OPENING REMARKS BY MR. ELYAKIM RUBINSTEIN
HEAD OF THE ISRAELI DELEGATION TO THE ISRAEL-JORDAN PEACE TALKS
July 18, 1994
My friend and colleague Ambassador Tarawneh, Head of the Jordanian
Delegation, my Israeli and Jordanian colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
With God's help, we have today reached an important milestone in our work
together, hopefully leading to the desired Treaty of Peace between Israel
and Jordan. On Wednesday, our Jordanian colleagues will extend to us their
hospitality in the talks on the Jordanian shore of the Dead Sea, when the
trilateral U.S.-Israel-Jordanian Economic Committee will convene, to be
blessed by Prime Minister Majali with whom we worked during his former
incarnation as Head of Delegation and who has pursued the course of peace,
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres of Israel and Secretary of State Warren
Christopher.
This special historic period will culminate next Monday in the meeting in
the White House, hosted by President Clinton, between H.M. King Hussein and
Prime Minister Rabin. This unprecedented event should usher in a new era in
our relationship.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This meeting takes place in a tent. The tent is tentative, but peace should
and will be permanent. We are at a very warm spot of our two countries; the
temperature is high. It is only natural to express the by hope that the
Israeli-Jordanian peaceful relations will be warm forever. The arrangements
here today have been jointly implemented both sides. This spirit of
cooperation should inspire us in the future.
Friends and Colleagues,
The peace we seek is between two states, but also between peoples. Our work
with our Jordanian colleagues for over two years has convinced us that the
potential for our relationship to prosper is there, and the moving of the
negotiations to the region, which was suggested by us ever since the
beginning of the Madrid peace process, should bring even closer home to the
peoples of Israel and of Jordan the message of peace.
We are meeting today close to sites that have witnessed important events of
history, ever since ancient days biblical and Jewish history, Arab
history, world history. We are today near the gulf on the shores of which
the two thriving adjacent cities of Aqaba and Eilat, at the southern tip of
both countries, prosper as centers of tourism and maritime transportation.
We are presently at the Jordan Rift Valley, the area connecting our two
countries, with the most imaginative potential for future joint ventures,
turning the Dead Sea into the Sea of Life, and the valley into a valley of
peace. This should include tourism, resource development and exploration of
minerals. There is almost no limit to what can be achieved here in the new
era.
My Colleagues,
Historically, there has been no animosity between Jews and Arabs on both
sides of the Jordan River. During the Mandatory period, for instance,
friendly contacts were maintained between our two leaderships, and their
taste has not totally diminished following the war that has divided us since
1948, including bitter moments of human suffering and hostility a la
guerre comme a la guerre. Nevertheless, the Israeli leadership continued
historically to have respect for the Hashemite Kingdom and the Royal Family.
The last 24 years of relative calm along our ceasefire line have
strengthened this perception.
The new horizons opened up by the Madrid Peace Conference of 1991 have, for
the first time, created a political negotiating framework for Israelis and
Jordanians to sit around a table and discuss peace. In the beginning, Jordan
provided a roof for a joint Jordanian- Palestinian delegation. On September
14, 1993, Israel and Jordan signed their first substantial agreement, the
Common Agenda, which has served as the basis for continued negotiations. It
was complemented by a number of agreements in June 1994, which have ushered
in this day. Our work so far included also the Israel-Jordan- U.S. Economic
Committee, announced in Washington in October 1993 by President Clinton,
Crown Prince Hassan and Foreign Minister Peres. Our negotiations have been
marked by a cordial atmosphere between the delegations, a human touch, and a
sense of humor, even in difficult situations.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The relationship with Jordan has been central to Israel's peace policy. For
a while, after the agreement with the Palestinians, an impression could have
been created that the Israeli-Jordanian track has been somewhat sidetracked.
What we see now, this week and next week, attests to the contrary. We look
forward to the negotiations with Jordan, which are part and parcel of the
overall bilateral and multilateral effort of peace between Israel and its
neighbors.
What is on our plate in the coming days? There is a message we would like to
convey. There is no doubt in our minds that our bilateral matters can be
negotiated and finalized in a Treaty of Peace. Nevertheless, the issues are
not easy. The boundary between the two countries has never in history been
delimited or demarcated no single person on earth knows exactly the
location of the boundary. In our Common Agenda agreement, we made reference
to Mandatory definitions; but the process which will lead to the erection of
boundary milestones requires hard work, deprived of media limelights, in the
burning sun. However, it will be achieved. In this framework, we should make
common use of the boundary area for creative development, through joint
economic ventures. The proposed Jordan-Israel-Egypt road would be a
significant achievement symbolizing peace.
Water is the lifeline of every human being. The God-given rain water and the
Yarmuk and Jordan river waters will not be enough for both of us, before or
after allocations are agreed upon. We must develop, in addition, through
desalination, new resources; we must also work towards maximizing the
availability of existing waters, which must be saved. It is a complex
mission but, again, workable. This subject is coupled with environment, the
new layer of civility, aimed at the alleviation of human suffering and
improving the quality of life, and with efforts towards creating sources of
energy for both countries.
Security is a cornerstone of peace, and it means a variety of efforts to
build confidence and to assure against terrorism and third-party
manipulation. This, too, is an achievable goal.
Peace must include, of course, the whole range of relations diplomatic
and economic, including free trade and abolition of boycotts. People on both
sides must interact with each other. Matters may develop gradually, parallel
to efforts in all spheres, sometimes in small mutual steps. Visible events,
such as a meeting between H.M. King Hussein and Prime Minister Rabin, could
definitely help in breaking the psychological barriers.
Friends and Colleagues,
Let me conclude by quoting prophet Isaiah (35:1,6), whose eternal
words are so appropriate here and now:
"The wilderness and the dry land (Arava) shall be glad thereat;
and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the lily... for in
the wilderness shall water break out, and brooks in the Arava."
Thank you.