take for hamas to stop launching rockets and missiles into israel . Well, it needs just only one condition. That israels stop its violation for the cease fire agreement which was agreed on in 2012 to stop the aggressions against the palestinians in gaza and west bank. The one who started the fight was israel. So them have to stop that first. Clearly the israelis are going to continue striking in gaza if the rockets come in from hamas in gaza. Is there any effort to achieve a ceasefire . I believe the israelis are targeting is the civilians from the first day. They believe this cause heavy pressure on hamas because the civilians are very precious and valuable for hamas. But its clear also that when they started that tact, they did not get net attention to the civilians. We are talking now about 70 of the casualties, mostly killed and injured people, women and children. And the other part is mostly civilians. So we believe in both ways the israelis are attacking the civilians. We want to protect our civilians and its not our own thing to do that by acting against the israeli attacks towards the civilian people. Youve heard the criticism of hamas not only from the israel but the United States<\/a>, the europeans that hamas is launching rockets and missiles random little into israel aiming at civilian targets. What do you say to that . Everyone knows that hamas is not aiming against the civilians. If hamas wants to aim against the civilians, it would be more easier. All the targets which was declared by the militant wing of hamas was militant targets or semi militant targets. The one who attacked a navy base is not taking the civilians. The one who is attacking the militant airports is not attacking civilians. While on the other hand, israelis are daily every hour attacking the civilians. And this is i was down in the south not far away from the border between israel and gaza and a rocket came into a fairly populated civilian area, blew up basically a whole gas station there. It didnt look like there were any military targets nearby. Thats true because no one is talking about the Palestinian Civilians<\/a>. When you up this story, no one is ready to listen. But when it came to israelis, everyone is taking care and talking. I want to ask, we have 100 civilians killed. 75 are women and children. Who is talking about that and blaming israel for that . Everyone is talking about israel right to protect itself. What about the right for the palestinians to protect themselves to protect their people . To live in occupied land. We are talked about occupied palestinian land. Everyone knows its occupied by the israelis. International solutions is asking israel to leave but theyre not doing that. If anyone want to stop this, he has to go directly to the point. And the occupation. Make an end for this occupation. You will make an end for all the problem. There were reports today that hamas is targeting commercial aircraft coming into ben gurian airport, israels International Airport<\/a> outside of tell an veeb. Are you targeting planes coming into israel . This it is totally false. Hamas declared a message, has a declaration telling the commercial flights not to the approach Ben Gurion Airport<\/a>. So they wont be hit by the missiles. So we are warning them because we want their safety. We want the commercial flight safety. We want the safety of the civilians and we know the israelis will not warn them because the israelis are wishing, hoping, maybe praying to have such a tragedy so they can use it against hamas. This is part of hamas where to avoid the civilians or avoid any attack or tragedy for the civilians. Are you bracing for an Israeli Ground<\/a> invasion of gaza . We are not bracing for any kind of fight. In fact, we as palestinians are seeking our rights and we hope if we can have that peacefully for more than 20 years, the palestinians were negotiating and israel was undermining the Peace Process<\/a>. Mainly the last round of the peace negotiations and everyone knows that, mainly in the United States<\/a> administration. And now, everyone knows that nettenia shoe started this military operation to cover up himself after undermining the Peace Process<\/a>. So the palestinians are not willing to have the fight but if there was no chances to have peace, they will fight for their dignity, their freedom, their independence and their independent sovereign state which they are seeking to have in the near future. One final question. Are you like president Mahmoud Abbas<\/a> of the Palestinian Authority<\/a>, ready to accept whats called a twostate solutionings . Israel and palestinian . Everyone knows there was an agreement between all the palestinian groups in 2006 that all the palestinians have a National Target<\/a> to achieve a palestinian independent state on the lines of the fourth of june 67 with jerusalem as East Jerusalem<\/a> as a capital and the right of return for the refugees. That was a National Agreement<\/a> between all the palestinians. And it was at that time a good chance to achieve peace. Unfortunately, no one get that chance. We hope that the palestinians can achieve their goals with a minimum kind of sacrifices with a minimum the minimum number of casualties but unfortunately, the israelis are doing against that, acting against that, taking over the land, killing the civilians. And they are lying every time talking that hamas is targeting the civilians while they are the side who is targeting our civilians mainly women and children. Will you accept the twostate solution . We have a clear position about that. This is a decision is supposed to be made by the palestinian and independent sovereign state. There will be an elected government and this government will make the decision and all the palestinians including hamas have to respect the decision of this government. Osama hamdan joining us from beirut, thanks very much for joining us. And coming up live, were here in jerusalem. Well get israels response. Ill speaking with mark regular ga, the spokesman for Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>. How close is israel to sending Ground Troops<\/a> into gaza . Ill ask him. Well also go inside the iron dome. Thats israels hitech Missile Defense<\/a> system, shooting hamas rockets right out of the sky. I saw that up close earlier today. Stay with us. Youre in the situation room. Were live from jerusalem. Were live here in jerusalem. Youre looking at live pictures of jerusalem. You see a live picture of the israeli supreme court. We just heard a spokesman for hamas blame israel for this conflict. Joining us the spokesman for the israeli Prime Minister<\/a> Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>. He says you started this most recent campaign and you have to stop. We would think hamas is a movement of boy scouts just interested in good deeds. Hamas is officially designated a terrorist organization by the United States<\/a>, by canada, by the European Union<\/a> and many others. This is a brutal terrorist organization. This flowery language and kind words cant obscure that fact. Is there a ceasefire negotiation going on right now . I can say the following. Our goal is to bring peace and quiet to the israels citizens they dont have the to live in fear of the rockets coming from gaza. Too many rockets, hundreds over the last few weeks. It has to stop. It canning stop one way or another but it has to stop. Is the egypt is, turkey, qatar, the United States<\/a> involved . Many people want to help. We cant agree to a ceasefire that hamas wants. Hamas wants a bandaid. As Prime Minister<\/a> Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> said, they would like to have a few minutes tonight rest and bandage their wounds and start firing again. Thats not in the cards. We want to come out of this conflict knowing for a sustained period of time the people of israel can live without the fear of rockets coming in from gazaing there really arent any serious negotiations under way fur a ceasefire . We see. Hamas continues to shoot rockets even tonight. They say theyre going to continue doing so as long as israel pounds targets in gaza. Thats putting the cart before the horse because its hamas that over the last few weeks fired hundreds of rockets into israel. We didnt really respond. We responded in a way to give diplomacy a chance. We deliberately gave them time to deescalate and they chose to keep shooting rockets. Thats why the ben wedeman reported the palestinians themselves where is angry at hamas saying why have you escalated the crisis so we have this conflict. The and the Palestinian People<\/a> of gaza are right. There have been very few casualties, no fatalities in israel. 