Speech First Describing Gaza “Disengagement Plan”
(December 18, 2003)
Good Evening,
I congratulate the organizers of this conference
for the important and interesting gathering which you have held here.
During the past three days, you have been discussing Israel’s
situation. I, as Prime Minister, am responsible for the planning and
implementation of the measures which will shape Israel’s character
during the next few years.
We are all entrusted with the duty of shaping the
face of the Jewish and democratic State
of Israel – a state where there is an equal distribution
of the burden, as well as the acceptance of rights and shouldering
of duties by all sectors, through different forms of national service.
A state where there is a good and efficient education system which
educates a young generation imbued with values and national pride,
which is capable of confronting the challenges of the modern world.
A country whose economy is adapted to the advanced global market of
the 21st century, where the product per capita crosses the $20,000
line and is equal to that of most developed European countries. An
immigrant-absorbing state which constitutes a national and spiritual
center for all Jews of the world and is a source of attraction for
thousands of immigrants each year. Aliyah is the central goal of the
State of Israel.
This is the country we wish to shape. This is the
country where our children will want to live.
I know that there is sometimes a tendency to narrow
all of Israel’s problems down to the political sphere, believing
that once a solution is found to Israel’s problems with its neighbors,
particularly the Palestinians,
the other issues on the agenda will miraculously resolve themselves.
I do not believe so. We are facing additional challenges which must
be addressed – the economy, educating the young generation, immigrant
absorption, enhancement of social cohesion and the improvement of
relations between Arabs and Jews in Israel.
Like all Israeli citizens, I yearn for peace. I
attach supreme importance to taking all steps which will enable progress
toward resolution of the conflict with the Palestinians. However,
in light of the other challenges we are faced with, if the Palestinians
do not make a similar effort toward a solution of the conflict –
I do not intend to wait for them indefinitely.
Seven months ago, my Government approved the “Roadmap”
to peace, based on President George Bush’s June
2002 speech. This is a balanced program for phased progress toward
peace, to which both Israel and the Palestinians committed themselves.
A full and genuine implementation of the program is the best way to
achieve true peace. The Roadmap is the only political plan accepted
by Israel, the Palestinians, the Americans and a majority of the international
community. We are willing to proceed toward its implementation: two
states – Israel and a Palestinian State – living side by
side in tranquility, security and peace.
The Roadmap is a clear and reasonable plan, and
it is therefore possible and imperative to implement it. The concept
behind this plan is that only security will lead to peace. And in
that sequence. Without the achievement of full security – within
the framework of which terror organizations will be dismantled –
it will not be possible to achieve genuine peace, a peace for generations.
This is the essence of the Roadmap. The opposite perception, according
to which the very signing of a peace agreement will produce security
out of thin air, has already been tried in the past and failed miserably.
And such will be the fate of any other plan which promotes this concept.
These plans deceive the public and create false hope. There will be
no peace before the eradication of terror.
The government under my leadership will not compromise
on the realization of all phases of the Roadmap. It is incumbent upon
the Palestinians to uproot the terrorist groups and to create a law-abiding society which fights against violence
and incitement. Peace and terror cannot coexist. The world is currently
united in its unequivocal demand from the Palestinians to act toward
the cessation of terrorism and the implementation of reforms. Only
a transformation of the Palestinian
Authority into a different authority will enable progress in the
political process. The Palestinians must fulfill their obligations.
A full and complete implementation will – at the end of the process
– lead to peace and tranquility.
We began the implementation of the Roadmap at Aqaba,
but the terrorist organizations joined with Yasser
Arafat and sabotaged the process with a series of the most brutal
terror attacks we have ever known.
Concurrent with the demand from the Palestinians
to eliminate the terror organizations, Israel is taking – and
will continue to take – steps to significantly improve the living
conditions of the Palestinian population: Israel will remove closures
and curfews and reduce the number of roadblocks; we will improve freedom
of movement for the Palestinian population, including the passage
of people and goods; we will increase the hours of operation at international
border crossings; we will enable a large number of Palestinian merchants
to conduct regular and normal economic and trade relations with their
Israeli counterparts, etc. All these measures are aimed at enabling
better and freer movement for the Palestinian population not involved
in terror.
In addition, subject to security coordination, we
will transfer Palestinian towns to Palestinian security responsibility.
Israel will make every effort to assist the Palestinians
and to advance the process.
Israel will fulfil the commitments taken upon itself.
I have committed to the President of the United States that Israel
will dismantle unauthorized outposts. It is my intention to implement
this commitment. The State of Israel is governed by law, and the issue
of the outposts is no exception. I understand the sensitivity; we
will try to do this in the least painful way possible, but the unauthorized
outposts will be dismantled. Period.
Israel will meet all its obligations with regard
to construction in the settlements. There will be no construction
beyond the existing construction line, no expropriation of land for
construction, no special economic incentives and no construction of
new settlements.
I take this opportunity to appeal to the Palestinians
and repeat, as I said at Aqaba: it is not in our interest to govern
you. We would like you to govern yourselves in your own country. A
democratic Palestinian state with territorial contiguity in Judea
and Samaria and economic viability, which would conduct normal relations
of tranquility, security and peace with Israel. Abandon the path of
terror and let us together stop the bloodshed. Let us move forward
together towards peace.
