Bill Clinton: “Good afternoon, Mr. Prime Minister and members of the Israeli and American delegations, ladies and gentlemen. For the…”

“Good afternoon, Mr. Prime Minister and members of the Israeli and American delegations, ladies and gentlemen. For the past 3 years, Israel and the United States have worked hand in hand to advance the peace process in the Middle East. Today, with this U.S.-Israel Counterterrorism Cooperation Accord, we strengthen our partnership to stop the enemies of peace. With every new step along the path to peace, its enemies grow more and more desperate. They know a new day is dawning in the Middle East, that the vast majority of its people want to enjoy the blessings of a normal life. Their answer, more violence and terror, more bullets and bombs, may seem senseless, but it is the product of cold calculation. By murdering innocent people, they aim to kill the growing hope for peace itself. We will not do what the enemies of peace want. We will not let our anger turn us away from the pursuit of peace in the Middle East. Maintaining our resolve for peace does not mean, however, turning the other cheek. We must do everything in our power to stop the killing and bring the terrorists to justice. That is the only way to give those who have chosen peace the confidence they need that they have made the right choice and the courage to keep moving forward. This agreement does just that by deepening the cooperation between our two countries in the fight against terrorism. Prime Minister Peres and I worked on it during my visit to Israel last month, in the wake of a terrible string of suicide bombings. Now we have agreed upon areas for greater cooperation, on information sharing, on research and development, on train- ing and technical assistance, on investigation, prosecution, and extradition. In each one we will look at very practical ways in which we can work together better. I am pleased to sign this accord. And I am also pleased that the budget I signed just last week included the $50 million I requested earlier this year for our joint antiterrorism efforts in this year, including today's accords. I thank the Congress for their prompt action here and for the bipartisan support it received. To my friend the Prime Minister and the people of Israel, let me say the United States stands with Israel through good times and bad because our countries share the same ideals, freedom, tolerance, democracy. We know that wherever those ideals are under siege in one country they are threatened everywhere. We have never been more determined to achieve and to defend those ideals and to achieve our goal of a just and lasting peace for all the people of the Middle East. Mr. Prime Minister. Prime Minister Peres. I would like to thank from the depths of my heart, in the name of the people of Israel, the President, his delegation, his team, and him personally for really showing the deepest understanding that one can hope for, the immediate response whenever it is necessary, and the friendship that he has offered time and again over the last years. I see the difference between the camp of terror and the free world. The camp of terror is operating under orders; it's disciplined; it's organized. The camp of freedom keeps its freedom. You cannot lead the camp of freedom unless you have a leader of great inspiration and outstanding capacity. In my own judgment, Bill Clinton has this great capacity to inspire the whole free world with his ideas, with his determination, with his capacity to distinguish what is right and what is wrong, what is immediate and what is long-range, what is support and what is response. I feel myself very lucky to see a person like him standing ahead and trying to lead the whole world to peace and to peace for everybody, not just for us, the Israelis, but also for our neighbors; not just for the Middle East but for Bosnia, Haiti, or other places. We are going and departing by the end of this century a history of bloodshed, and with Godspeed let's hope that we're entering a different world of peace and understanding. The President played a major role in bringing peace between us and the Jordanians, between us and the Palestinians. He and his Secretary of State are now opening a new chapter to bring peace between us, Syria, and Lebanon that may be the last peace which is necessary in order to make the peace comprehensive and all-embracing. Mr. President, I really, with a full heart of thanks, would like to express both our admiration and gratefulness to you, to your administration, to the American Congress, to the American people. The world is a better place to live with this sort of a policy and this sort of leadership. Thank you very much. Middle East Peace Process”