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For Immediate Release October 6, 1996
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Mr. Secretary, it is good to welcome you here again. You and your staff are always welcome. You have traditionally helped the peace process in the Middle East. You have done so in the last few days with President Clinton's initiative, important initiative in Washington, and you continue to do so by coming here and helping the parties in the negotiations by acting as a facilitator. We had, I think, an excellent talk. We talked a great deal about how to facilitate the talks and I think we saw many things that could be done to that effect.
I want to thank the American administration, President Clinton and yourself for undertaking to do this. These talks are not going to be the easiest in the world, but I think that we can achieve progress and achieve results if we repair to the standard of meeting commitments. It is accepted often that Israel is asked to keep commitments in the case of redeploying from Hebron, and that is true, but so is the Palestinian side. It is asked to keep commitments, commitments that unfortunately were not kept in the firing of weapons last week. What we seek is a simultaneous recommitment by both sides to the principles that they signed up, both signed on to in Oslo and these are not abstract issues, these are not legalisms. I was struck by two families, one Palestinian and one Israeli. One, I saw, I must admit, on television last night, in Hebron, beyond closed doors. They came to their front door, walked out for a minute and were forced to go back in as the curfew was in force and one could think of the pressures that they live under and, by the way, we have tried to lift by rescinding the closure on Hebron but there is a great deal of pressure and burden and suffering on the Palestinian population, and which we want to allay and ultimately do away with that suffering.
Secondly, today, I met with a young woman, about thirty years
old, a mother of eight, the oldest child is fourteen and the youngest
is one year old, from Hebron. And she came to see my colleagues
and myself and the Likud Knesset faction and she said "you
are going to determine the fate of my family and my children because
what you will decide in the course of the redeployment in Hebron
will determine whether my children live, whether they will have
a future, whether they will be hurt or whether they will be safe."
And, of course, there are many other issues involved but I think
on the most human level what we are charged with, all of us, is
to protect Israeli and the Palestinian children and to give them
a better future, in Hebron and elsewhere. And this is our responsibility,
this is our charge and this is our mandate, and with your help,
Mr. Secretary, and with God's help, we will succeed.
SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER: Mr. Prime Minister, good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. The Prime Minister and I have just concluded a very valuable session which I hope can contribute to the success of the negotiations which resume tonight. As you know, in the wake of last week's meetings in Washington, President Clinton asked me to come here to the region for brief visits with the Prime Minister and with Chairman Arafat to try to find ways to seek the best results from the resumed negotiations. The recent violence has demonstrated a great urgency of reaching some concrete results just as soon as possible. We now must work together to determine how best to implement the interim agreement with, of course, an initial focus on Hebron as well as other issues. Implementing the interim agreement is really the best way to restore trust and confidence between the parties. In order to have these negotiations succeed it seems essential to have both the Israelis and the Palestinians understand well and better the needs of each other, to take their requirements into account. Agreements simply will not be possible if there are winners and losers. Both sides need to be able to win, that is exactly the point you made in Washington, Mr. Prime Minister, just after the meeting concluded.
I want to emphasize to you and to this audience in Israel that President Clinton and I understand the fundamental importance that the Prime Minister places on the security needs of the people of Israel. Clearly, security does figure very prominently in the implementation of the interim agreement. Maintaining Israel's security has always been a foremost concern of the United States, a place where we have an enduring commitment to the security of Israel. As the President said last week, there can be no peace for the Israelis or Palestinians without security and there can equally be no security without peace. Unless we can end the conflict and confrontations between the Israelis and the Palestinians and replace it with a true reconciliation between the peoples there will certainly be no security for either.
We want to do everything we can to help these negotiations succeed. Ambassador Dennis Ross and our team will remain here in the region to work with both the negotiating teams to, as the Prime Minister said, play a facilitating role in the negotiations. We understand these are bilateral negotiations and that our role is to serve as an intermediary, to facilitate the outcome of the negotiations and we will do our very best. Thank you Mr. Prime Minister for this opportunity. I think our meeting today enhances the likelihood that we can find some common ground in the days ahead and it is urgent to do so.
QUESTION (in Hebrew*): Mr. Prime Minister, in Hebrew with your permission: What is the reason for this sudden visit of the American Secretary of State Warren Christopher? Just a few days ago we were in Washington, and the principles of the negotiations, including a possible timetable, are in fact clear to the Americans.
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU (in Hebrew*): I imagine that the United States wants to help in every way possible, to create the necessary climate, the necessary rapport and understandings, in order to advance this process, and to increase its prospects for success. And of course the arrival of the American Secretary, Mr. Christopher, is very welcome to us, is something that can help to increase the understanding, and we welcome it.
QUESTION (in Hebrew*): Isn't (the visit) an expression of American pressure on you and on the government of Israel?
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU (in Hebrew*): Do you feel pressure from the American Secretary? I don't feel pressure.
QUESTION (in Hebrew*): I'm asking.
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU (in Hebrew*): No.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, did you receive concrete and specific assurances from the Prime Minister that he will act quickly to produce significant results? And Mr. Prime Minister, what do you say to cynics who believe or suggest that there will be nothing concrete until after the American elections?
SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER: The Prime Minister assured me that he understands that the context of these negotiations is to go forward with the implementation of the interim agreements which he understands there is an obligation to carry out. I think we all understand the urgency of the situation. At the same time, this is a two-party negotiation, so his determination to move quickly requires a response from the other side -- an understanding from the other side. But I don't have any doubt that the Prime Minister understands the urgency of these negotiations. Indeed it was the Prime Minister who urged these negotiations begin even two days earlier than had been talked about first in Washington; we talked about doing them on Tuesday, and it was the Prime Minister's instinct that we ought to move as rapidly as we could.