100 palestinians are dead. Many of them civilians, young kids, elderly, 700 or 800 severely injured. There seems to be a disproportionality going on. Im not going to apologize there arent israeli deaths. Hamas has fired hundreds of rockets into our cities and our townships trying to kill and murder as many israeli civilians as they can. Why havent they succeeded . Israel has invested billions in irons, air raid shelters, fortified buildings all the things because we care about the publicing to safeguard our population. Secondly, the iron dome, a technological feat, a u. S. I israeli joint venture, a very effective combat tested antimissile system. Here id like to take the opportunity to thank the american people, the american administration, the congress. This iron dome system, would. Its an americanisraeli joint venture. We thank you for your participation. Are commercial aircraft flying out of ben gurion in danger . No, we take precautions. Ive got family coming in and out in the airport. I dont think theres any serious danger. Theyre telling International Flights<\/a> dont go to the israel because of all the missiles going on. Those flights could be in trouble. Hamas says a lot of things. 100 israelis dead here and there. Theres a lot of bravado there. The International Flights<\/a> in and out of the Ben Gurion Airport<\/a> are safe. You heard me when i pressed him, they accept the twostate solution. He was being a little bit diplomatic there. He didnt say yes but at the same time, he said if this is the will of the Palestinian People<\/a> at some point down the road, they would accept that. You heard him say that. I wamped the whole interview. I smiled a bit. Ive never seen someone be so disingenuous. He said were not targeting civilians. No one believes that. Even the hamas people dont believe that. Everyone knows hamas has a history of targeting innocent civilians. You only have to read the Hamas Charter<\/a> which has been translate flood many languages. Thats what theyre all about. Thats why so many countries around the world have declared them a terrorist organization. If israel sends Ground Troops<\/a>, armored personnel carriers into gaza, what would be the mission be . The mission is clear. The mission is to safeguard the israeli public. I said to you yesterday our mission is defensive. Its to protect our people. Id ask viewers if you were living in a country in the United States<\/a> or around the world and terrorists on the other side of the frontier were shooting rockets into your country, what would you demand of your government . You would demand your Government Act<\/a> to protect you. Thats what the Israeli Government<\/a> will deliver. Mark, thanks very much for joining us. My pleasure, sir. Well stay in close touch with you, as well. Coming up, live from jerusalem, well get another palestinian perspective. Ar beauty is a member of the Palestinian Parliament<\/a> will join us live. Plus the fallout from germanys extraordinarily murder expelling the cia station chief at the embassy in berlin. We have new details of a pretty strained relationship between these two allies over this developing spy scandal. Stay with us. Were live from jerusalem in the situation room. F provokes lust. It elicits pride. Incites envy. And unleashes wrath. Temptation comes in many heartpounding forms. But only one letter. F. The performance marque from lexus. Tonight from the jerusalem as the air war rages on without any letup in sight. Weve heard both sides tonight say theyre preparing for a long fight and that could mean an Israeli Ground<\/a> assault on gaza. But is there any chance for peace moves right now . Joining us three guests. The former centcom commander, u. S. Special middle east retired u. S. General anthony zinni, the expert raffi ran for Ben Gurion Airport<\/a> and by phone, mustafa barghouti, a member of the Palestinian Parliament<\/a>. Thanks to all of you for joining us. General zinni, we heard president obama suggest in that phone conversation he had yesterday with Prime Minister<\/a> netanyahu the u. S. Is ready to facilitate some sort of arrangement. Does the u. S. Have real leverage right now . I think we certainly have leverage with the israelis. I think what you need on the other side is an organization like the arab league or at least a collection of countries that you mentioned Something Like<\/a> egypt, jordan, turkey, maybe qatar. I think the assurances from hamas not to initiate action beyond a certain point in nene cease fire agreement would have to be given to them. I think they would have to stand behind it in some way for the israelis to accept it. And then i think on the other side, i think we would have to serve that purpose, too. I dont see that we can facilitate anything between hamas and israel. I dont think that will work. And i should have mentioned that obviously the Palestinian Authority<\/a> should be involved in this directly, too. Let me ask mr. Barghouti, do you think there can be any kind of brokered cease fire as there was at the end of 2012 when the egyptians got directly involved, the former government of then president Mohamed Morsi<\/a> and got the deal done . Well, first of all, i think the most important thing that should be done immediately to the save peoples lives is to have a ceasefire as soon as possible. And egypt cannot probably play the same role it played before for its own reasons. But that doesnt mean it cannot be help hadful. But the Palestinian Authority<\/a> and the palestinian groups in general can play an Important Role<\/a> as a broker with hamas. And the most important decisive factor here is the ability of the United States<\/a> to restrain israels intention to initiate a ground attack because if a ground attack starts, we will see thousands of victims, mostly civilians as is the case today out of 120 palestinians killed. More than twothirds are women and children and theyre mostly civilians. So we want to deter such a development. The United States<\/a> can be decisive in convincing israel or pressuring israel not to proceed with a ground operation which will be disastrous for everybody. And through peace through political process should be initiated to guarantee that there will be a quick cease fire and then try to find a way to deal with the roots of the problem because the issue here is not just this most recent fight. Its the fact that there is an occupation that has been there for 47 years. The longest and that has transformed into a system of oppressive apartheid. Raffi, are how vulnerable are commercial aircraft flying in and out of Ben Gurion Airport<\/a> . I dont think theyre vulnerable at all. Actually, the threats that were made today by hamas i think are empty threats that are a part of the psychological war. But if you see the difficulties that hamas has to actually get their missiles into targets the size of tel aviv and you see the effectiveness of the protection, the antirocket system, the iron dome protection that is provided to the important targets in israel, then you can assume that the ben goron airport in tel aviv is just as safe as any other airport in the western world. General zinni, how significant is that antiMissile Defense<\/a> system, that socalled iron dome that has emerged over these past few years . Well, i think its certainly stateoftheart. Its a point defense system. Obviously the citys Major Military<\/a> installations, the airport are well protected as you can see. So its been effective certainly. The odd rocket may get through or hit in spaces in between the coverage but i think you can see as a result the lack of casualties or major destruction on the israeli said. Its effectiveness. Mr. Barghouti, the Palestinian Authority<\/a> of Mahmoud Abbas<\/a> and the hamas leadership in gaza, are they on the same page right now . We heard the president say to hamas stop the firing of these rockets into israel. Not exactly on the same page but lets remember that one of the main goals of mr. Netanyahu, the Prime Minister<\/a> of israel, the main goal of his attack, one of the main goals is to destroy what was achieved in terms of unity between palestinians. He declared that very clearly which is a counterproductive approach because at the end of the day, only a unified palestinian structure canning achieve real stability in this region. Unfortunately, mr. Netanyahu is playing tactics here. On one side he kept saying i cant make peace because he does not represent all palestinians and palestinians are zwid when and when we got unified he started to attack the unity structure. Both sides are not on the same page. There are differences about you we need leadership. We need the leadership that can be responsible