Israel's formal reaction to the Rabat decisions was announced by the Prime Minister who told the Knesset Israel would not negotiate with terrorist organizations whose declared aim was its destruction, and that the Palestinian issue must be resolved within the framework of the Jordanian state. He reiterated Israel's readiness to enter into a new interim agreement with Egypt which should "constitute a stage in the conscious progress towards peace", and "consolidate a continuous situation of non-belligerency. This must find expression in the political atmosphere and in the economic arena." Text:
Mr. Speaker, Members of the Knesset,
First of all, I should like to express from this rostrum our profound appreciation and gratitude to the hundreds of thousands of United States citizens, Jews and non-Jews, who yesterday, at the United Nations Plaza in New York, demonstrated their solidarity and sympathy with the State of Israel, protesting against the U.N. Assembly's decision to invite the representatives of the terrorist organizations to participate in the deliberations of the General Assembly. This was a powerful demonstration of support for the State of Israel and its struggle for survival against its attacks.
This mass demonstration gave vivid expression to the determined stand, not only of the demonstrators, but of millions of other Americans who are not prepared to tolerate this decision, which is void of all moral force, even if the representatives of 105 states voted in its favour as against the opposition of four: the U.S., Bolivia, the Dominican Republic and Israel. The Jewish people and the State of Israel appreciate the stand of these countries, headed by the United States, as an expression of friendship and true concern for peace in our region.
At a time characterized by fear and defeatism in the face of oil blackmail, we may draw encouragement from the awakening of the masses who demonstrated in New York, and see it as a sign of things to come.
The irresponsible decision of the U.N. Assembly undoubtedly gave added momentum to the Rabat conference and helped to harden the position of the Arab states. The Rabat conference may have adopted some decisions of which we are not yet aware, but the decisions on the Palestinian question have been published, and they are clear and unambiguous. Here are the decisions word for word, and I quote.
"The Conference:
"A) Affirms the Palestinian people's right to its homeland and its right to self-determination.
"B) Affirms the right of the Palestinian people to set up an independent national authority under the leadership of the PLO, as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, on any liberated Palestinian land. The Arab countries will support such an authority once it is established in all spheres.
"C) Support for the PLO in exercising its national and international responsibilities within the framework of Arab commitments.
"D) Calls upon the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Syria and the PLO to outline a joint formula for a coordination of their relations in the light of these decisions, and for their implementation.
"E) All the Arab countries undertake to consolidate the national Palestinian unity and avoid intervention in the internal affairs of the Palestinian action."
The meaning of these resolutions is clear. The Rabat conference decided to charge the organizations of murderers with the establishment of a Palestinian state, and the Arab countries gave the organizations a free hand to decide on their mode of operations. The Arab countries themselves will refrain, as stated in the resolution, from intervening in the "internal affairs" of this action.
We are not fully aware of the significance of the fourth resolution, which refers to "outlining a formula" for the coordination of relations between Jordan, Syria, Egypt and. the PLO. It is by no means impossible that it is also intended to bring about closer military relations between them.
The significance of these resolutions is extremely grave. The aim of the terrorist organizations is well-known and clear. The Palestine National Covenant speaks bluntly and openly about the liquidation of the State of Israel by means of armed struggle, and the Arab states committed themselves at Rabat to support this struggle. Any attempt to implement them will be accompanied by at least attempts to carry out terrorist operations on a larger scale with the support of the Arab countries.
The decisions of the Rabat conference are merely. a continuation of the resolutions adopted at Khartoum. Only, further to the "noes" of Khartoum, the roof organization of the terrorists has attained the status conferred upon it by the presidents and kings at Rabat. Throughout this conference not a voice was raised expressing readiness for peace. The recurring theme of this conference was the aspiration to destroy a member-state of the United Nations.
The content of this gathering has nothing whatsoever in common with social progress or the advancement of humanity among the Arab nations or in the relations with the peoples in the region and throughout the world.
There is no indication of any deviation from the goal and policy of the terrorist organizations, so let us not delude ourselves on this score. The terrorist organisations had no successes in the administered territories, but the successes they achieved at the U.N. General Assembly and at Rabat are encouraging them to believe that the targets they had so confidently set themselves are now within reach.
