[Becky Anderson:] Pro-Russian activists call them prisoners of war. Coming up, we are live in the eastern Ukraine city of Slovyansk with the very latest efforts to free this OSCE delegation. Also, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a message for the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas tear up your pact with Hamas. His interview with CNN is just ahead. And the role of young people, especially women, in bringing change to the Middle East. You are invited to pull up a chair for our cafe chat.
[Announcer:] Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is Connect the World with Becky Anderson.
[Anderson:] A very good evening from here. It is just after 7:00 in the evening. We begin in volatile eastern Ukraine where international observers say they are being held against their will by pro-Russian separatists. Now the monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were seen here at a news conference earlier in Slovyanask. U.S. President Barack Obama says the world must present a united front to Russia over the crisis in Ukraine. A new U.S. and EU sanctions against Moscow are now expected. Let's get right to our senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh in Slovyansk for the very latest. Nick, and as we see pictures of these monitors from the OSCE, what do we know about how long they have been held and why?
[Nick Paton Walsh, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, it's a number of days now. And they are being openly paraded in that situation, because a self-declared mayor here in Slovyansk Vyacheslav Ponomaryov says they are NATO spies. Now he doesn't believe or this point doesn't want to endorse the idea that they put forward, which seems to be the case, that they're part of an OSCE military observer mission. An older man the new one, the OSCE has to try and regulate the crisis here, but they're saying, two of them I spoke to, said they were outside the town of Slovyansk. Part of their job is to look for unusual military buildups. They were trying to do that. And then were detained originally by some of the less organized pro-Russia militants here who were clearly joined by some of the better disciplined and then taken to a cellar initially here and it appears in the last 24 hours their condition has improved significantly, kind of, I think have some better accommodation. There is a concern about the Swedish member of this group of OSCE observers. He has perhaps issues with diabetes withhold by members of the [inaudible]. He's been looked after very well with water and sugar and better accommodation than the rest of them. They say they have not been threatened, but clearly it was obvious from hearing the German Colonel Axel Schneider speak that they believe they are being held here against their will. And of course asked to make that press conference at the request of the mayor rather than from their own imposition. Let's hear what he had to say.
[Col. Axel Schneider, Osce:] This press conference was a proposal by the mayor of this city. We maintained our position that we are OSCE officers with diplomatic status and that we request the protection for diplomats. He fully understood my position. And he made clear under which situation he acts as a local commander. And that is when he said I want the officers to show up here for an international press conference. And we accepted that, because we wanted that our families see that.
[Walsh:] There was a clear emotional element to waht they had to say. Some concerns, of course, for their future here, but also wanting their families and loved ones to be sure they're OK. I should say during that press conference, which was lengthy and extensive, they appeared to have arrived, a delegation a second delegation from the OSCE, one of their marked vehicles, pulled up outside and then Mr. Ponomaryov, the self-declared mayor of Slovyansk, said that negotiations were about to begin potentially for their release. We're not sure what the outcome of that is at this particular point, but there is substantial pressure. And of course, not only from the west, signals from Moscow that they want to see the situation resolved as quickly as possible. But of course this is a moment you can see from some of the [inaudible] sent through how the new self-declared authorities here consider this to be a great bargaining chip they have. And even Colonel Schneider you saw there went on to say that he expected to be used as a political, I think an element in the discussions between the broader sides in this crisis here, Becky.
[Anderson:] Nick Paton Walsh on the ground for you. And later in the show, we'll go to Kiev where Phil Black is standing by. On the eve of the holocaust remembrance day, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas made a statement. He called the holocaust the most heinous crime in modern human history. But that doesn't sit well with Israel's prime minister. CNN's Candy Crowley spoke with Benjamin Netanyahu and get his reaction to the Abbas comments.
[Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister Of Israel:] I try to reconcile that with the fact that he embraced just a few days ago the Hamas terrorist organization that denies the Holocaust and openly calls for a new extermination of the six million Jews in Israel. So, President Abbas can't have it both ways. He can't say the Holocaust was terrible, but at the same time embrace those who deny the Holocaust and seek to perpetrate another destruction of the Jewish people. I think probably what he's trying to do is damage control. I think what President Abbas is trying to do is to placate Western public opinion that understands that he delivered a terrible blow to the peace process by embracing these Hamas terrorists. And I think he's trying to wiggle his way out of it.