in making peace and can be responsible in whatever decisions it makes about our forms of struggle the. On the other hand, let me reiterate one point here about your previous questions to us. There is a very important point to note which is there is inequality here. Youre talking about a very might aught military army, the israel army probably the fifth largest in the world versus hamas which has basically primitive means in terms of comparison. Thats why you see so many casualties on the palestinian side and so little on the israeli side. But what you see here is hamas is conducting some sort of psychological war while israel is conducting a real military attack. And its true that maybe ben goron is a safe airport. Im sure the whole sector has been totally affected in israel. Mr. Barghouti, general zinni, raffi, thanks very much. Important information certainly were getting. Well continue to stay in touch with all three of you. Coming up, were live in jerusalem. Its a Missile Defense<\/a> system protecting millions of israelis right now. How does the iron dome system work . Well take a closer look at this stateoftheart lifesaver. Plus new strains on the relationship between the United States<\/a> and germany. Remarkable developments in a growing spy scandal. Stay with us. Youre in the situation room live from jerusalem. To fuel economy. To quality. Todays chevrolet has it all. And great news the chevy 72 hour sale has just been extended. Youll get 0 apr for 72 months. Plus no Monthly Payments<\/a> for the rest of the summer. 0 apr for 72 months plus no Monthly Payments<\/a> for the rest of the summer. The chevy 72 hour sale ends monday. Find new roads at your local chevy dealer. But parallel parking isnt one you do a lof them. Ings great. Youre either too far from the curb. Or too close to other cars. Its just a matter of time until you rip some guys bumper off. So, here are your choices take the bus. Or get Liberty Mutual<\/a> insurance. For drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual<\/a> wont raise your rates due to your first accident. See Car Insurance<\/a> in a whole new light. Call Liberty Mutual<\/a> insurance. Jerusalem. Well have much more on the fighting between israel and hamas in a few moments. First, is the strained relationship between the United States<\/a> and a close ally. Were talking about germany which expelled the top u. S. Intelligence officer at the u. S. Embassy in berlin over allegations of spying against germany. Our White House Correspondent<\/a> Michelle Kaczynski<\/a> has more on this growing controversy. Michele, what are you hearing . Ing both sides now trying to talk it out in private. You know, it only seems like yesterday that president obama hosted the german chancellor right here in the rose garden. He talked about the importance of this relationship even in a personal level. Saying it pained him that the prior spying disclosure strained that. Now theres this. Just setting things back again. A public embarrassment. The cia station chief in berlin of all places capital of one of our closest, most important european allies kicked out of the country when germans uncovered what were allegedly some u. S. Covert ops. The germans talking openly about the hurt, betrayal of it all. Today, the German Foreign<\/a> minister said expelling the cia chief was the right decision. A necessary step, a fitting reaction to the break of trust. Taking action was unavoidable, he said. The u. S. Has been far more quiet on the topic. No, the cia isnt tweeting about it, but today the white house offered this. Allies with sophisticated intelligence agencies like the United States<\/a> and germany understand with some degree of detail exactly what those intelligence relationships and activities entail. The germans say there is good contact still between top levels of both countries. The white house confirmed that conversations are going on right now in private. And that the u. S. Respects germanys choices whom to allow in their country even adding glowing praise for angela merkel, an effective partner and leader who puts the best interests of her country fishes. The president of the United States<\/a> and the chancellor of the federal republic of germany. Back in may, obama and merkel presented a united front even on tackling this touchy touchy spying issue. Remember a year ago, it came out that the nsa spied on merkels phone conversations. Obama conciliatory. What ive done is taken the unprecedented step of ordering our intelligence communities to take the privacy interests of nonu. S. Persons into account in everything that they do. Pledging, he said to merkel, to also close the gaps in the ways german and u. S. Intelligence operate and ensure clarity. Merkel not seeming fully convinced at the time saying theres still divisions that need work. Yesterday, calling apparent continued spying a waste of energy. So now this alleged spying does not involve phone tapping but does include some german citizens, one reportedly worked for the Foreign Intelligence Services<\/a> accused of slipping documents in the snowden investigation to the cia. The other allegedly worked for the German Defense<\/a> ministry. So far the white house says obama and merkel have not talked about this. Wolf . Michelle kaczynski, thanks very much. Michele is at the white house. Lets talk about this with republican congressman mike rogers of michigan. Mr. Chairman, thanks very much for joining us. You know, ive done some research. There may have been a case where a nato ally expelled a cia station chief. I dont remember a time when they publicly made that kind of announcement. How big of a deal is this . Its a huge deal. And for those of us who value the germanamerican relationship, im very very, very concerned. But they sure seem to be spending a lot of time, wolf, worrying about what the american Intelligence Services<\/a> are doing and their parliament is not necessarily worrying about what the german Intelligence Services<\/a> are doing. So again, i think this is these are important countries with important economies both the u. S. And germany and the rest of the g7 plus one, if you will economies,ing and it just doesnt seem like a very adult reaction to be expel the cia chief from germany. And its concerning and its a political temper tantrum like ive never seen before that i think is not productive, it is jeopardizing both intelligence cooperation and relationships with beyond the intelligence relationship between america and germany. Are you suggesting, mr. Chairman, as i think you are, that the u. S. Had no choice but to engage in this kind of clandestine effort because the germans themselves, their Intelligence Services<\/a> were not doing the necessary job . Well, a couple of things. One, i would never confirm or deny any intelligence operation by the United States<\/a> government ever. Thats something we would never ever do. I will tell you that i am very confident as the chairman of the Intelligence Committee<\/a> that the german Intelligence Services<\/a> have at least peeked over the shoulder of american policymakers in their interests to collect intelligence for the benefits of germany. We get it. This is an adult relationship. The problem here is that they have iranian spies there. They have russian spies there. They have the whole host and panoply of countries spying in germany. I dont see them interested in throwing their chiefs out. And again, whats so concerning about this is there are times that the american Intelligence Services<\/a> have provided information that have saved german lives because they had this convoluted rule system about what they can and cant do at the local level in germany when it comes to intelligence that we know has disrupted terrorist plots in germany. Its frustrating to those of us who believe in a broader understanding and understanding that sometimes even our allies have relationships with our adversaries that are of concern. Some notion that theyre going to jeopardize all of those relationships over there alleged incident that they may or may not have all their facts right is very, very concerning to me. It seems far more political. It seems far more temper tantrum like than it does an adult conversation about very important countries engaged in very important economic and military and i think stabilization efforts around the world. The white house officials are suggesting the president of the United States<\/a> was not actually informed of this kind of intelligence operation inside germany. If in fact its true. Shouldnt the president who is commander in chief know that the u. S. Would be doing there if, in fact, it was . Well, again, i am not going to confirm or