Members of the Knesset,
The policy laid down in Khartoum and Rabat shall not be executed. We have the power to prevent its implementation. The position of the government of Israel in the face of these resolutions of the Rabat conference is unequivocal:
A) The government of Israel categorically rejects the conclusions of the Rabat conference, which are designed to disrupt any progress towards peace, to encourage the terrorist elements, and to foil any step which might lead to peaceful co-existence with Israel.
B) In accordance with the Knesset's resolutions, the government of Israel, will not negotiate with terrorist organizations whose avowed policy is to strive for Israel's destruction and whose method is terrorist violence.
C) We warn the Arab leaders against making the mistake of thinking that threats or even the active employment of the weapon of violence or of military force will lead to a political solution. This is a dangerous illusion. The aims of the Palestinian National Charter will not be achieved, either by terrorist acts or by limited or total warfare.
The Rabat conference resolutions do not justify the adoption of other resolutions, and merely add force to our determination. To anyone who recommends negotiations with the terrorist organizations, I have to say that there is no basis for negotiation with the terrorist organizations. It does not enter our minds to negotiate with a body that denies our existence as a state, and follows a course of violence and terrorism for the destruction of our state.
Negotiations with such a body would lend legitimacy and encouragement to its policy and its criminal acts. The U.N. General Assembly's decision to invite this body to its debates is a serious error from the moral and political standpoints, but it has no substance so long as Israel denounces this body, its policies and its deeds, as incompatible with the very existence of the State of Israel. Israel will grant no recognition to those who conspire against her existence.
Rabat is not a surprising innovation, but our policy will not be determined by its decisions. We shall carefully watch the steps the Arab states will take in the wake of this conference and, in particular, we shall watch the moves of those states with whom we were about to embark on negotiations on stages of progress towards peace. Above all -we shall see whether Egypt is in fact ready for this, or whether she has committed herself to the ban on reaching a separate agreement with Israel. We shall be watching Jordan's moves too, to see whether she surrenders to Arafat.
In the face of this development, we believe that the strength and stability of the State of Israel, and the Israel Defence Forces, powerful and prepared for any test, are the guarantee for our safety. As long as we are strong and follow a wise and courageous policy, the chances will increase that our neighbours will be ready to seek ways of coming to terms with us.
I can report to the Knesset today on the satisfactory progress made in the increase in the army's strength and its programme of work:
- The army has increased its strength and the number of its regular and reserve formations. Methods of mobilization have been examined and improved.
- The army is trying to make the maximum use of the manpower at its disposal, including re-examination of those who have not yet served.
- A great effort is being made to increase the numbers in the regular army.
- The lessons of the Yom Kippur War have been learned and intensive training programmes are being carried out to put them into practice.
- Large-scale fortification works are under way, as well as a massive repair programme to get our weapons into a condition of maximum capacity and readiness.
- Large arms purchasing efforts have been made, which cannot be described in any detail here.
I can confidently assure the Knesset that, although our neighbours have grown much stronger, we are succeeding in our efforts to achieve the strength to ensure that the Israel Defence Forces can do their job. We are also making every effort to give the IDF the best weapons so as to increase its fighting power and maintain its qualitative superiority.
The maintenance of the quantitative proportions and our qualitative superiority is not a one-time effort, and we shall have to continue to invest considerable efforts and resources in the future.
During the last two months, our security forces have been built up and restored to full capacity at an impressive rate. The number of volunteers for the regular army has risen. Many have given up more comfortable and well-paid jobs and undertaken the military burden out of a sense of national responsibility.
Members of the Knesset,
As I have already stated, Israel's steadfastness, the strength of the Israel Defence Forces and a wise and courageous policy are the guarantee of our safety. A correct policy is an important condition for the building up of our strength and the safeguarding of our future.
Despite the hostility surrounding us, we have not abandoned our clear consciousness of the fact that peace is a cardinal need for all the nations in the region. The government of Israel is convinced that the central effort of its policy must be the attainment of peace with each and every one of the neighbouring states in the region. This has been Israel's policy since she overcame the invasion of the Arab armies which sought to prevent the establishment of the state. The effort is to achieve a contractual peace which will put an end to the conflict and usher in a new era in the relations between the nations of this region. The effort is to achieve a peace which incorporates defensible borders for Israel, as well as conditions which guarantee Israel and each of the states in this area undisturbed development and social progress, without the horrors of wars and slaughter, conditions enabling all the nations in the region to display their productive and cultural potential, which has remained unexpressed owing to the wars. Our policy is geared and directed towards this goal. In order to progress towards this goal, we are prepared to venture and even take deliberate risks. Hence our readiness to agree to territorial compromise within the framework of peace settlements and the assurance of defensible borders. We believe that peace is both necessary and possible for the members of this generation. We are not content with rejecting the Rabat resolutions, and we have constructive proposals on how to advance towards peace.
