9 Press conference with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Secretary of State Christopher- 25 June 1996

Prime Minister Netanyahu: Shalom, Mr. Secretary, welcome. Its a great pleasure for us to welcome you here again, and we all have the highest respect for your dedication and your devotion to bringing peace with security to our region. I am certain that the relationship between Israel and the United States is, as I described it to President Clinton, solid as a rock. And it will continue to be one of trust and friendship.

We just contributed, I think, to the continuation of that tradition. We had a very productive discussion which will continue tonight, and I look forward to my talks on these matters in greater detail with President Clinton in Washington D.C. in the forthcoming visit.

Since Madrid, there have been important achievements made to cement a broader peace between Israel and its neighbors. We are seeking to preserve these achievements and to broaden them as well. We intend to resume negotiations with Syria, with Lebanon, and with other Arab states. We believe that the principle that should guide these negotiations is no prior conditions. I think this is the only way to achieve productive and successful negotiations, and its something that has guided us throughout the quest for peace under successive governments.

Equally, we intend to resume negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. I want to make it clear that we want to see the advancement towards peace, and that the achievement of such progress toward peace is contingent on security. We received a clear mandate from the people. The people want peace with security, and we have to underline that the people told us that terrorism is incompatible with the advancement towards peace. Therefore, there is a strategic choice for all the parties in the Middle East its either terrorism or peace, but you cannot have both.

We are committed to continue the search and the achievement of a safe peace for Israel and all its neighbors, and we intend to act on it. I will continue the negotiations toward this end. I should say the talks toward this end, with the Secretary tonight, and as I said before, I look forward to continuing them in greater detail with President Clinton in Washington.

Mr. Secretary, please.

Secretary Christopher: Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister. Well, Im very pleased to be back here in Israel, and especially in Jerusalem, and to have an opportunity to have these conversations with the Prime Minister and his new colleagues.

In this, our first meeting since he assumed office, we reaffirmed the central importance of the strategic relationship between the United States and Israel, and our commitment to maintain the special friendship between our two nations. In the context of this special relationship, as the Prime Minister said, we just had a very useful discussion on a wide range of issues. Of course we focused much attention on the Arab-Israeli peace process. Prime Minister Netanyahu made it clear to me that hes personally committed to the pursuit of peace with security, that a secure peace is a fundamental Israeli interest, and that this commitment reflects the deep hopes and desires of the people of Israel.

Tomorrow Ill go to Cairo to meet with President Mubarak, as well as with Chairman Arafat in the near future. Indeed, I can announce today, on the 9th of July Prime Minister Netanyahu will be coming to Washington to meet with President Clinton. They will, of course, continue the discussions that we began today and, indeed, perhaps the principal purpose of my meeting today is to try to help ensure that the meeting will be as effective and productive as it possibly can be.

During the last several years weve seen considerable progress toward peace in this region, and the beginning of a transformation of a landscape of the Arab-Israeli conflict, but much more remains to be done. The enemies of peace still abound. The Prime Minister and I resolved today in our discussion that those enemies of peace must not succeed. Instead, we must build for a future, a better future, to preserve and implement the agreements that have been reached with the Palestinians and with Jordan, and to try to achieve future agreements with Lebanon and Syria.

We also must work to create an economic basis for prosperity in the region so that we can demonstrate that peace is not just an abstraction, but that it has a concrete meaning in the lives of the people.

We all have an enormous stake in seeing this process continue and in achieving a real peace between Israel and the Arabs. That peace must be lasting and secure, indeed real peace without security is not possible, and real security without peace is also impossible. Our long, enduring relationship with Israel is based upon shared values, shared interests and deeply rooted friendship. We share an unshakable commitment to Israels security and well-being. As the President said, we will do everything within our power to help Israel minimize the risks it is taking for peace. With the trust and confidence that have long been the hallmarks of our relationship with Israel, we will work to move forward toward the kind of peace that the people in this region have long deserved and have long been denied. Thank you very much.

Question: Mr. Prime Minister, we havent heard that catch phrase "Land for Peace" so far today, unless its been said in Hebrew and I didnt catch it. Are you still hearing the American strategy as one of "Land for Peace" and since it doesnt seem to be your campaign strategy, does it make you uncomfortable? Is the administration promoting an approach that is no longer consistent with Israel?

Prime Minister Netanyahu: First of all, Im very comfortable with the American position as an ally of Israel, and as a genuine engine for peace. We seek the participation of the United States in moving this region, and specifically Israels relations with our Arab neighbors, towards peace. I think the United States has been a stalwart champion of the idea of direct negotiations, and of the idea of no prior conditions. We have our positions, while some of the parties have different positions. The important thing is to have negotiations in which the different views can be exchanged, and, one would hope, resolved. But this is something that I believe both the government of Israel and the government of the United States view as a common principle, that we should have no prior conditions.

Question: Mr. Secretary, did you deliver a strong message to the Prime Minister against any expansion of the settlements?