deny any intelligence operation that the u. S. Intelligence services do. Again, im going to tell you that its really interesting to me, id be glad to meet with the german parliamentarian that has the ability to understand Current Operations<\/a> by their Intelligence Services<\/a> that has the ability to oversee them budget them and understand both future and proposed intelligence operations. The problem is, wolf, it doesnt exist. Im going to encourage the germans to understand fully what the german Intelligence Services<\/a> are doing today. And that means to u. S. Personnel, it means to personnel around the world, and by the way, i dont think thats a problem. I understand it. And so again, thats why i think this is so important. Do you want to the have the an adult relationship as we go forward on a very complicated world thats very dangerous and youre going to jeopardize the fact that u. S. Intelligence services have provided information that have saved german lives, period, unequivocal, thats exactly whats happened. And i worry that theyre taking this as a little knee jerk reaction and not knowing all the set of information that they need to understand, they being is the parliament of germany, even their executive branch, if you will, and being very candid with the german people. I think you dont think the chancellor of germany, angela merkel, is up to speed on whats going on . Well, i cant say. I certainly see her reaction to throw out the cia chief in germany tells me that either she doesnt or she does and has made a serious mistake here. This is something that we would expect from the russians. We would expect it from the iranians. We would expect from the north koreans. We dont expect from our allies, the germans where they know of the really important sxwrgs relationship and by the way, again, as the chairman of the Intelligence Committee<\/a>, i feel very confident in telling you and your viewers, listen, the german Intelligence Services<\/a>, theyre engaged in espionage including against the u. S. Persons. And so im a little surprised by this whole reaction. I think its more political than substantive. And i would hope that they would not jeopardize this very important relationship in the world between the u. S. And the german people on something that doesnt seem quite right to me. I mean if they have the facts and maybe they dont and if they dont, wolf, im saying theyd better get the facts and better get them thank you, mr. Chairman, junior for joining us. Coming live. More than 100 hamas rockets shot by the iron dome Missile Defense<\/a> system. Well take a closer look at how it works. At every ford dealership, youll find the works its a complete checkup of the services your vehicle needs. So prepare your car for any road trip by taking it to an expert ford technician. Because no matter your destination good maintenance helps you save at the pump. Get our multipoint inspection with a Synthetic Blend Oil<\/a> change, tire rotation, Brake Inspection<\/a> and more for 29. 95 or less. Get a complete vehicle checkup only at your ford dealer. Were live in jerusal ruusa protected by the Missile Defense<\/a> system known as at iron dome. The Israel Defense<\/a> sources say it intercepted more than 100 hamas rockets since the latest conflict began a few days ago. We have a closer look at the iron dome. Tom, what do you see . As ho smas improved the range of the misthes substantially over the past few years since it first debuted three years ago, the iron dome for israeli has been substantially improved. So so that israel is claiming a 90 success rate in neutralizing the missile threat coming out of gaza. How does it work . Three steps. First of all, detection. Any time any missiles rise up out of gaza and are heading up toward telaviv or jerusalem, high speed cameras, technically advanced computers start tracking those missiles and looking at those missiles. Figuring out how big they are, how fast theyre moving, and most importantly which direction theyre hiding. Simultaneously the second phase kicks in. Analysis and targeting. They determine theyre going to the sea or wind up somewhere in a rural area with nothing else around, they dont care. If one is viewed to be a actual threat out there, then those computers release a barrage of missiles from israel. Those fly up. They are guided from the ground electronically and the on board guidance take over and they blow everything apart. It was originally developed by an israeli company. Its subsidized by the u. S. To the tune of about millions of dollars. Each missile costs about 62,000. While that money being spent because they want to expand the system bigger to get earlier detection, earlier intersection and deal with bigger rockets that can be valuable for the usa and israel in terms of dealing with bigger threats. Could be. Tom, good explanation. Thank you. Coming up live from jerusalem israeli air strikes and the growing number of Palestinian Civilians<\/a> in gaza where the death toll is over 100. A new front in the fighting opening up on northern israel from lebanon. We are going live to beirut. Stay with us here in the situation room. Were live in jerusalem. But ive managed. I got to be pretty good at managing my symptoms, except that managing my symptoms was all i was doing. When i finally told my doctor, he said my crohns was not under control. He said humira is for adults like me who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohns disease. And that in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. And many achieved remission. [ female announcer ] humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. If youre still just managing your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, remission is possible. Wouldnt it be great if hiring plumbers, ask yoshopping online is as easy as it gets. Carpenters and even piano tuners were just as simple . Thanks to angies list, now it is. Start shopping online from a list of toprated providers. Visit angieslist. Com today. The ambulance racing by you. The ambulance chaser. Chasing the ambulance. A rollerblader with headphones whos oblivious to everything. The cab driver whos checking out the rollerblader. Its 360 degrees of chaos out there. But with driverassist technology, including a blind spot system and a rearview camera, the ford fusion will help tell you when its coming. The ford fusion will help tell you when its coming. train horn vo wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. Norfolk southern. One line, infinite possibilities. Cozy or cool . Exactly the way you want it. Until boom, its bedtime your mattress is a battleground of thwarted desire. Enter the sleep number bed. Right now, you can save 400 on the allnew c4 mattress set. Hes the softy. His sleep number setting is 35. Youre the rock, at 60. And snoring . Sleep numbers even got an adjustment for that. You can only find sleep number at a sleep number store. Head in for the final days of the lowest prices of the season sale. Youll find the allnew c4 mattress at just 1499. 98. Know better sleep with sleep number. Happening now situation room special report. Brink of war. The breaking news rockets breakthrough Israel Defense<\/a> systems in a damaging new show of hamas fire power. The battle opening up on a second front as well. Israel issues a new warning about a possible Ground Invasion<\/a> of gaza. Standby for the dangers in israel right now what its like to race for cover as sirens blare and rockets blast. Were live in gaza where israeli air strikes are taking a terrible toll and a hamas leader is vowing to stand firm for a long and bloody battle. