Mr. Genscher visited Israel under an agreement that there shall be reciprocal visits by the foreign ministers of the two nations. Mr. Shamir used this opportunity to express his views on the Europeans attitude to the Camp David Accords and voiced the hope that the Europeans will come to see them as the "only realistic framework for the basis of the peace process" Text:
Madame Genscher, Minister Genscher, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my honor to welcome you in our eternal capital, Sir, your wife and your entourage accompanying you on this your fourth visit to Israel.
When I was in Bonn at the end of 1980, 1 expressed the hope that the opportunity would be given us to continue nurturing the dialogue between us on your next visit to Israel, and I believe that the talks we held today with you and your advisers have, indeed, added an important link to the chain of understanding between us.
The network of ties between us extends over many areas and the dialogue that exists is vital for our ties in the future. However, it is important to remember and mention that a true dialogue cannot be divorced from the past. Awareness of it is both our and your obligation at one and the same time. Every bud, and every trace of racist and anti-Semitic tendencies in Germany evokes among us, and certainly not just among us, concern and terrible memories, and it has happened on more than one occasion that those disseminating these slanders are co-operating with the Palestinian terrorist organizations, where that which unites them is hatred for the Jews and for Israel.
You come to us only a few weeks after we completed the evacuation of Sinai and uprooted from it citizens of Israel who made the desert bloom and erected in it vibrant and thriving settlements, and we are still living in the shadow of this traumatic experience. We did what we did for the sake of peace. We made heavy sacrifices and accepted the risks from our own good will and without external pressure for the sake of true peace, and we are fully confident that our sacrifices will, indeed, justify themselves.
Your government, at the time, was among the first to express support for the Camp David Accords. There were those among our European friends who had no faith in these agreements, whose names were not mentioned in several official declarations of the (European Economic) Community on the subject of the Middle East. We welcomed your government's declarations which recognized the significance of our sacrifice in completing the evacuation of Sinai. The striving for our nation's security is that which guides us along our political course, but we have repeatedly stressed that we are prepared to take upon ourselves great risks for the sake of true peace. We anticipate that the other side, like us, will carry out its obligations to the full to ensure peace forever.
We are aware, Sir, of the great interest of Europe in what occurs in this region. Nevertheless, it is our duty to clarify again that without regard for Israel's positions and without its cooperation there is no possibility for contributing to peace and stability in the Middle East. Your visit here today serves as proof to us that the Federal Republic is partner to the importance which we attach to the dialogue for the exchange of regular assessments between us.
We believe that in Europe, too, recognition is growing that the Camp David Accords constitute the only realistic framework for the basis of the peace process and that they should be supported and not bypassed or substituted.
As I have already remarked, Sir, our struggle is a struggle for our existence and, in a Jewish State, this term has special significance and the Government of Israel is resolutely determined to guarantee peace and security for its citizens. We shall continue to oppose with all our might, the furnishing of offensive weaponry to our enemies from whatever source. We followed tensely and with concern the debate in the Federal Republic of Germany over the possible supply of sophisticated German tanks to a state desirous of our destruction. We received with satisfaction the remarks of your government's appointed representatives in which it was clarified unambiguously that the Federal Republic of Germany will not sell or make possible the sale of tanks to any nation in the Middle East.
The Camp David Accords contain a solution to the problem of the Arab population in the areas of Judea, Samaria and Gaza. We were the ones at Camp David to initiate the Autonomy program designed to address these needs. What we have proposed is superior to anything that has ever been offered these inhabitants under any rule, including Jordanian and Egyptian.
We continue hearing repeatedly, Sir, about the right for self-determination that must, as it were, be granted to the Palestinians. Your government is among the main ones siding with this claim among the European Community, and this, perhaps, is due to reasons not primarily of a Middle Eastern nature. Allow me to stress that, inasmuch as this pertains to us, the practical meaning of this is, in effect, the establishing of a PLO state between Israel and Jordan which will endanger both the existence of our State and the welfare of the entire region.
Therefore, in our circumstances, we have to reject this demand out of hand as well as the addition to the negotiations of a terrorist organization whose publicly and officially stated purpose is the destruction of the State of Israel. We trust that our friends will correctly understand that any explicit or implied support for the PLO, whether by deed or declaration, lessens the chance of dialogue with those many Palestinians who seek a path to co-existence with us in peace and through co-operation.
We faithfully believe that the peace process we have adopted together with the Egyptians, with the active and efficient participation of the U.S., deserves the support and assistance of all those to whom peace is not a lip service but a heartfelt desire. It is our expectation that you will help us to consolidate and extend the peace and that, together with your European partners, you will clarify to the Arab governments that the course of peace negotiations has proven itself and that there is no alternative to it. A long look at our region, its wars (Iraq-Iran), its tensions, its vicissitudes and instability will prove that the only ray of light bringing to this important section of mankind the chances and solutions of peace and stability is the Camp David peace process.
Perhaps, Sir, our views do not coincide on all points, but I am convinced that our exchange of views has contributed to bringing closer the longed-for object to which we are all partners. Abiding peace and security for all.
I raise my glass to the welfare of the Federal Republic, to Madame Genscher and to yourself, and to the continuing and deepening understanding between our peoples and our nations.