In the morning hours of 22 January, two suicide bombers struck at a bus
station in the Beit Lid junction. This is a very busy area, mainly on a
Sunday morning when soldiers return to their bases. Nineteen Israelis were
killed, most of them soldiers, by two separate bombs. The perpetrators of
the act were identified the next day as two Palestinians from Gaza and
Rafiah. In an interview Foreign Minister Peres said that the
implementation of the Oslo Accords should not be halted and hinted at the
idea of separation between Israelis and Palestinians as part of the final
settlement. Excerpts:
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said, today (Sunday), 22.1.95, following the
horrifying attack that "all our hearts are bleeding, as we suffer and
agonize over the murder of civilians and soldiers."
"The terrorist acts of suicide attackers are like a malignant disease for
which a cure has not yet been found. Our problem is operational: how to
locate and prevent the actions of suicide attackers. It is not a political
problem."
In response to a question, Peres said that he has "never ruled out a
National Unity government, but this is not the problem. The question is
which policy a National Unity government would adopt, and in which
direction it would face. Two horses cannot be hitched at opposite ends of
the cart, with each pulling in a different direction. If we want a
National Unity government, there also has to be agreement in principle on
the course and direction - and this Government objects to the possibility
of causing lebanonization inside Israel."
The Foreign Minister said that, if the Likud has a real solution to the
problem of terrorism, we would be happy to hear and implement it, without
reservation.
As to whether the Oslo accords should be halted, and whether we should
proceed to the permanent solution, Foreign Minister Peres said that -
despite the difficulty and pain that we suffer today - the Oslo accords
did not create the problem of terror. Rather, they had the objective that
terror could ultimately be eradicated completely. The cessation of the
peace process means that Hamas and the suicide attackers will win the
prize they covet.
Regarding the permanent solution, Peres said "I have never ruled out the
possibility of a separation between a Jewish state and another entity,
but, today, it is not possible to jump to the permanent stage - since
then the problem of Jerusalem will be raised with full force."