Bill Clinton: “Mr. Prime Minister, friends, we come together today at an important time for the Middle East. We are closer to a lasting…”

“Mr. Prime Minister, friends, we come together today at an important time for the Middle East. We are closer to a lasting peace than would have been thought only a year ago. Yet we are further from that peace than we expected to be only a month ago. The events of the past several weeks have demonstrated the risks in this great undertaking. The bloodshed in Hebron was a tragic reminder that the forces of reaction will lash out whenever peace becomes a real possibility. We must not let the enemies of peace triumph. We must not allow them to deny Israel and its neighbors a future of hope. And that is why I applaud Prime Minister Rabin's courageous stance against militant extremism. And it is why I have called upon the Prime Minister and Chairman Arafat to find a way to resume negotiations and to do so quickly. Today we discussed ways to put the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations back on track. We agreed on the need for concrete measures to ensure security for Palestinians as well as for Israelis and for rapid implementation of the Declaration of Principles to give Palestinians control over their own affairs and well-being. In our meeting, the Prime Minister and I also discussed ways to make 1994 a year of breakthrough in the negotiations between Israel and Syria. This would not only help bolster the agreement already achieved with the Palestinians, it would also help advance our overall objective of a comprehensive peace, one that encompasses Jordan and Lebanon as well. President Asad spoke in Geneva of his strategic choice for peace with Israel. Prime Minister Rabin told me today that peace with Syria is a strategic imperative. These two leaders have a great responsibility to the people of their region. As a full partner in the process, the U.S. stands ready to help them achieve that lasting peace that can end the Israeli-Arab conflict and transform the Middle East. The Prime Minister and I agreed that as the region turns to the business of establishing peace, the Arab boycott of Israel must end. It is a relic of the past, born of animosity and exclusion. For all the peoples of the Middle East to prosper, economic barriers and isolation must yield to dialog and cooperation. During our meeting today, we also discussed what the United States can do to maintain and enhance Israel's security as it continues to take real risks to achieve peace. We talked about ways the U.S. could help Israel defend against long-term threats to its security. And I reaffirm my commitment to work with Congress to maintain our present levels of assistance and to consider how we might help Israel defray the costs of peace. We've also pledged to do whatever we can to help resolve the cases of Israeli MIA's. Since the beginning of this administration, the Prime Minister and I have worked to promote the common interest and values our nations share. Today we are working closely together on such issues, including those which now confront the U.N. Security Council. Our efforts have one common purpose, maintaining the principles we both share while doing all we can to promote peace. This is an historic moment for Israel. And I am profoundly aware, Mr. Prime Minister, of the great burdens you are bearing in your search for peace. You have the admiration and respect of the entire United States and our Nation's pledge of support and steadfast friendship. As we approach Passover, a time to celebrate freedom and redemption, let us dedicate ourselves to a season of new beginnings and turn our gaze to the future to make it a future of peace. Thank you. Prime Minister Rabin. Mr. President, the Vice President, Secretary of State, dear friends, it was important and worthwhile to meet today with the President and his team, to know and appreciate what we have known for a long time: The friendship and trust between our two countries are profound and now as good if not better than they have ever been. We could not ask for more. For this, Mr. President, please accept our gratitude. It is good to know that a great nation blessed with values and democracy stands with us for the greatest battle still to come, the battle for peace. Mr. President, a few months ago, I stood here with you and many others at an historic occasion. We arrived at the beginning of the end of the bloody struggle that has lasted for 100 years. It was clear from the beginning that in spite of the good will on all sides, it would be difficult to bridge in days or in months differences in positions, perceptions, points of view, and hatred that have devastated and grown over so many decades. But we shall overcome these difficulties and reach the day of peace. We shall remain determined in our goal. In our talks today, I told you, Mr. President, that in my view, we were near the finish line of the talks with the Palestinians on the first stage of the Gaza-Jericho first. Some problems and details have yet to be solved. I am sure that we shall find the right solution once the negotiations are renewed. We will not let the extremists derail the peace process. On behalf of the state of Israel, I condemn the terrible terms of the killing in Hebron. I repeated this today in our conversation. Since that time, the Government of Israel has taken tough measures that are unprecedented in Israel. We will implement them with determination. But, Mr. President, we are also victims of terror, whether organized or spontaneous. Our women and children have lived in the shadow of terror for decades. Not a week passes that we don't have to bury our dead. And if only for this reason, we don't think it appropriate to wage new demands after every terrorist attack. Security is a two-way street. Real leadership must rise above the realities of the day, even if they are painful and bloody, in order to arrive at our strategic goal. Peace is not a tactical option but a strategic objective which takes precedence over everything else. With you, Mr. President, I call on Chairman Arafat of the PLO to resume talks immediately and act like me, to fight terror as if there were no negotiations and conduct the negotiations as if there was not terror. We have to complete the negotiations so that in the spring or in early summer, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza and Jericho will at last be able to conduct their own affairs. We don't seek to rule them anymore. Mr. President, there is no time to waste. We feel that the window of opportunity that opened after the Gulf war is narrower than we thought. Time is running out. Therefore, 1994 has to be the year of great decisions in the peace process. In this framework we spoke of the options that can be presented to President Asad in order to achieve peace with Syria. I hope that President Asad will respond appropriately and we shall be able to sign a peace treaty by the end of this year. President Asad said that Syria had made the strategic choice for peace with Israel. That was encouraging. Peace with Syria has always been our strategic choice. We recognize the importance of Syria to a comprehensive peace in the area. We are ready to negotiate peace with Syria that takes account of our mutual needs and interests. There must be give and take on both sides. We know that as we engage in serious and authoritative negotiations, the point will come where painful decisions will have to be made. The promise of peace and its genuine benefits for all Israelis justifies making such decisions vis-a-vis Syria. We will not compromise on our security. But we will stand ready to do what is required of us if the Syrians are ready to do what is required of them. At the same time, we would like to promote and advance the negotiations with Jordan as well as with Lebanon. We are hopeful that with them, too, treaties of peace can be achieved this year. All of us know the time for the Arab boycott of Israel, a remnant of a period of hate and rejection, should be lifted. Mr. President, Prime Ministers of Israel have come in the past with impressive shopping lists. On my list today, I have one item alone, the pursuit of peace. As Passover, our feast of freedom, is approaching, let me take the opportunity to remind all of us of the fate of the Israeli soldiers missing in action and prisoners of war. I would like to thank the President for the United States support in this regard and express the hope that Passover will also be a time of redemption for them. Mr. President, thank you very much.”