Secretary Christopher: Well, let me tell you in answer to your first question that the primary purpose of my trip here were essentially three: first, to underscore the important strategic relationship between the United States and Israel and to make it absolutely plain that thats an unshakable commitment of the United States.

Next, I emphasized that the United States was committed to assist the parties in pursuing peace. The Prime Minister made it clear that he wants to do that without prior conditions, without pre-conditions, and thats certainly a position that we strongly support.

Finally, the purpose of the trip here was to help prepare for an effective valuable meeting between President Clinton and Prime Minister Netanyahu, and Im sure that will be a most useful meeting.

I have not in the past gotten into specific issues where Ive been asked about positions of the United States, and I dont intend to start doing so today. I think if I began to talk about particular issues, I will devalue my role as a mediator in this peace process, and so Id only emphasize the underlying importance of our strategic relationship, commitment to both parties to pursue peace without pre-conditions and finally, in the hopes of establishing a working relationship between the Prime Minister and the United States which, of course, will be reflected in the conversations in Washington.

Question: Mr. Prime Minister, you said many times that you want peace negotiations without pre-conditions.

Prime Minister Netanyahu: Im sorry, whos asking?

Question: Steve Erlanger from the New York Times: Sir, you want peace talks without pre- conditions, and yet, you seem to have some of your own. On the Golan, for instance, you have said that Israel will retain sovereignty on the Golan, over the Golan. Why is this not a pre-condition? Why isnt this an assumption of how a negotiation will end if there is any negotiation?

Prime Minister Netanyahu: Look, I can tell you that we went to Madrid with our position. That is well-known. The Syrians went to Madrid with their position. No one said: were not coming because the other side has a contrary position. We went and began negotiations, and we intend to continue those negotiations. I think the Madrid framework was a very useful one because it allowed us, in fact, to engage, despite conflicting positions, in what could be a productive process. I think no side is forced to change its positions and yet, there are many, many areas of potential common interest below the question, or beyond, or before the question of territorial disputes on which we disagree.

Question: Mr. Prime Minister, are you going to complete the partial withdrawal from Hebron, and did you tell the Secretary of State that? And Mr. Secretary, what did you hear from the Prime Minister about Hebron, and what would you like the Israeli government to do about withdrawal from Hebron?

Prime Minister Netanyahu: It sounds like a cross-examination. First you ask me and then you ask him. Why ask me? I told Secretary Christopher exactly what I told you here, and you will hear rapidly a confirmation about that, namely, that we are studying the question of Hebron in all its complexity, historical complexity, religious complexity, security complexity of the highest order, and thats exactly what I told him.

Secretary Christopher: You wont be surprised that I confirm that the Prime Minister told me exactly what he has said here in our private meetings.

Question: Well, actually what I wanted to know is what would you like to hear from the Prime Minister about Hebron. For example, yesterday, you said that the Prime Minister had said that he intends to adhere to international agreements, and that to pull out of Hebron was an international agreement. Do you think Israel should announce its intention to complete the redeployment of troops from Hebron?

Secretary Christopher: I dont want to go beyond what I have said. The Prime Minister indicated that he will respect agreements, and he is studying the matter with great intensity, and certainly it is a very complex issue as he says.

Question: In an interview that Mr. Netanyahu gave before his election, he said that if the Syrians didnt agree to the sort of peace agreement that he had in mind, and they kept the Palestinian rejectionists in Damascus, he believes the United States, together with Europe, should apply the same sort of sanctions that we apply to countries like Iran and Libya. People in his circle have also talked about the notion of triple containment. I want to ask you what you think about these ideas, and also about Sharm-el-Sheikh. We had a conference there in March. There was supposed to be a follow-up meeting in Luxembourg. The meeting never happened. Can you give us a little update on what will be done on the anti-terrorism front? Thank you, sir.

Secretary Christopher: Well, you know the position of the United States against terrorism is a very strong one. Syria is on the United States terrorism list, and subject to the circumstances that result from being on that list. We continue to take a very strong position against terrorism, and will not stop doing so. The Prime Minister had indicated he wishes to go forward with negotiations without pre-conditions.

Were strongly in favor of the direct negotiations between the parties to resolve these issues, wanting to be helpful in whatever way we can. With respect to Sharm-el-Sheikh, I think that was an extremely important meeting. It reflected the fact that fourteen or fifteen Arab countries declared their opposition to terrorism, their support for Israel, and its fight against terrorism. We intend to follow up that meeting in bilateral channels for the time being, because we think thatll be the most productive way to follow up on that, but I think that meeting was a very strong indication of the condemnation throughout this region of terrorist activities.

Prime Minister Netanyahu: Let me make one final comment, Mr. Secretary. You know that this is a government of reforms, structural reforms inside Israel. I want to promise you that the next time youre here, Ill make a structural reform in this room, and give some air conditioning. The press also deserves it. Thank you very much.