At the end of Israel's Independence Day celebrations, the prime minister and the foreign minister held a joint press conference. Both expressed the gravity with which Israel viewed the fact that Jordan was not acting against Hamas to curtail their freedom of action in Jordanian territory. These statements were made after a Hamas spokesman in Amman continued to threaten Israel with additional attacks. Excerpts from the press conference follow:
Prime Minister Rabin:
We view with the utmost severity the fact that Jordan, and its Government, are not taking any measures to limit Hamas' freedom of action and representation, in carrying out its murderous attacks.
It is inconceivable that, when speaking of Jordan - which is not a country which appears on the United States' list of states which support terrorism - such things will continue. The Government of Israel does not only view this with the greatest severity, but is also unable to carry on as usual if this situation continues.
This is serious appeal to the Jordanian Government, on the one hand, to continue with the peace negotiations. on the other hand, we cannot carry on as usual, when the Hamas center closest to Judea and Samaria - a center for spokesmen, support and communications - is in Jordan.
Foreign Minister Peres:
I do not know of even one instance in foreign relations, where a country which, by its own account, seeks peace, would permit the head or representative of a murderous organization to appear, in broad daylight, and announce "We have committed two murders, and we intend to carry out three more such acts," and there is no response, as if this is a perfectly understandable occurrence. We know that Jordan is making efforts to guard the border, but there is another border which must also be guarded - the border marked by murder and terrorism. We regard this appeal with all due seriousness and firmness, and 1, like the Prime Minister, hope that Jordan will take the required measures as soon as possible.