News Conference With Israeli PM Yitzhak
Rabin
(October 27, 1994)
Prime Minister Rabin. Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen,
I believe that we experienced during the visit of President Clinton
in the region a real move towards peace. No doubt that the visit of
President Clinton was crowned yesterday by the second peace treaty between
an Arab country and Israel, the first one after the convening of the
Madrid peace conference.
We look, from Israel's point of view, to President
Clinton as a friend of Israel and a President that works very hard to
bring about what we dream for, aspire to: to achieve comprehensive peace,
that is to say, peace with our four neighboring Arab countries. With
two, it has been accomplished. And no doubt, the visit of the President
in Damascus, I believe that it will bring about through certain changes,
a movement toward better negotiations, better possibilities to overcome
the gaps between the positions of Israel and Syria.
No doubt in my mind that during the term of you, Mr.
President, as the President of the United States, we have seen dramatic
change in the relations between those Arab partners with whom we negotiate.
We signed the Declaration of Principles between us and the PLO on the
lawns of the White House. It was followed by the negotiations to bring
about the first phase of its implementation in the Gaza-Jericho first.
We are engaged today in continuation of our negotiations with the Palestinians
about Arab empowerment, elections, and no doubt, yesterday we signed
a peace treaty that the President helped to bring about and witnessed.
For 2 years, to reach two agreements, one, with the
Palestinians with which we have a long story of suspicion, hatred, prejudice,
bloodshed, and with the Jordanians, that I remember over 46 years ago
that in this city I fought them and they fought me, and we look forward
to make it possible to overcome yet the differences between Syria and
Lebanon and us.
I might take time. One has to be patient. One has to
understand that there are problems. And I believe that it will not take
long, and hopefully, we'll find ways and means by which to overcome
these gaps.
I hope, Mr. President, that you will continue sending
Secretary Christopher, who worked very hard and tried in your name to
move between Damascus and Jerusalem with the purpose to find ways to
overcome the differences.
Allow me also to add that the Government of Israel
of today is determined, on one hand, to continue all our efforts to
bring about comprehensive peace. But at the same time, we are fully
aware that there are enemies of peace. For us, the enemies of peace
are the extreme Islamic radical terror movements. Among the Palestinians,
they are the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. Ninety percent of the terror
activities against us are carried by them. And there is a tendency for
oversimplification, to identify those parts of the Palestinians with
whom we reach an agreement and we try to implement it and extreme radical
Islamic elements that are enemies of peace and enemies of the Palestinians
that reach agreement with us, from Lebanon, Hezbollah, which is a part
of the ugly wave of Khomeinism without Khomeini that is all over the
Arab world and the Islamic world. Whatever happens in Algeria is not
related whatsoever to the Arab-Israeli conflict or in Sudan or in fighting
within Egypt. It's an ugly wave that threatens nt only the peace—they
are the infrastructure of the international terrorism. And behind it,
to a certain extent there are certain parties, to a larger extent is
Iran. And therefore, Mr. President, we support your policy of dual containment.
We believe it's vital to the peace in the Middle East, to stability
among the Arab and the Muslim world, and to prevent international terrorism.
We thank you very much. You heard today in our Knesset
the government and opposition together joined in the support of the
peace treaty with Jordan, in expressing thanks to you, Mr. President,
for the way that you have stood and stand in support of Israel's security
while trying your best to bring about advancement, which was successful
so far in bringing about peace to the region.
Therefore, today, here in Jerusalem, the united city,
the capital of Israel, and, no doubt, the heart of the Jewish people,
we thank you.
Thank you very much.
The President. Thank you, Prime Minister.
Ladies and gentlemen, because I had the opportunity
to speak at length at Knesset this evening and to outline my position
on a number of matters, I will be very brief. I would like to make just
a couple of points.
First of all, at my first meeting with Prime Minister
Rabin shortly after I became President, he told me he was prepared to
take risks for peace. And I told him that that being the case, the job
of the United States was to minimize those risks. For 20 months now,
we have both done our best to do our jobs, and I think it's fair to
say that we have had a reasonable amount of success in which the people
of Israel can be proud and in which they can feel secure and one in
which I hope the American people take pride.