[Crowley:] He is also quoted in today's "Jerusalem Post" as talking about this new unity government with Hamas, and saying: "The government reports to me and follows my policies. I recognize Israeli, and so will the government. I renounce violence and terrorism, and I recognize international legitimacy, and so will the government." So, essentially, he's saying: This is still going to be my government. It still is going to follow what I have observed and what I have said. What do you make of that, and do you believe him? And, if you do, is it enough to bring you back to the table?
[Netanyahu:] Look, I will not, as the prime minister of Israel, negotiate with a government that is backed by the Hamas terror organization committed to our destruction. Neither would you. You designate Hamas, the U.S., as a terrorist organization. It sends thousands of rockets into Israel. It sends scores of suicide bombers. It praised the murder of a father of five the other week on the way to a Passover dinner, praised it. They praised bin Laden when he was alive as a holy warrior and condemned the United States when you killed bin Laden. This is one of the most preeminent terrorist organizations of our time.
[Anderson:] Benjamin Netanyahu speaking on CNN just about an hour or so ago. Later on the show, we're going to get the Palestinian point of view to all of this with a live interview with Palestinian lawmaker Hanan Ashwari. We're going to ask her about the Israeli prime minister's demand that Abbas should tear up the deal he made with Hamas. The Palestinian perspective in just a few minutes on Connect the World with me, Becky Anderson. Well, it's been an historic day for the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Francis celebrated canonization of two former popes John Paul II and John XXIII. It was also first time two living popes were present for the ceremony. And Benedict XVI wasn't at the altar, but he had a place of honor among the cardinals and bishops. The Vatican estimates 800,000 people crammed into the area around Saint Peter's Square for the ceremony, another half a million watched on television screens throughout Rome. Well, the Vatican city hasn't seen this kind of crowd, or the level of this sort of excitement since Francis become pope last year. I want to bring in Reverend Joel Camaya, a priest in Rome who joined me during the installation of Pope Francis just about a year ago or so. Quite remarkable stuff. Could you have conceived of this when you and I spoke at the installation of the new pope in March last year?
[Rev. Joel Camaya, Catholic Priest:] Yeah, actually I was not expecting it since it came rather too soon, because when I came here in Roman in 2011 Pope John Paul II was beatified, but I did not expect this to be so soon. And I'm so fortunate to be here in Rome at this time, yeah.
[Anderson:] Well, just describe the atmosphere for our viewers, if you will, so many of them will have been watching around the world on CNN earlier on.
[Camaya:] Yeah. I was up as early as 3:00 am and then I walked from my home to the vicinity of the Vatican, but there were already a lot of people lining up ready to enter the piazza, which was opened about an hour and a half later. But once they were in, wow, the atmosphere was so festive, even though there were some problems maybe in answering and people wanting to be there first. But once they were in, everything was festive, yeah.
[Anderson:] And the Popemobile, was out, and Pope Francis doing the rounds. How close did he get to people?
[Camaya:] Pardon?
[Anderson:] I know that the Popemobile was out and Pope Francis actually driving amongst his faithful. Did you get a chance to get close?
[Camaya:] He was he went around the streets [inaudible] with the Popemobile around the piazza, but then something surprising afterwards, he went to visit the different places where there were the big screens, so he reached out to those who were not able to enter the piazza. And that's something remarkable, I think.
[Anderson:] Finally, this is a church looking to the future. It has a number of issues, not least the sex abuse scandal, corruption in the church, women priests, gay clerics, what do you expect to see short-term from the Catholic Church going forward?
[Camaya:] Yeah, this canonization that the pope did today is actually a message that the we continue moving on. And in fact with the canonization, for example, of John XXIII when he began the Vatican council, the second, he was mentioning about the breath of fresh air. But he was quite clear that the doctrine of the church stands, but it's in the manner of expressing this to the people, to in maybe in a manner that this for those who would not understand or maybe for those [inaudible]. What's remarkable, also, about this canonization is it's opening of doors to the world, like when John XXIII was speaking about the Vatican council the second, it's an opening of the windows. And Pope John Paul II at the beginning of his term is opening wide the doors surprise. So it's opening to the world actually, yeah.
[Anderson:] All right. Well, Joel, it's an absolute pleasure to have you on once again on Connect the World. Send us your pictures, write us a blog, we'd love to hear more from just what a significant day it was and why from you. Still to come tonight, how to care for patients who lost a limb in Afghanistan's war sometime it takes just takes one to know one. And later, my cafe chat continues today. Discussion about the role of women and youngsters in Arab society after the Arab Spring. Stay with us. I'm Becky Anderson. This is Connect the World out of the UAE. It is 12 minutes past 7:00.