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: You asked what I say to cynics. To cynics I say nothing. I don't speak to cynics; it's pointless anyway. I speak to people of good faith -- Israelis and Palestinians alike -- who understand what's at stake here and the need to act in good faith, in rigor, and in speed, as rapidly as possible, to make sure that both sides fulfill their commitments, and the security conditions that we're talking about, I say uncynically, are important, as important to Palestinians as they are to Israelis, because I think that achieving, within the framework of the agreement, achieving security arrangements in light of what happened last week -- in light of the real threats and dangers that we now know are there -- achieving a stable arrangement on the ground is something that is as much a Palestinian interest as it is an Israeli interest. It will cement the peace that we want for both peoples.
QUESTION (in Hebrew*): Mr. Prime Minister, the American Secretary of State and the Palestinians and Europeans are saying that this negotiation is about implementing the interim agreements; not about renewed negotiations on interim agreements, but their implementation. Did you commit to the fact that what is being discussed is the implementation of the interim agreements, and are the security requirements that we are hearing from the Israeli side, including, for example, a reduction in the weaponry of the Palestinian police? Aren't these tantamount to reopening the Oslo agreements?
QUESTION: And to the Secretary of State, could you also relate to this question. Are you seeing these negotiations about the implementation of the interim agreements, or are you willing to accept the Israeli proposal for opening some of the agreements for renegotiation?
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU (in Hebrew*): We did not suggest reopening the agreements. We have suggested, in the framework of the language of the agreement and of the points that are contained therein, to make the necessary adjustments particularly in the area of security. If you want to understand what are the adjustments in the area of security -- I met a young women today named Orit from Hebron, mother of eight, the oldest among them 14 years of age and the youngest one year old. And she said to us, "Now you decide what is going to happen to me, what is going to happen to my children, what will happen to my baby. What will happen on the heights? Will Palestinian police be standing there and shooting at us, or is there some other arrangement that can be made?" She didn't say don't do anything. She said do something that will allow us to live; something that will allow us -- and I say also the Palestinians -- will allow them to live in peace. The security arrangements we are talking about are within the overall framework of the agreement. We are not talking about reopening the agreement. But I maintain that we are talking about a mutual interest -- of the Palestinians and the Israelis. What will happen if we make an unstable agreement? What if we make an agreement without a foundation, without a security foundation, that is matched with the reality? Think of what will happen in another month or two months, if it becomes apparent that we didn't do the necessary work, and a tragedy takes place in Hebron. Will that be good for the Palestinian Authority? Will it be good for anyone? Will it be good for the continuation of the peace process? And therefore what we are talking about are those adjustments in the framework of the agreement that are necessary for the Palestinians, for the Israelis, for the Palestinian children, for the Israeli children. Not as a catch-phrase, but for the children who live there in Hebron, the Jews and the Arabs, and of course for the continuation of the peace process which is important to all of us.
SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER: I think the Prime Minister has largely answered the question. The context will be the existing agreements. The steps for implementation need to be taken within the four corners of the agreement. It's a practical agreement that can take into account changed circumstances resulting from the tragic events of last week, but I think the Prime Minister was clear with me today that he wants to do things that are permitted by the agreement, that are consistent with the agreement, and that will be in the best interests of both parties, as he has just said.
QUESTION: Mr. Prime Minister, what exactly do the Palestinians have to do in order that Israel will agree to a pull-out or redeployment from Hebron. What specifically are you seeking? Are you seeking Palestinian policemen less lightly armed; are you seeking a buffer zone on the hills above Hebron? And, secondly, assuming that these negotiations can go forward, in your mind, when do you think such a pull-out or redeployment will happen? Will it happen by November 5? Will it happen by the end of the year? When in your mind is your best estimate of when the pull-back can be concluded?
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: You seem to have a fairly detailed agenda, gleaned from somewhere, I don't know. But I'm certainly not going to get into a discussion of those detailed specifics, that belong rightly around the negotiating table. What I can tell you is that as far as we are concerned, we are going to raise only those things that are truly intended to make the agreement work, within the confines of the agreement, especially those things that we think are warranted by the events, the terrible events, of last week, which cast a shadow, of course, which has to be dispelled, or at least protected from. I think it's possible to achieve this in good faith, and I think it's possible to achieve it rapidly in good faith, but of course good faith is required from both sides. I assure you that we bring it to our side of the table, and I'd like to believe that the other side will act in the same way as well, and if that is the case, then we'll move speedily. But I am not putting a date; I'm putting a conclusion. The satisfactory conclusion of this negotiation, I think, from both sides will be the date which you will be able to signify as the conclusion. And once it's concluded, I don't think there should be a delay in implementation.
QUESTION: Did you tell President Clinton, or suggest to President Clinton, as it's been reported in the media here, that this could happen within 45 days?
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: No, I didn't commit to a date. I said to President Clinton, as I'm telling you, that we have real security concerns, brought about by the mass firings of the Palestinian policemen who were supposed to protect the Jewish population in Hebron against attackers. We are now very much concerned that those policemen would not train their weapons against the very population they're supposed to protect. And I said we'll have to work out arrangements to ensure that that doesn't happen. I think it's possible to do it. And I said that as soon as we conclude such satisfactory arrangements, we could implement the agreement. But I didn't specify a date.
Thank you very much.
[end of document]
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