Secondly, I would like to congratulate him and the
people of Israel again on the peace treaty with Jordan. We have responsibilities
there that relate to the security of both Israel and Jordan, and I have
been working on that even since the peace treaty has been signed. I
was in conversations with the King well past midnight last night. We
are attempting to do our part to make sure this peace is as wildly successful
as everyone believes that it can be.
Thirdly, I thank the Prime Minister for his comments
about terrorism and his support for our policies, especially I think
I should mention something I did not mention in my speech tonight which
is that of the steadfast support of Israel for our policies in the Gulf
and for our recent action in the Gulf. I will be going to Kuwait tomorrow
to see our troops and on to Saudi Arabia. I appreciate the support of
Israel.
Finally, with regard to what the Prime Minister said
about Syria and my trip there today, I went there because I was convinced
we needed to add new energy to the talks. And I come away from Syria
convinced that we have, that some significant progress has been at least
made possible, and that there has been some change in positions that
offer the hope of more progress. And I have instructed the Secretary
of State to return to the region within a few weeks to continue. Meanwhile,
other discussions continue at other levels. And I am confident that
we can be successful by simply pushing ahead.
So on all these fronts, I feel better tonight than
I did when I came here. And again, I thank the Prime Minister for this
welcome and for the opportunity to address the Knesset.
Middle East Peace Process
Q. Mr. President and Prime Minister Rabin, you are
talking about significant developments coming from Damascus. From what
we heard publicly until now, your visit to Damascus seems a disappointment
for the Israelis. I mean, you gave the Syrians maybe one of the biggest
gestures America has, a personal visit of the President of the United
States. And President Asad responded publicly in his general words of
peace which we heard in the past. So what else is new, Mr. President?
And Mr. Rabin, what did you hear maybe privately from the President
about this visit?
The President. Well, I would like to make three points
if I might. First of all, I don't think it's accurate to say that he
had ever said to me and to rest of the world and to the people of Israel
that he wanted to make peace with Israel and wanted to have normal,
peaceful, constructive relations with Israel.
Secondly, he made some statements in our private conversations
about the details of this process which I would be wrong to discuss
because the essence of these negotiations is that they can proceed in
some confidence. But they did show some forward movement in ways that
I believe are not insignificant.
Thirdly, there's one thing I do regret about the press
conference today. I regret that President Asad did not take the opportunity
to say in public what he said to me in private about his deep regret
about the loss of innocent lives and, particularly, the bus bombing.
He said to me, "You know, we have to end the killing of innocents
wherever it occurs, whether it was on that bus or in Hebron. I deplore
it all. And I am convinced that only by making peace can we end it.
And when we do make peace, it will end." That is what he said to
me.
I think the way the question was posed to him, I think,
led him to give an answer which may have been somewhat misleading, not
intentionally, but because he did not say that. I also want to reaffirm
that there was absolutely no discussion in our private meeting, as he
said, about the question of the United States removing Syria from the
terrorist list. He did not ask for that; he did not bring it up. And
I certainly did not bring it up. There has been no mixing of those two
issues.
So, I think that his statement did break some new ground.
I know that his private conversations broke some new ground. And I was
particularly encouraged by what he said in private to me about the killing
of innocent people. I regret that that was not said in public, but I
can tell you that it was said in private. And what I said in the press
conference is now, as I understand it, even being rebroadcast on a regular
basis in Syria tonight to reaffirm that that is in fact what happened.
Prime Minister Rabin. I am accustomed to the prolonged
and sometimes difficult period of negotiations. If one would have told
us 2 years ago that we'd make a strategic understanding with Chairman
Arafat and the PLO, people would not believe.
In the process towards peace, we have to overcome on
both sides certain perceptions, certain sometimes prejudices, one about
another. Therefore, I believe that all the partners to the Madrid peace
conference—and by now remain the Palestinians with which we reached
an agreement in principles—Syria and Lebanon would like to have
peace.