Members of the Knesset,
Our evaluation is that there are two ways for progressing towards peace:
(A) By achieving full peace which would assure Israel secure borders - namely, defensible and recognized borders. As aforementioned, a peace treaty assuring Israel of defensible borders can be founded on territorial compromise. A peace agreement under any conditions or at any price is out of the question, for we shall not agree to return to the borders of 4 June 1967.
(B) Insofar as the Arab states are not yet prepared to make peace with us, we can nevertheless see a way open to make progress towards peace. Such progress can be made by stages. The House has more than once noted the government's statements concerning its readiness to try this method, which is based on interim settlements.
Members of the Knesset,
As far back as June 1971, Israel expressed its readiness to make interim settlements, insofar as these can assure progress on the road to peace. This was also included in the Alignment's election platform for the Eighth Knesset and in the basic principles of the present government's programme.
The interim settlements for which we are prepared are not the same as the Separation-of-Forces Agreements which were concluded following the cease-fire in the Yom Kippur War, but settlements of a political nature resulting from political contacts. I am referring to settlements which are not confined only to the general maintenance of the cease-fire, or merely to the elementary military paragraphs covered by a cease-fire - but constitute a stage in the conscious progress towards peace, a progress which consolidates a continuous situation of non-belligerency. This must find expression in the political atmosphere and in the economic arena. What is meant here is an agreement - not for brief periods of time, but for periods that do not expire at the end of a few months. Such agreements must liberate this region from the tensions of the peril of renewed war, without being dependent on the meetings and deliberations of the security council every six months. I am speaking of agreements which, even though not peace agreements, will entail reciprocal obligations, they must contain elements of progress towards the peace to which the parties aspire. At any event, such interim settlements cannot involve one-sided advantages and cannot be applicable to each of the fronts.
At this stage it might be harmful to refer in detail in public to matters which we shall have to discuss in the course of the negotiations. Detailed discussions will be held in due course in the Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee of the Knesset.
Members of the Knesset,
I must stress the following:
Our consent to an interim settlement with Egypt stands.
This interim settlement, which cannot constitute a further edition of the Separation-of-Forces Agreement, must not deprive the Israel Defence Forces of the conditions required for holding their positions in Sinai as long as peace has not been reached. To repeat - this is not the time to go into detail as to the components of the agreement, or to make precise juridical definitions. If we reach an agreement on the contents, we shall have no difficulty in finding the appropriate juridical definitions.
As for Jordan,
The government of Israel is convinced that, within the framework of peace with Jordan, the Palestinian issue can and must also be solved.
On 21 July 1974 the government adopted the following resolution:
"The government will work towards negotiations for a peace agreement with Jordan.
"The peace will be founded on the existence of two independent states only - Israel, with united Jerusalem as her capital, and a Jordanian-Palestinian Arab state, east of Israel, within borders to be determined in negotiations between Israel and Jordan. In this state, the specific identity of the Jordanians and the Palestinians will find expression in peace and good-neighbourliness with Israel."
I have made it clear on more than one occasion in the Knesset that the government of Israel will conduct negotiations with Jordan and adopt decisions at every stage of the negotiations, but will not conclude a peace agreement with Jordan that involves territorial concessions of parts of Judea and Samaria before we consult the nation in new elections, should one of the coalition factions demand this. This promise holds good and remains valid.
The government of Israel has not taken any decision on the subject of an interim settlement with Jordan.
We shall continue-as we have done so far-to shoulder the responsibility of guaranteeing the normal life of the population of Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip. We shall continue to maintain the open-borders policy. We shall not allow the emissaries of the terrorist organisations to gain a foothold among the population of the administered territories.
We continue to regard Jordan as our natural neighbouring partner in negotiations for peace on our eastern border.
As for Syria As already stated, Israel wants peace with each of her neighbours. We have no interest in suspending or delaying the process of dialogue. We are convinced that negotiations for peace, without prior conditions, can bring about a change in relations with Syria and further the prospects of peace between our two countries.