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States<\/a> and around the world. Im Wolfe Blitzer<\/a> live from jerusalem. Youre in the situation room. Israels air defenses are being put to the test by dozens of new rocket attacks from gaza throughout the day and night. Hamas militants are naming for an a new target. The International Airport<\/a> here in telaviv. Potentially that could put many more visitors to israel in danger as well as citizens. One of the rockets intercepted by the iron dome system today was heading to the telaviv area. Were following the breaking news in israel and gaza including the tlolooming threat an israeliled ground war. Our correspondents are standing by. They are we many in the region, they are back in washington. Here is my reporting from near the gaza border. You can here the sirens have gone off. Were being told to get to a shelter. Were running. The Israeli Military<\/a> said about 100 rockets or more were fired from gaza over the past 24 hours and millions of israelis race for shelter. Just like i did twice in the same day. Here it goes. Looks like they got another siren. Just stand over here next to the wall. Ten minutes. Ten minutes. You can see all the sailors running over here. I toured the naval base near the gaza border. Crews are on alert for hamas attack piers. Theres another machine over here. Troops here were the first to detect a brazen move by armed militants who stormed the beach from the sea. We saw the divers coming over. There was a group of terrorists. Hamas terrorists. Were they ready to die . I believe they came to die. But before they wanted to die they wanted to kill as much as they could. We spent much of the day near the gaza border arrive agent the brunt out ruins of a gas station shortly after it was struck by rocket fire. Igniting cars in flames and seriously injuring one man. Lets take a look. You can see the damage and the destruction. These are automobiles, cars, were just here to get some gas. Maybe get some maintenance. We saw evidence of the escalading conflict everywhere. If you look behind me, you see a huge, huge plume of smoke that is just come up. Thats an israeli air strike on a target in northern gaza right now. We could hear and see israeli air strikes all day long. Officials in gaza say at least 100 palestinians have been killed by israeli air strikes including more than 20 children. The leader of the hamas military wing is now warning the discourses are digging in for a long battle. And israeli Prime Minister<\/a> netanyahu is keeping all options open including a grown invasion of gaza. 30,000 israeli troops have been called up and people across the region are on alert knowing tanks could start rolling in at any time. So far no israelis have been killed in the endless barrage of rocket attacks. Its a different situation in gaza right now where israeli air strikes have taken a very, very devastating toll. Lets go to our Senior International<\/a> correspondent ben wheedman is joining us live from gaza city. What is it, ben . Reporter yes, our death toll estimate is about 113 at this point. There was an air raid this evening that left four or five people dead including apparently a leader from the Islamic Jihad<\/a> military wing. Its not just military leaders militants who are being hit in gaza. It is ordinary citizens. Today we went to the house, a house to the north of here where shortly before that a 4yearold boy had been killed when a piece of shrapnel from an israeli rocket ripped half of his head off. Weve seen devastating pictures video from the hospital where his father is just absolutely devastated by his sons death. In that neighborhood we watched as a man was hurrying away with three of his children. He told me, im going out. Im leaving here. Im going to another place. Because i dont want my children to die in a rocket attack as well. Its important to keep in mind here that there are no bomb shelters in gaza. Theres no iron dome system to stop the israeli missions. Theres no air raid sirens to warn you of trouble coming. Israel does have this knock on the roof system where somebody calls up the person in the household and says leave the house. But in the case of the 4yearold, nobody apparently received a phone call. He was just a boy playing in the street. After wards we saw other children there clearly traumatized by seeing the boy next door get his head blown off. Its a much different picture here in gaza and a disturbing one at this point. Very disturbing, indeed. Very disturbing. Ben on the scene for us. Be careful. Israel faced attack today on a second front. A rocket was launched from lebanon that landed in northern israel. Could it be a sign of a wider war in the region . Lets go to beirut. What happened today . A tense morning. Three rockets launched from southern lebanon into israel. Then israel retaliated by launching at least 25 rockets into lebanon. No casualties were reported on either side. It goes to show how concerned the lebanese are about not wanting to be drawn into the ever escalating conflict by the fact that the armed forces were deployed extremely quickly that southern less thbanon. They found two other launches pads aimed toward israel. They dismantled them. They dont want to see lebanon drawn into the conflict. Theyre doing everything they can to calm tensions now. We hear along the border that things are calm right now, but there is concern that militant groups could try something else. At this hour, nobody has claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks. And theres no indication that any wellknown militant group is behind them. Because we all remember a few years ago there was a real war in the northern part of israel involving hezbollah in lebanon and so much of israels northern parts of israel whether other towns up there were basically evacuated because of rockets coming in from lebanon. Is there a real serious likelihood that hezbollah would align itself formally with hamas and open up a twofront war . Right now the conventional wisdom is that hezbollah is stretched far too thin as far as their fighting in syria goes to really try to want to get involved with hamas and with the conflict that is going on there in israel right now. Right now the lebanese dont think that they would get involved. Their fighters are involved in syria. Theyre fighting alongside the Syrian Regime<\/a> trying to retake syria for bashar al assad. They dont have the manpower to get involved. Thank you for that update. Lets now hear from the palestinian chief negotiator. Hes once again joining us on the phone. Northeast in the best bank city. Thank you for coming in. Does your president of the Palestinian Authority<\/a> have the clout to convince hamas to stop firing rockets and missiles into israel . Caller thats what hes trying to do. Thats what he has been in touch with secretary kerry today. Hes been in touch with the Prime Minister<\/a>. Hes been in touch on the phone with the mayor of qatar. The one thing is to specify a so we can have a repair of the ceasefire agreement. And so far see what is happening there. There are more than 2,000 homes that have been affected. More than 100 killed and 1,000 wounded. Theyre doing every possible event to have an end to this scene and restore the agreement reached in 2012. I dont think that the from the ground or missiles will get us anywhere. The only thing now is zero hour. So the fighting can stop. This is not a war between two armies and two navies and two air forces. This is something that we need to contain through restoration of the ceasefire and then to continue with the reconciliation and continue forward with the negotiations. Because at the end of the day what weve been witnessing by the last month is that we need peace. We need the twostate solutions. The answer to all of this is not through more violence and more of the same. Its through statesmanship through ending the conflict. Its through the twostate solution. The states to live side by side with peace. Thats what we need. We need to stop Different Things<\/a> this. And restore the agreement and engage in a meaningful Peace Process<\/a> that we leave once and for all to put an end to the occupation. I spoke at the last hour with the spokesman for hamas. Unlike you, hes not ready to accept a twostate solution. Here is the question. Why did the Palestinian Authority<\/a> decide to form the sort of coalition with hamas . We did not form a coalition with hamas. We formed a government with national consensus. A Government Program<\/a> of twostate solution. Twostate solution that lives side by side. So the thing is that once we go in the reconciliation when we defer we go back to thats on us. What we need to do now is, number one, stop the fighting and stop the fighting of violence. Its not to get us anywhere. Not only the but look at the whole region. Where is iraq, where is syria. Everything is getting out of hand. What we need to do is see we have a ceasefire. Number two, to see that the communi community listens to obama and secretary kerry to restore the Peace Process<\/a> in order to achieve once and for all a twostate solution. This is our way out. It looks like the Peace Process<\/a> right now and i know you were involved working closely with your israeli counter parts and the secretary of state john kerry. Looks like its dead for now. Is there any hope its going to be revived . Well, wolf, we can you know, right. It looks like difficult. But do you think or anybody in the world think that there is an alternative to a meaningful Peace Process<\/a> that can achieve the two step solution . Its time to end the conflict and the situation. How do we do it . The good offices of president obama, john kerry, the european, the u. N. , the arabs. We