And this is the essence of the peacemaking process,
to be patient, to be determined, and not to be misled by ups and downs
of public statements. Therefore, we will continue the way that it will
be possible in negotiations with Syria. I am aware that there are gaps
between our positions. But I can't recall any negotiations in the past
that there were no gaps. And whenever we succeeded to reach an agreement,
came about as a result of the capability to make the compromise that
breached the gap.
Q. Mr. Prime Minister, if you'll forgive us, we're
going to keep pressing still. The President is speaking of change in
positions; you're speaking in change of perception. We have the issues
tattooed on our forehead. The issues have been here for 3 years. We
know there are major gaps. Are you talking about new atmospherics 3
years after Madrid, or have you been told something about Syria's position
on Golan, on security, on the terms of peace? Have you heard sufficiently
for you to reverse your election stand and surrender the Golan Heights?
Prime Minister Rabin. Well first, I believe that whoever
sees what has taken place in the last over 3 years, he cannot ignore
the tremendous change as a result of the Declaration of Principles between
the PLO and us, the signing of the peace treaty, the openness in the
Arab world that a foreign minister of Israel can fly to Bahrain, that
multilateral negotiations can be taking place in Amman and Qatar and
who knows where else, that the decision of the six members of the Gulf
Community Council about ignoring, not counseling the Arab boycott. There
is a trend, a move that no doubt will have its implications in other
Arab countries, I hope in the short run or in the long run, even on
the issues that have not yet been solved between Syria and Israel.
I believe that the mere fact that there is a continuation
of negotiations with all the partners, it creates new realities in the
region. From Maroc tomorrow, our big mission headed by the Foreign Minister
will go to the Casablanca meeting. When did you expect that such a meeting
would take place in an Arab country? We have to see beyond technical
or tactical or certain important issues between us and one of our partners,
the changes that have taken place in the whole region in the attitude,
a change of attitude. This is what realities speak about. And therefore,
don't ask me today about details of this part or that part of the negotiations.
The fact that we are moving Palestinians, yesterday Jordan, openness
in the Arab world, different kind of relations—Maroc, Tunisia,
and I believe there will be other Arab countries, this is the importance.
You don't have to look at it on a limited point of view. You have to
look at: Are there changes in the region; are there changes in the attitude
of so many Arab counties towards relations to Israel, or not? This is
the issue. And it will continue. And we will continue regardless to
the terrible atrocities of the Islamic radical terror groups against
us. I believe you will see more changes and more in the right direction.
Q. Mr. President, the restoration of Israel's exact
fulfillment of over 300 Bible prophecies proves the Bible is God's true
word. Genesis 17:8 says God gave Israel "all the land of Canaan
for an everlasting possession." And Leviticus 25:23 forbids her
ever to sell it. How can it produce real peace to induce Israel to defy
God by selling Judea and Samaria for Arafat's or Asad's paper promises
of peace?
Prime Minister Rabin. Do you ask the President of the
United States this question? He is not representing Israel, to the best
of my knowledge.
The President. That was the answer I was going to give.
[Laughter]
The people of Israel, through their elected leaders,
will decide what they are required to do for their own existence, their
own security, their own future, and for their patience and peace with
God.
Q. Mr. Prime Minister, in the agreements you signed
with some of your Arab neighbors, the issue of Jerusalem remained unresolved,
the whole status of east Jerusalem. And that's also true at the U.N.
and in most of the world, it's unresolved. Why did you assert such absolute
control? Were you trying to put President Clinton on the spot tonight]r
The President. You mean in his speech to the Knesset?
Q. Yes.
Prime Minister Rabin. First, we are independent states.
And we have our positions, and the United States has got its position.
I can speak only on the Israeli position. We believe that Jerusalem
must remain united under Israel's sovereignty. But we did not reject
that the Palestinians, once we negotiate permanent solution, will raise
the issue. We know their position; they know ours.
I believe that in the long run, the Jerusalem problem
should be solved on two levels, the political one, that is to say, what
will be the sovereignty over the united Jerusalem, which we have no
doubt that it must be Israeli sovereignty and the question of the holiness
of Jerusalem to the other two religions. And you'll see a sign in the
Washington Declarations, in the peace treaty that we signed between
Jordan and Israel, that we distinguished between the holy shrines to
the Muslims that in the last 27 years we allowed free access, free practice.