We wish to speedily advance implementation of the
Roadmap towards quiet and a genuine peace. We hope that the Palestinian
Authority will carry out its part. However, if in a few months the
Palestinians still continue to disregard their part in implementing
the Roadmap – then Israel will initiate the unilateral security
step of disengagement from the Palestinians.
The purpose of the “Disengagement Plan”
is to reduce terror as much as possible, and grant Israeli citizens
the maximum level of security. The process of disengagement will lead
to an improvement in the quality of life, and will help strengthen
the Israeli economy. The unilateral steps which Israel will take in
the framework of the “Disengagement Plan” will be fully
coordinated with the United States. We must not harm our strategic
coordination with the United States. These steps will increase security
for the residents of Israel and relieve the pressure on the IDF and
security forces in fulfilling the difficult tasks they are faced with.
The “Disengagement Plan” is meant to grant maximum security
and minimize friction between Israelis and Palestinians.
We are interested in conducting direct negotiations,
but do not intend to hold Israeli society hostage in the hands of
the Palestinians. I have already said – we will not wait for
them indefinitely.
The “Disengagement Plan” will include
the redeployment of IDF forces along new security lines and a change
in the deployment of settlements, which will reduce as much as possible
the number of Israelis located in the heart of the Palestinian population.
We will draw provisional security lines and the IDF will be deployed
along them. Security will be provided by IDF deployment, the security
fence and other physical obstacles. The “Disengagement Plan”
will reduce friction between us and the Palestinians.
This reduction of friction will require the extremely
difficult step of changing the deployment of some of the settlements.
I would like to repeat what I have said in the past: In the framework
of a future agreement, Israel will not remain in all the places where
it is today. The relocation of settlements will be made, first and
foremost, in order to draw the most efficient security line possible,
thereby creating this disengagement between Israel and the Palestinians.
This security line will not constitute the permanent border of the
State of Israel, however, as long as implementation of the Roadmap
is not resumed, the IDF will be deployed along that line. Settlements
which will be relocated are those which will not be included in the
territory of the State of Israel in the framework of any possible
future permanent agreement. At the same time, in the framework of
the “Disengagement Plan”, Israel will strengthen its control
over those same areas in the Land of Israel which will constitute
an inseparable part of the State of Israel in any future agreement.
I know you would like to hear names, but we should leave something
for later.
Israel will greatly accelerate the construction
of the security fence. Today we can already see it taking shape. The
rapid completion of the security fence will enable the IDF to remove
roadblocks and ease the daily lives of the Palestinian population
not involved in terror.
In order to enable the Palestinians to develop their
economic and trade sectors, and to ensure that they will not be exclusively
dependent on Israel, we will consider, in the framework of the “Disengagement
Plan”, enabling – in coordination with Jordan and Egypt – the freer
passage of people and goods through international border crossings,
while taking the necessary security precautions.
I would like to emphasize: the “Disengagement
Plan” is a security measure and not a political one. The steps
which will be taken will not change the political reality between
Israel and the Palestinians, and will not prevent the possibility
of returning to the implementation of the Roadmap and reaching an
agreed settlement.
The “Disengagement Plan” does not prevent
the implementation of the Roadmap. Rather, it is a step Israel will
take in the absence of any other option, in order to improve its security.
The “Disengagement Plan” will be realized only in the event
that the Palestinians continue to drag their feet and postpone implementation
of the Roadmap.
Obviously, through the “Disengagement Plan”
the Palestinians will receive much less than they would have received
through direct negotiations as set out in the Roadmap.
According to circumstances, it is possible that
parts of the “Disengagement Plan” that are supposed to provide
maximum security to the citizens of Israel will be undertaken while
also attempting to implement the Roadmap.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
My life experience has taught me that for peace,
as well as for war, we must have broad consensus. We must preserve
our unity, even in the midst of a difficult, internal debate.
In the past three years, the Palestinian terrorist
organizations have put us to a difficult test. Their plan to break
the spirit of Israeli society has not succeeded. The citizens of Israel
have managed to step into the breach, support each other, lend a helping
hand, volunteer and contribute.
I believe that this path of unity must be continued
today. Whether we will be able to advance the Roadmap, or will have
to implement the “Disengagement Plan”, experience has taught
us that, together, through broad national consensus, we can do great
things.
Let us not be led astray. Any path will be complicated,
strewn with obstacles, and obligate us to act with discretion and
responsibility. I am confident that, just as we have managed to overcome
the challenges of the past, we will stand together and succeed today.
We will always be guided by the words of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion,
who said, on the day after the Declaration
of Independence:
These days, our purpose is only to build the State
of Israel with love and faith, in Jewish brotherhood, and to defend
it with all our spirit, and as long as necessary. We are still in
the midst of a difficult battle, one that has two fronts: political
and military. Let us not embellish our deeds and, of course, our words,
with grandiose names. We must remain humble. We achieved what we have
achieved by standing on the shoulders of previous generations, and
we accomplished what we have accomplished by preserving our precious
legacy, the legacy of a small nation which has endured suffering and
tribulations, but which is, nevertheless, great and eternal in spirit,
vision, faith and virtue.
I am also a great believer in the resilience of
this small, brave nation which has endured suffering and tribulations.
I am confident that, united in the power of our faith, we will be
able to succeed in any path we choose.
Thank you very much, and happy Hannukah.
Sources: Prime Minister's Office |