have a initiative. We all have all the things. And the what we need is not more war. What we need is really an Israeli Government<\/a> that is willing to commit to the two state solution. The most strategic offer made by saudi arabia and united nations. This is the way out. It may sound like its far fetched. People may hear this arent so sure. Does anyone have an alternative . Is there a way out other than achieving the two state solution where the state of israel can live side by side with the state of palestinian. Unfortunately up to this moment have any understanding. We accept the state of palestinian. We have two states but never at so we dont need that for the we know that two states and 1967. That Peace Process<\/a> can be revived. It looks grim. As we know right now. Certainly theres hope. Thanks very much for joining us. Thank you. Coming up from jerusalem. Were live here. What might the ceasefire agreement look like . Is it even remotely possible. Were getting new situation coming into the situation room right now. Standby. Ill get a information on the Ground Invasion<\/a> on gaza. The top military spokesman is standing by. Well get the Israeli Military<\/a> perspective when we come back. If you dont think feed the then you dont know aarp. Our drive to end hunger has donated 29 million meals, and counting. Find more real possibilities at aarp. Org possibilities. But ive managed. I got to be pretty good at managing my symptoms, except that managing my symptoms was all i was doing. When i finally told my doctor, he said my crohns was not under control. He said humira is for adults like me who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohns disease. And that in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. And many achieved remission. [ female announcer ] humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. If youre still just managing your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira. With humira, remission is possible. Yeah, citi mobile. Pay the dog sitter . Ask your gastroenterologist about humira. And deposit that check . Citi mobile. Pack your bathing suit . Wearing it. Niiice bank from almost anywhere with the citi mobile app. Were back live in jerusalem. Reporting of the escalading conflict between israel and hamas in gaza. We are heading down to the gaza border. We were there earlier in the day. There were a lot of rockets coming in and intercepted rockets. What is the latest there, dianna, what are you seeing . There were. And the rocket fire did not cease. It picked up as it tends to do as nightfalls and the early evening. We went 780 meters away from the border. Extremely close. You look out through the barbed wire parameters and you almost are facetoface with gaza. And yet this is a beautiful little oasis of calm compared to conditions in gaza. The skies are ripped up with the noise of explosion, rockets, we had an antitank missile come close to us. In fact, it hit a military jeep in the military base next door injuring two idf soldiers there. And the people who live in here sent their children away to the north of israel hoping they would be safer there. The fact of the matter is, we had rockets come over from lebanon. Its questionable how long their safety there will be guaranteed. The rest are constantly going in and out of the safe houses they have to have in their homes. So its a very strange and sort of surreal situation in the beautiful place with this quite terrifying noise ripping the air above them. And only yesterday a house was hit. Thats all well and good to say that. Of course, as we know, as we know from ben, you know, this is the situation. In israel there hasnt been any casualties on their side. Its scary for people, obviously. Its nothing compared to those people on the other side of the border so close who dont have safe houses. Who dont have warnings or anywhere to run. There have been some israeli injuries but no fatalities, at least not yet. Dianna, along the border there between israel and gaza. Thank you so much. Stay safe over there. Were here in jerusalem. The cross border is relentless rocket fire coming in from the palestinians. Air strikes going to gaza from the israelis. Both sides theyre prepared for a longer conflict. It could be potentially a ground war, maybe even in the coming days. Lets bring in our Foreign Affairs<\/a> reporter joining us from washington. What are you hearing there . The u. S. Is saying its prepared to help negotiate the ceasefire to end tcycle of violence. But the question is the timing right . With israel gearing up for a possible Ground Invasion<\/a> and hamas rockets reaching farther than ever before. Were offering assistance of the United States<\/a> to try to facilitate a ceasefire we believe in the best interest of both sides. Things have changed since 2012 when then secretary of state Hillary Clinton<\/a> and former egyptian president morsi brokered the last ceasefire. Gone is the sway morsis mohammed held with hamas. Now egypts new president considers hamas a terrorist group. After the collapse of american lead peace talks in april, they acknowledge the Obama Administration<\/a> feels frustrated with both sides. Speaking in israel, a Top White House<\/a> official pointed the finger at israel saying the continued occupation of the palestinian territories is, quote, not only wrong but a recipe for resentment and recuring instability. Theres a certain red sense to get involved right now the feeling is we get sucked in and get the parties to go a certain way and hit a wall. Were not going to get involved in, you know, unless were sure its going to lead to positive outcome. Palestinians Say International<\/a> intervention is critical. What we want is ceasefire. I think its the responsibility of the International Community<\/a> to stop the escalation. But israel is in rush for the fighting to stop. Israeli Prime Minister<\/a> said hell end the military operation only after he restores quiet in a lasting way. Publicly the u. S. Said it wants deescalation. Officials acknowledge they are willing to give israel some time to defend hamas. We believe it would be useful to getting to our goal of ending the rocket fire and deescalating. Im sure secretary kerry would be willing to do that. The moment has to be right, obviously. The u. S. Is looking to and officials tell me theyre actively involved in trying to deescalate tensions. You remembered they helped broker the tale between the u. S. And taliban over the return of be beau burg dahl and hoping to play a similar role here. Thank you. Were here in jerusalem. Joining us now the spokesman for the israel Defense Forces<\/a> peter learner. Thank you for coming in. I want to get your thoughts on the airport right now. A lot of International Flights<\/a> come in. They go out. There was a threat today from hamas. The planes shouldnt come in. They could be in danger. When i was flying in the other day, i was told that the pilots are being cautioned to take new maneuvers as they come in the not Old Fashioned<\/a> way. Hamas has the capability of launching rockets all all of israel. They have the ability to reach anything within 200 millimeters. The airport is in that distance. They have made the claims. They have been making empty threats throughout the last four days. Everything theyve thrown at us has met a brick wall. Is it still safe for commercial aircraft to take off and arrive at the airport . Yes, absolutely. You have no worry abouts t t. There are new procedures underway . Of course. Theres a heightened sense of threat. We have to take care of the people that are coming in and flights are continuing. We spoke yesterday you told me 30,000 israeli reservists have been formally activated to go to the unit. What is the number now . Around 35,000. We might see more added on to the figure. Of the 40,000. Of the 40,000. What is important about the force is they are enabling us to utilize the regular forces the regular Standing Forces<\/a> to be prepared. They have the capability to move quickly. They have the capability to get the job done if required. This is a potential what we need to be repaired. What i was told the reservists are taking jobs inside israel and some of the active duty regular military personnel are moving to the border with gaza. Thats true. The reservists are going to the northern to defend the northern border and the Central Command<\/a> in the midst of the Central Command<\/a> and the regular, the standing troops, they will be brought down to the potential preparedness for gaza strip. How close is the israel Defense Forces<\/a> to a Ground Invasion<\/a> of gaza . I think that depends a lot on what hamas does. Weve voiced since day one