In the wake of the disturbances that followed the opening of the tunnel in Jerusalem, and the summit in Washington which was held in late September, the Prime Minister addressed the Palestinian residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza and urged them not to become disappointed with the peace process and not to lose hope. He told them that he was working towards the easing of the closure of the areas and towards the next stage of talks leading to a Hebron redeployment agreement. Excerpts from the interview follow:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Palestinian residents of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip yesterday, October 3, and urged them not to become disappointed with the peace process and not to assume that Israel is not interested in advancing towards peace. In a television interview granted immediately following his return from Washington, Mr. Netanyahu said that he is working towards the easing of the internal closure in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, as well as towards high-paced negotiations to be held next week on the issues of redeployment in Hebron and Israeli-Palestinian security arrangements.
Mr. Netanyahu was interviewed during the Israeli Television News Broadcast in Arabic. Following is an excerpt from the interview:
"Chairman Arafat and I had the opportunity to hold a lengthy, calm, detailed conversation regarding the issues at hand, perhaps to lower the wall of suspicion a bit, to get to know each other and to understand that each of us has his own position, his own needs, his own people, which he represents, but also to understand that we must work together, negotiating for peace, without violence, because there is no other way.
I want to say something to the Palestinian viewers: if we struggle with each other, there are no losers and no winners. If we fight and return to the blood-filled riots, we will both be losers. If we walk together within a peace process, abiding by the saying, no more war, no more bloodshed!, then we will both be winners. This is our intent, to make a different kind of future possible for you who are now watching, for your children, for your grandchildren and ours. Im convinced that we can overcome the animosity, triumph over the violence, achieve peace.
This is my hope and my prayer for both Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians.
Therefore, I am asking you: dont sink into grief, dont lose hope.
You are not dealing with someone who wishes to stop the peace process, but rather with someone who truly wishes to advance, along with you, while holding in mutual respect this peace, which is the hope and salvation of both people."