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The central diplomatic challenge we face in the Middle East is
to obtain a just and lasting peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
Until Israel and all of its neighbors are at peace, our vision of
the Middle East at peace will only be a distant dream. President
Bush and I are convinced that the Arab-Israeli conflict can be resolved,
but that will only happen if all of us, especially Israelis and
Palestinians, face up to some fundamental truths.
To begin with, Palestinians must accept that, if there is to be
real peace, Israelis must be able to live their lives free from
terror as well as war. The Palestinian leadership must make a 100
percent effort to end violence and to end terror. There must be
real results, not just words and declarations. Terrorists must be
stopped before they act. The Palestinian leadership must arrest,
prosecute and punish the perpetrators of terrorist acts. The Palestinians
must live up to the agreements they have made to do so. They must
be held to account when they do not.
Whatever the sources of Palestinian frustration and anger under
occupation, the Intifada is now mired in the quicksand of self-defeating
violence and terror directed against Israel. Palestinians need to
understand that however legitimate their claims, they cannot be
heard, let alone be addressed, through violence. And as President
Bush has made clear, no national aspiration, no remembered wrong
can ever justify the deliberate murder of the innocent. Terror and
violence must stop and stop now. (Applause.)
Palestinians must realize that the violence has had a terrible
impact on Israel. The lynching of Israeli soldiers in Ramallah,
the assassination of the cabinet minister and the killing of Israeli
children feed Israelis' deepest doubts about whether Palestinians
really want peace. The endless messages of incitement and hatred
of Israelis and Jews that pour out of the media in so much of the
Palestinian and Arab worlds only reinforce these fears. No one can
claim a commitment to peace while feeding a culture of hatred that
can only produce a culture of violence. The incitement must stop.
Palestinians must accept that they can only achieve their goals
through negotiation. That was the essence of the agreements made
between Israelis and Palestinians in Madrid, and again in Oslo in
1993. There is no other way but direct negotiation in an atmosphere
of stability and non-violence.
At the same time, Palestinians must also be secure and in control
of their individual lives and collective security. In the absence
of peace, Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza has been
the defining reality of Palestinians' lives there for over three
decades, longer than most of the Palestinians living there have
been alive.
The overwhelming majority of Palestinians in the West Bank and
Gaza have grown up with checkpoints and raids and indignities. Too
often they have seen their schools shuttered and their parents humiliated.
Palestinians need security as well. Too many innocent Palestinians,
including children, have been killed and wounded. This, too, must
stop. (Applause.)
The occupation hurts Palestinians, but it also affects Israelis.
The sad truth is that it is the young people who serve on the front
lines of conflict who are at risk. Embittered young Palestinians
throw stones, and young Israeli soldiers on the other side learn
only that Palestinians are to be feared, seen as enemies. One thing
I've learned in my life is that treating individuals with respect
and dignity was the surest path to understanding. Both sides need
to treat the other with respect. Humiliation and lack of respect
are just another path to confrontation.
Israeli settlement activity has severely undermined Palestinian
trust and hope. It preempts and prejudges the outcome of negotiations
and, in doing so, cripples chances for real peace and security.
The United States has long opposed settlement activity. Consistent
with the report of the committee headed by Senator George Mitchell,
settlement activity must stop.
For the sake of Palestinians and Israelis alike, the occupation
must end. And it can only end with negotiations. Israelis and Palestinians
must create a relationship based on mutual tolerance and respect
so negotiations can go forward.
My friends, it should be clear from these realities that the way
back through a political process will be neither quick nor easy.
That's the bad news. The good news is that a framework for a solution
exists. It is based on the core principles of the United Nations
Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, which are rooted in the
concept of land for peace. Madrid also calls for a comprehensive
Arab-Israeli peace, including agreements with Syria and Lebanon.
Rejectionists say that there has been no progress over the years
trying to achieve those objectives. They are wrong. Over the past
decade, Arabs and Israelis have proven that negotiations can work
and can achieve results. At Madrid in October of 1991, through the
Oslo process beginning in 1993, and in the 1994 Israeli-Jordanian
peace treaty. And, last year, there was hope as Israelis and Palestinians
negotiated on permanent status issues. The questions proved excruciatingly
difficult, but issues long avoided were finally addressed.
After a year of violence and trauma, finding a way forward will
not be easy. It will take time, it will take trust. But the tools
to rebuild confidence and revive a political process are available
and they are available now. They are found in the security work
plan negotiated by CIA Director George Tenet, and the Mitchell Committee
report, which both the Government of Israel and the Palestinian
Authority have accepted, and which the entire international community
has strongly endorsed.
The steps they outline offer Israelis and Palestinians a roadmap
to a cease-fire and an end to the violence. Such steps must include
an end to closures in order to bring tangible improvement in the
daily lives of Palestinians and the rapid restoration of economic
hope into every Palestinian home. Implementation of the Mitchell
report shows the way to restoring trust and confidence and moving
rapidly to the resumption of negotiations.