we have no interest in sort of escalation with the gaza strip. The terrorists are jerusalem you have enjoyed the run. We have to be prepared. Are we days closer . It could happen. We could find ourselves there. It could happen soon. What does that mean soon . In the immediate future. Its not, again, its i dont have a date that were going. We have to be prepared. I would say we are prepared now for immediate action. Who was responsible for those rockets that came into the northern part of israel today from lebanon . Thats a good question. There are lots of various factions within lebanon. Ultimately who is responsible. The lebanese government. They have a responsibility for everything that comes over the border. But its a working assumption that there could be heightened threats from lebanon. Indeed we saw the rocket today. We dont know if its symbolic. Some sort of, you know, identity. Identifying with gaza or something more substantial. Were watching closely what is going on. How worried are you there could be a twofront war right now against israel. Rockets coming in from gaza. Rockets coming from lebanon as well. Were watching it close. I think suffice to say we have to be prepared on all fronts. The middle east around us is bubbling and size ling all the time. And recent years even on a heightened manner. We have to be prepared or it could happen on the border with syria. It could happen on the border with lebanon. It we need heightened preparedness and the ability to operate swiftly. When the rockets came across or a rocket landed in the north this morning, we had an Immediate Response<\/a> on the ground to strike back at the those potentially morsis rockets. Ive spoken with some israelis what their fear could be if israel moves in with tanks, armored personnel into gaza. Theres even greater civilian casualties. Not only an angry reaction but from the west bank itself. They could start another end fa data you have to worry about that kind of scenario unfolding. I think theres a lot about conflict management in the renal. The idea is part of the tools to with so. Issues. In deed today was friday. Ramad ramadan we didnt have major threats. The situation is manageable to a level it doesnt pose a substantial threat. Weve seen disturbing video. Ben showed us earlier. Little kids severely injured. Some killed in the israeli air strikes. I know, you try to avoid civilian casualties. Thats a heavily populated dense area. Already youre being criticized by some who are engaging in what they call war crimes. I would say to those primarily mo ohio mas ha mas out they use the weapons to safe guard the civilians. Hamas uses the civilians to safe guard the weapons. Thats the absurdity of the situation. When we are operating, we are taking unprecedented care in order to pinpoint those terrorists. They exploit the civilian operation. They operate from mosques. They launch rockets from parking lots of ambulances. They abuse anything and everything at hand and point the finger at israel. Where is hamas responsibility . They are holding the population of gaza as hostages to their own will and trying to inflict damage on the israeli. Theres only one party that actually cares about the civilians, the Palestinian Civilians<\/a> and its not hamas. Lieutenant colonel, thank you for joining us. The spokesman for the israel Defense Forces<\/a>. Just ahead, as we continue our live coverage from jerusalem. The parallel war between israel. How they are using propaganda. Who is winning the battle for hearts and mind. More special coverage coming up from the situation room. Humans. We are beautifully imperfect creatures living in an imperfect world. Thats why Liberty Mutual<\/a> insurance has your back, offering exclusive products like optional better car replacement, where if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. Call. And ask an Insurance Expert<\/a> about all our benefits today, like our 24 7 support and service, because at Liberty Mutual<\/a> insurance, we believe our customers do their best out there in the world, so we do everything we can to be there for them when they need us. Plus, you could save hundreds when you switch, up to 423. Call. Today. Liberty Mutual Insurance<\/a> responsibility. Whats your policy . Were back in jerusalem live with our special report. People around the world are watching the attacks and the bloodshed that is unfolding in the middle east. Theres a second going on as wom well. A prop began za battle. They are stepping up their protective pitches. We are taking a cleser lo eclosk at that. A war is played out on social media and once again, of course, civilians are caught in the cross fire. Hamas rockets endanger about 40 of israeli civilians. Just part of israels increasingly sophisticated social media strategy using sites like twitter and youtube to get its message out. Propaganda is not new but here both sides at war also for the hearts and mind of their followers. The messages increasingly pointed. Information is a critical piece of the modern battle field. We used it when we were in combat, israelis are using it the best they can. Hamas is using it. Hezbollah is using it. This video shows their weapons being manufactured. In another statement posted on youtube. We have not started the aggression and the war. Israel hits back. Translator hamas upgraded the weapons arsenal. The terrorist organization now holds about 10,000 rockets and missiles. Israel even uses an image of the statute of liberty keeping congressional support always vital. Looking at israel, can you imagine what america would if it was facing a similar threat. As hamas rockets fly against israel, and israeli air strikes pound gaza, and israeli twitter image said israel is only striking military targets. Including weapons and launchers hidden among civilians. Israel said it warns palestinians to get out of the way. Hamas announced in january its military wing had been banned from facebook. Now it relies on this home page. Showing the latest photographs of news updates from its point of view. But like for many militant groups, social media is also a recruiting tool. Shots of weapons falling in neighborhoods being destroyed will recruit more terrorists on their side. Israel and hamas have gotten savvy using social immediate why. At one point, they were in a twitter war. Spokesman for both sides firing cyber darts at each other. Who would have thought a twitter going on as a real war is going on at the same time. Thank you very much. Lets dig a little bit deeper. Joining us is a columnist for the israeli newspaper. The author of a best selling book. Also joining us is a professor middle east analyst at the university of maryland and the brookings institution. Ari, youre worried its about to escalade. This situation right now, arent you . , absolutely. Israel leads attacks in unprecedented way. It shows a lot of constraint but im afraid if it goes on, the israeli cab cabinet might feel it has to strike. What would the mission be . Right now israel is in the problem that it is perceived as weak because all the major cities are attacked. This is the equivalent al qaeda operation launching rockets from cuba, first florida, then at philadelphia then new york and washington will hit. Its true no will kill. But the symbol. Its a violation and where from gaza will we put dismantle settlements. No check points there. No settlements. No occupation and what we get is the rockets. The Israeli Government<\/a> was also very restrained. It did not go into use of power. So the hamas has really per voted israel in a big way. I wish i pray that my government will still be restrained in the coming days. Right now theyre under a lot of pressure to do something even symbolic to respond to this major hamas provocation. You know a lot of soldiers will be killed and injuried if theres a ground war. Im deeply troubled about the Israeli Ground<\/a> operation. Im deeply troubled. Im not happy about it. I hope it will not get there. But one has to see where if we are to prevent the escalation Something Big<\/a> has to be done. I was warning about the escalation days ago. Im afraid that the International Community<\/a> didnt act in time. All players the region, not only israel, are really terrified of hamass behavior. But hamas has not stopped. I fear israeli extremists and the Public Opinion<\/a> pressure might push the government into an action that might be dangerous and counter productive. You know the region well. Is there a way out of this really dire scenario . What ari painted . First of all, i dont think either hamas leadership or the israelly leadership wants escalation. I dont believe that hamas was looking for provocation, actually. I