Mr. Peres' reaction to the prime minister statement that he no longer had a mandate to pursue the peace conference was that "there is no decision preventing me from doing so. " Both he and Mr. Shamir did not bring any proposal to the Cabinet. He realized that his proposal would not be adopted, and a proposal by Mr. Shamir, forbidding him to pursue his own diplomatic initiatives, would also fail. He would support a joint Peres-Shamir initiative to call early elections, but for the time being, the Government of National Unity remains standing. Text:
"I made no formal proposal, because the result was clear in advance and there was no point in entering into a pointless and useless technical situation. The Inner Cabinet is divided in half. I don't think we should present the Likud with an ultimatum, nor do I believe the Likud should present us with an ultimatum. Nobody will accept ultimatums or technical tricks. Thus the correct way out is to turn to the people and ask for a decision. In my opinion, the attempt to cancel the proposal I submitted on this issue means a discontinuation of the peace process. There is no other proposal as to how to continue the peace process. The idea to tell the Jordanians' come to direct negotiations without an international opening' is doomed to failure in advance. This is what everybody believes, without exception.
"There were several items in the government's basic guidelines. One of them was the peace process. If the peace process is discontinued - no matter what grandiloquence is used to clothe it, the content is a discontinuation of the peace process, a violation of the basic guidelines. We are not formalists, we don't only deal with judicial matters, but with serious issues of peace and the absence of peace, of peace and war. A discontinuation of the peace process is an end to one of the basic, and perhaps the central guideline in the existing coalitional agreement. A government is not bought or sold, even if there are so-called 'negotiable' MK's. This is not how things are done. One must turn to the people, as in a democratic regime. There are two opinions, there are certainly motives behind each opinion, and the people will decide. There is nothing more fair than this."
Q: Did you propose to the prime minister that you together ask for the people's decision?
A: Yes, I appealed [to him] and proposed that we go together to the people, because we have come to a parting of the ways. We constitute 50 percent of the national unity government, and we must replace one solution by another. We do not propose to leave a void. The alternative to this government is elections. The results of the elections were such that the Alignment received 44 mandates, and the Likud received 41. 1 don't need an additional mandate from any Likud member. We received our mandates directly from the people. I don't propose to disband the government and introduce a Likud government instead. The people did not decide so and did not determine this.
Q: Can you continue the peace process now?
A: First of all, nothing can stop me, because there is no decision preventing me from so doing. For two and a half years I have been working on this process, and everyone knows it. I presented this [the plan] to the Knesset four times: it's gross to say that I worked behind anybody's back. Nobody forbade me. Even Mr. Shamir himself said that I am at liberty to continue looking into things. Mr. Shamir did not submit a proposal to bar me from so doing. He may make pronouncements, everyone is allowed to make announcements. Had he submitted such a proposal, and had it been brought before the Inner Cabinet, the result would have again been five pro and five con, and his proposal would have been dropped. Therefore, not only did I not submit a proposal, but neither did Mr. Shamir, and for the very same reasons - since any proposal presented in the existing situation would have failed.
Q: Are you leaving for Washington tonight?
A: No, I'm not leaving tonight. The government remains standing and the policy remains standing. Since a decision has to be made on how to continue the peace process, we must turn to the people. This is no child's play. This concerns our children and the state's future. There is now a need to seek a majority in the Knesset [for early elections]. All the media's speculations about this or that majority are premature and unfounded. I suggest not to hurry and not to jump to conclusions.
Q: Will today's Inner Cabinet discussion continue?
A: If one of the members asks for it. In general, there is no anger or chaos. There is a state of continued policy, since nobody formally proposed to discontinue it, nor did anyone propose to approve it. Thus, the previous situation stands. All due respect to Mr. Shamir's statement - and to mine - but these are statements, not decisions.