We will do all we can to help the process along. We will push,
we will prod. We will present ideas. For example, there are a number
of economic and political steps in existing agreements --they are
there now -- which, if we implemented, could contribute to momentum
toward peace. But notwithstanding everything we do, at the end of
the day, it is the people in the region taking the risks and making
the hard choices who must find the way ahead. The only lasting peace
will be the peace the parties make themselves.
Both sides will need to face up to some plain truths about where
this process is heading as they turn to the challenges of negotiating
permanent status issues. Palestinians must eliminate any doubt,
once and for all, that they accept the legitimacy of Israel as a
Jewish state. They must make clear that their objective is a Palestinian
state alongside Israel, not in place of Israel, and which takes
full account of Israel's security needs.
The Palestinian leadership must end violence, stop incitement and
prepare their people for the hard compromises ahead. All in the
Arab world must make unmistakably clear, through their own actions,
their acceptance of Israel and their commitment to a negotiated
settlement.
Israel must be willing to end its occupation, consistent with the
principles embodied in Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338,
and accept a viable Palestinian State in which Palestinians can
determine their own future on their own land and live in dignity
and security. They, too, will have to make hard compromises.
Ultimately, both sides will have to address the very, very difficult
permanent status issues. The future of Jerusalem is a challenge
which the two parties can only resolve together through negotiations,
taking into account the religious and political concerns that both
will bring to the table. Any solution will also have to protect
the religious interests of Jews, Christians and Muslims the world
over.
On Palestinian refugees, the two parties must strive for a just
solution that is both fair and realistic. Again, if there is to
be a lasting peace, both sides will have to embrace negotiations
on these and the other tough issues before them. The goal can be
nothing less than an end to their conflict and a resolution of outstanding
claims.
As we have for half a century, the United States is ready to play
an active leadership role in helping the parties along the road
to a more hopeful future. Toward that end, President Bush and I
have asked Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
Bill Burns to return to the region later this week for consultations.
I am also pleased to announce this morning that Retired Marine
Corps General Anthony Zinni has agreed to serve as a senior advisor
to me, with the immediate mission of helping the parties achieve
a durable cease-fire and to move along the lines of the Tenet security
work plan and the Mitchell Committee Report. Tony Zinni is a good
friend of mine. He is a distinguished soldier, a Marine, with a
long experience in the Middle East, particularly on security issues.
He will be an invaluable addition to our team.
I heard from Prime Minister Sharon this morning that Israel is
forming a senior-level committee to work with the Palestinians on
the negotiation and implementation of a cease-fire and what follows
from that. I also understand that Chairman Arafat remains ready
to do likewise and to engage on these issues through a similar senior-level
committee.
I have asked General Zinni to go to the region and remain in the
region to work with these two committees and to lend our strongest
efforts to the establishment of a cease-fire. Get that cease-fire
in place, and other things can start to happen. Without that cease-fire,
we are still trapped in the quicksand of hatred. I expect these
new committees, with General Zinni's participation, to begin working
in the very, very near future.
To help this process, the United States remains ready to contribute
actively to a third party monitoring and verification mechanism
acceptable to both parties. With a successful cease-fire, and as
we move forward on the Mitchell Report and Tenet work plan, we will
work urgently with our international partners on an economic reconstruction
effort to help rebuild the Palestinian economy. (Applause.)
We cannot hope to turn the current situation around by acting alone,
nor should we want to. As in Madrid, so too does our current quest
for a better future for Israelis and Palestinians depend on the
support of our friends. We look forward to continuing to work closely
with Egypt and Jordan, with the European Union, the United Nations
Secretary General, with Russia and our many other partners in this
effort. They have been so helpful; they all stand behind the Mitchell
Committee Report.
My friends, the stakes in our effort are enormous. It would be
a tragedy to divert the energies and talents of another generation
of young people from peace and prosperity to war and survival. It
would be a tragedy to sacrifice so many more potential presidents
and prime ministers and peacemakers and poets to this cruel conflict.
It is time -- no, it is past time -- to end this terrible toll on
the future. It is time -- past time -- to bring the violence to
an end and to seek a better day. (Applause.)
Today is the 24th anniversary of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's
historic visit of peace and reconciliation to Jerusalem. As we work
to make our vision a reality, we should recall the vision and courage
of President Sadat, and of the region's other great peacemakers:
Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and Jordan's King Hussein.
They are no longer with us, but their legacy lives on and inspires
us.
President Bush and I are determined to pursue this quest, and with
the peoples of the Middle East, to make the vision of the region
at peace a reality. History, fate and success have combined to compel
American leadership in the Middle East and around the globe. We
welcome the challenge. We welcome the opportunity to use our power
and influence to make the world a better place for all of God's
children.
Thank you very much.
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