But even beyond that, the administration of the holy shrines to the
Muslims and the Christians is done by the respective churches. We don't
intervene. In that way that they run something within the holy shrines
that derived from their own religion as long as it doesn't affect the
security of the area. It works for 27 years. And I believe we have in
the Hebrew an expression Jerusalem shall maala, Jerusalem shall matta.
Jerusalem in the heavens, and Jerusalem onthe ground.
I believe this is the key to the real solution in the
long run of Jerusalem. But we are committed if they want to raise this
issue. We know our position when we negotiate the permanent status between
us and the Palestinians. We negotiate the solution to the refugee problems,
a much wider scope not only with one partner, on a regional basis. Therefore,
from my point it's very clear.
[The following question was asked and answered in Hebrew,
and both were translated by an interpreter.]
Q. Mr. Prime Minister, I should like to take this opportunity
to ask you a question in Hebrew. President Clinton and the Secretary
of State have spoken about progress in Damascus. Following your meeting
with President Clinton, do you share their estimation that, indeed,
there is progress towards peace? And if so, in what areas?
Prime Minister Rabin. To begin with, I heard from President
Clinton about his meeting with President Asad. His impression, whereby
on certain subjects there has been some progress, is relevant. We must
bear in mind that we are now negotiating with the Syrians. In fact,
this has been going on for 3 years, ever since the Madrid convention.
And we are advancing in tiny steps, inch by inch.
In the talks between us, we reached an agreement whereby
Secretary of State Christopher, within a period of 3 or 4 weeks, would
examine the progress being made in order to implement or to put into
practice what we hope will be done. In other words, we are interested
in reaching peace with Syria. We do want a peace treaty with Syria.
In principle, we have agreed to a withdrawal. There is no agreement
between us and Syria as to the final borders of peace, and there are
other areas which have not yet been resolved.
President Clinton did not tell me that there was a
historic breakthrough. He said that there was some progress on certain
areas. Therefore, we must pursue these efforts. We must continue along
the road on which the negotiations have been taking place so far. In
other words, Secretary of State Christopher will continue shuffling
between Damascus and Jerusalem. And indeed, we have agreed that this
will be taking place within 3 or 4 weeks from today, if I'm not mistaken.
Q. ——have another day yet before the trip
is over, and I know I'm getting you while you're somewhat tired. But
even so, I'd like to ask you if you could to reflect a little bit, since
this is the last press conference before you go home, if you could tell
us a little bit about what have you learned on the trip the last couple
of days? What will you take home with you that's different from what
you came here with? And what do you feel has changed for yourself from
the experiences that you've had in the last however many hours it's
been?
The President. Well, this has been my first opportunity
to see first-hand the potential for a new Middle East, the real potential
for peace and the yearning that I see everywhere.
In Damascus today, when I was riding along the road
and people would stop their working or children would crowd around their
buildings, the play yards, and wave a greeting, they did it because
they see the United States as the instrument of peace to bring these
two nations together or at least to make it possible for them to come
together. These are all things that you know, but until you see it,
it's a very different thing, indeed.
I also come away from this trip profoundly grateful
to the leaders of Israel and Jordan for setting an example that I think
will give confidence to the efforts that others will make now to resolve
the problems in the Middle East.
I also came away, frankly, with a much clearer idea
of what things the United States can do and indeed what we must try
to do to help make peace successful from a security point of view and
from an economic point of view.
So all these things I leave with. But the most important
thing is the deep yearning for this to work. I saw it in the energy
in the Knesset tonight. We saw it in the energy and the passion in the
Jordanian Parliament last night. And I have seen it on the streets of
every place I have been in the eyes of the people. I think we are on
the right historic mission, and we need to redouble our efforts until
we finish.
Prime Minister Rabin. May I, Mr. President? In the
last 15 years, the President of the United States did help and attended
signing of the peace treaty between an Arab country and Israel.
Sources: Public Papers of the President |