Members of the Knesset,
On 31 July the Knesset held a debate following the Sebastia episode. In my statement of that date I referred to the negative significance of this act, which constituted an attempt to undermine national authority and a blow to the principles of government in Israel, which is subject to the Knesset. The instigators of the happenings in Sebastia repeated their attempt in the week following the Succot festival - this time on a larger scale and with a wider scope. These attempts ended like that of Sebastia. Since the 9th of Av nothing has occurred that could change the government's determination on this issue. The government will conduct its policy as submitted to and confirmed by the nation and the Knesset.
I say again: The government's stand remains firm and unchanged: settlements in the administered territories are established and will be established solely in accordance with the government's decisions. All those desirous of settling can send in their names to the competent authorities and they will be accorded assistance according to the priorities set forth by the government from time to time.
Once more, I appeal to those who are anxious to settle to come forward and volunteer to fill the ranks of our settlers in the Jordan Rift, the Rafiah Salient and the Golan Heights.
Members of the Knesset,
Side by side with the problems that lie before us, let us also take note of the positive developments and encouraging signs.
Greatly encouraging is the agreement that has been reached on the subject of aliya from the Soviet Union.
On behalf of the entire Knesset I voice our pleasure at the hopeful tidings of an increase in the immigration of Jews from the Soviet Union to Israel. This hope has been strengthened thanks to the helpful efforts of President Ford of the United States, Secretary of State Kissinger, and distinguished figures in both Houses of Congress, especially Senator Jackson and, with him, his colleagues Senators Ribicoff and Javits, and Congressmen Vannick and Mills. These men have stood by the rights of the Jews and their struggle to settle in Israel. Their stand is a phenomenon of human and moral value, for which the Jewish people expresses its profound appreciation.
The agreement between the two powers will go down in history as a significant event in the history of our people and the annals of American democracy. The agreement reached is a message of glad tidings not only to the Jewish people but to all men of goodwill everywhere.
It is noteworthy that the chosen representatives of the American people had the courage to struggle for moral and humanitarian principles. Their courageous support for the rights of the Jews is worthy of gratitude from the nation and the Knesset in Israel.
The Israeli government and nation faces an ennobling and momentous challenge and a great burden. The government will intensify its efforts to solve the problems of immigrant absorption. But the efforts of the government will not be enough. The entire nation faces a great test. Every household in Israel can and must contribute to successful absorption. Every man and woman in Israel can and must do much for the absorption of the immigrants with a warm heart, with generous help. Every civil servant and public worker will be asked to do more than his formal duty. We should not be satisfied with the work of the official machinery. I also call on immigrants, who are already Israeli citizens, who are building the country and moulding its character. Each of them must help. Let us face this momentous task and be worthy of the great opportunity that is opening before us. And to our brethren in the Soviet Union let us say: We are watching for you. To the extent that the gates open, do not delay: precious hours should not be wasted: home is waiting for you.
Let us hope that the Soviet Union observes the spirit of the agreement without disappointing the hopes of the Jews who wish to immigrate to Israel, and of all those everywhere who defend the rights of man.
Members of the Knesset,
I must give a word of praise to the members of settlements who, on their own initiative, volunteered to aid the army in its programme of repair and returning to service: Men of the valleys, the southern settlements, regional schools and farmers in the south who volunteered for this effort to shorten the time of these repair programmes. These men, who come from field and factory in their turn, are mainly veterans of wars and battles who are no longer subject to military service. Men who work on tractors and trucks are helping to repair tanks. Women and girls are helping to organize emergency supplies. This is an exemplary display of good citizenship. In the name of the entire Knesset, I say to them: Keep up the good work.
A gladdening and encouraging phenomenon is the steadfastness of the northern settlements. If we have succeeded in preventing a large number of acts of terrorism and sabotage, it was largely due to their alertness and efforts.
Also to be commended is the widespread volunteering for the Civil Guard. The Israel Police have undertaken the organization of the Civil Guard in addition to their regular duties. In spite of the short period that the Civil Guard is in existence and the special efforts needed to organize such an extensive body, 35 to 40 thousand people from nearly every settlement in Israel. The organization is on the rise and its results are already perceptible.
We must encourage all forms of volunteering, because their substantial and educational importance is inestimable. These manifestations of volunteering effort are evidence of the spirit of the people and of its readiness to carry the strain.