think they paid a heavy price for it two years ago. This is not something i know, you know, you look at the horrific results on the gaza side, not just the civilian but the infrastructure. Some of their leaders and the pieces they have to pick up after its over. Its not something theyre looking forward to. I guess theyre moving in some ways for reconciliation from the authority. I think because the series of events that were horrific on both sides. Nonetheless, right now i think the israeli, obviously there is pressure on both of them to escalade. No one wants to seem to have lost it. Theres a possibility for a diplomatic effort. But let me say this. I dont, you know, whatever ari says, there is no military solution to this. What does it mean for the israelis to go in . The israeli, in the first place, left the post to occupy. Occupation doesnt work. You bring in more destruction. The missiles keep coming. Every time we see that theres a range of hamas missiles that seem to grow. In any case, if you have an ark i can you could end up its not let me ask you. Let me ask ari about that. Is there a way out, you think right now or is it going to escala escalade . Let me agree with my friend. I think that the military option is a very bad one. Military option of Ground Invasion<\/a>. Yes. The solution is although we must remember hamas is a religious fascist movement. Its depresses individuals, it expresses women, gays, christians. Its a really ugly political movement. And yet im into coexistence as long as they do not attack israel. The real solution is actually to demand a total demilitarization of gaza. No rockets in gaza and then let the economy prosper. Let them have their own life. This is the political solution for gaza and this is what the International Community<\/a> should be pursuing. But the International Community<\/a> did not act. It ignored the public for a long time. This is why we have the e escalation. This is a result of the political vacuum created by the collapse of the talks and we all have to take all actions possible at this late moment to prevent something which can turn into a real let me wrap it up. Quickly, you agree . This is an impossible outcome unless you have a state. Two state solution was an assumption that it would be largely demilitarized. I think its pretty much accepted as a security arrangement. In that context its possible. To think there would be no independence and gaza would accept the limitations they with no sovereignty and not have a military power still remain under prohamas or anybody else is not going to happen. I think, you know, the main thing we have to do in the short term is number one save lives. Have a ceasefire that ends the conflict. Have diplomatic efforts to revive the negotiations. In the end without you know were going to have it again every two years if not sooner. Unfortunately. Thank you for joining us. Two of the smartest guys i know when it comes to the middle east. Live in jerusalem. Back in Washington House<\/a> republicans mocked president obama as they prepare to sue him. Could the case wind up helping democrats. The situation room from jerusalem continueses right after this. Really. So our business can be on at ts network for 175 dollars a month . Yup. All five of you for 175. Our clients need a lot of attention. Theres unlimited talk and text. Were working deals all day. You get 10 gigabytes of data to share. What about expansion potential . Add a line anytime for 15 bucks a month. Low dues. Great terms. Lets close. Introducing at t mobile share value plans. With our bestever pricing for business. Were live in jerusalem and will have more on the fighting between israel and hamas in a moment. We are getting details on the republicans plans to sue the president of the United States<\/a> over his use of executive orders. Heres dana bash. Republicans are beginning the process of suing the president. Everything is political. With this tweet House Republicans<\/a> take mocking the president to a whoale new level. A photo of obama with a woman that says, hey, girl, im not interested in photo ops. Its intended to point out the president s hypocrisy. Im not interested in photo ops. Im interested in solving a problem. House republicans may be having fun but the congressman in charge of electing House Democrats<\/a> wasnt laughing saying its tweet that says a thousand words, classless, offensive and paid for with taxpayer money. As the House Republicans<\/a> are taking pains to say that they are suing him is not political but a constitutional struggle. Its not about republicans versus democrats. This is about the legislative branch thats being disadvantaged by the executive braj. For months House Republicans<\/a> have been work on suing the president for abusing his power, changing laws by executive order without congress. They considered everything from the environment to immigration but decided to sue on obama care. It impacts 80 million americans who need to understand if we are going to follow the law or get to the end anding cause chaos. But just four months before the Midterm Election<\/a>s, obamacare galvanizes conservative voters. When you pick the number one political issue for republicans it looks a little political. I have to tell you, its the number one issue in homes. And it is one of the top issues with women. Because they have seen their access to health care cramped. You sue him, impeach him. Really . Democrats dismiss the suit as a transparent stunt. Its a political strategy and intended to rile all the Republican Base<\/a> to go out in the Midterm Election<\/a> and vote. Its so transparent. Democrats are cashing in on the suit against the president raising money from their base outraged about it and democrats insists that the g. O. P. Move will hurt them in swing districts. And see this lawsuit as part of it. Wolf . Dana bash, thanks very much. From jerusalem, this region is clearly on edge. Ill share some final thoughts on the latest developments. But first a look at a humanitarian mission back in the United States<\/a>. Photographer tim moxley had an aha moment on instagram back in 2012. I was noticed that there were certain photos that told a story about peoples lives in the city. He brainstormed with photographers and they created a hashtag. We love atl is something that we started on instagram to ask people to show their lives in the city. When people continued to submit they came up with a new plan. We bought a truck for a mobile art gallery. We hang the photos in the truck and sell the photos. Weloveatl has helped families in north georgia. Since we started our partnership we have brought in more than 7600. That equates to 30,000 meals. Who would have thought a hashtag could do so much good. We are bringing together art and culture and we are hoping it starts to spread across the country. Thats what we realized throughout this project. To fuel economy. To quality. Todays chevrolet has it all. And great news the chevy 72 hour sale has just been extended. Youll get 0 apr for 72 months. Plus no Monthly Payments<\/a> for the rest of the summer. 0 apr for 72 months plus no Monthly Payments<\/a> for the rest of the summer. The chevy 72 hour sale ends monday. Find new roads at your local chevy dealer. Ive been coming to the middle east for many years. This is an intense time right now. Know one knows what the next venture is going to be whether the israelis are going to sent troops into gaza where there could be so much destruction and so many call useties not just palestinian but israeli as well. I was down in the southern part of israel today not far from the gaza border. I saw the rockets coming in and was at the gas station and saw the destruction of the gas station. You take a look at what is going on and you see the destroyed cars and vehicles. A israeli handicapped vehicle couldnt get out of a car and was injured in the process. Israelis look at the pictures and are worried. Palestinians are going through hell right now. This situation is about to get a whole lot worse. Thats it for me. Im wolf blitzer in jerusalem. Erin Burnett Outfront<\/a> starts erin Burnett Outfront<\/a> starts right now. Captions by vitac www. Vitac. Com crisis in the middle east, the Israeli Government<\/a> not backing down. Hamas issuing a new threat tonight. This time aimed at israels main airport. Plus a socalled call girl killer the woman charge charged with a google executives death is linked to another death. Lebron james returns home. His announcement sends shock waves around the country. Lets go outfront. And good evening, everyone im erin burnett. Outfront tonight the crisis on the border. 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