On the eve of his departure for Washington, the Prime Minister stated that Israel was prepared to withdraw from some territory in the West Bank in return for Palestinian compliance. In a Cabinet meeting held on 18 January, the Prime Minister was empowered to discuss withdrawal subject to PLO compliance. He rejected threats made by Palestinian officials that the intifada may be renewed if there was no progress. Text:
Wolf Blitzer: Welcome back to "Late Edition". The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has been stalled for months. On Tuesday, President Clinton will try to revive it, meeting first with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and on Thursday, with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.
I spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu a short while ago from his office in Jerusalem. Mr. Prime Minister, thanks so much for joining us on "Late Edition".
Prime Minister Netanyahu: Thank you, and congratulations, Wolf, on your first stewardship of the show.
Mr. Blitzer: Thank you so much. I want tie up one loose end before we get to the peace process.
As you remember, during the Gulf War, the Iraqis launched 39 Scud missiles against Israel. Israel never retaliated at the request of the Bush administration fearing that could disrupt the coalition against Iraq. U.S. intelligence continues to believe the Iraqis still have several dozen Scud missiles with the potential capability of biological and chemical warheads. If Iraq were again to launch a Scud against Israel, would Israel once again remain on the sideline?
Prime Minister Netanyahu: I think that would be a very grave mistake on the part of Saddam Hussein. As you say, the situation has changed from the days of the Gulf War, because Iraq has been busy trying to develop non-conventional warheads for these missiles.
So for us, if anything, the threat is greater, and not lesser, and not less than what it was before. We would view it with the utmost gravity, and we reserve, of course, our options to take whatever measures are necessary to defend ourselves.
Mr. Blitzer: Would that include an Israeli retaliatory strike right away?
Prime Minister Netanyahu: I don't think it would serve any useful purpose for me to say what we would do. But I think it would be a very grave mistake on Iraq's part to fire missiles at Israel.
Mr. Blitzer: Let's move on to the peace process. You're coming to Washington. Tuesday, you'll meet with President Clinton. He had been hoping, according to his aides, to receive from you a percentage of the West Bank that you would expect to withdraw from in this next round of withdrawal. Your cabinet today decided against offering any such percentage. You know he's going to be disappointed when you arrive empty-handed on that front.
Prime Minister Netanyahu: First of all, I'm not arriving empty-handed. The information I have is quite different: namely, that the President and the U.S. administration were not eager for us to come with a specific number.
In fact, we're coming with a package, and the package says this: Israel is committed to continuing the peace process. Israel wants to continue the peace process and is prepared to withdraw from some territory in the West Bank. To do so, we expect the Palestinians to comply with the promises they gave us and the United States on such things as nullifying the PLO Charter that still calls for Israel's destruction and in fighting terrorism systematically, neither of which has been done since the signing of these promises in the Hebron accords.
If the Palestinians carry out their commitments, we will carry out ours, and the Cabinet's decision today, in fact, empowered me to discuss such a potential withdrawal subject to PLO compliance and not the opposite. So in fact, it's a very positive decision.
Mr. Blitzer: Would you be willing to withdraw from certain sections of the West Bank in response to certain steps that the Palestinians might take on security cooperation, for example? In other words, if you were to say 10 or 15 percent, but you would start with two percent, then move to another two percent - each step contingent upon a Palestinian action - is this something you're willing to consider?
Prime Minister Netanyahu: I'm not going to respond to the percentages that you talked about. I will say that the answer, of course, is that we are prepared to withdraw from some territory in return for Palestinian compliance. So the first answer is yes. We are prepared to do that.
As far as the size and as far as the steps in between, that is something that I intend to take up with the President along the general guidelines that the Cabinet has empowered me to do. But I must say also that we want to see a certain compliance, a certain period of compliance of PLO commitments. That is not automatic; it doesn't happen overnight. You want to see a systemic effort against terrorism. You want to see a systemic combating of the infrastructure of the terrorist organizations. That takes time.
Mr. Blitzer: Now you know that the Palestinians are saying you're simply stalling.
Earlier we interviewed, in Jerusalem or in some place in the West Bank, Hanan Ashwari, a Palestinian Cabinet minister, who was very blunt in warning that there could be consequences of a continued delay.
Hanan Ashwari: If there is no movement in the peace process, if President Clinton fails, as Netanyahu wants him to fail, in playing an effective and constructive role, then there will be several moves simultaneously. First of all, you will see more instability and volatility here, particularly among the Palestinian people.
Mr. Blitzer: As you know, Zeev Schiff, one of Israel's foremost columnists, said there could be another intifada if this stall, this delay in the peace process continues. She seems to be suggesting the same thing.
Prime Minister Netanyahu: The only delay we've had in the peace process is the abject failure of the Palestinians to live up to any of the promises they gave to the United States and to us a year ago.
We redeployed out of Hebron. You know how difficult that is for me to do? Hebron is the oldest Jewish community on earth, dating back to the time of Abraham. Every stone there is precious for me. I withdrew with the agreement of the Israeli Cabinet and the Israeli people from 80 percent of that sacred city in exchange for promises that were not kept. Promises about the size of the Palestinian police, violated. Promises about the confiscation of weapons, violated. Promises about incarcerating, jailing Palestinian terrorists, violated. So I think that the delay is the violations.
Now, I don't like, Wolf, to hear veiled threats, which is what we had, veiled threats of violence. We're not threatening violence; we're suggesting moving toward peace. We're coming with a bona fide effort, and I hope the Palestinians respond positively to whatever it is that the United States will be able to put together from our suggestions and other ideas that the Americans may have.
Mr. Blitzer: As you know, Yasser Arafat will be visiting Washington a couple of days after you on Thursday. He had been urged by the State Department to visit the U.S. Holocaust memorial and museum as a gesture to the Jewish people, but that decision apparently was reversed by officials at the Holocaust Museum. Do you think it would have been good for Yasser Arafat to make that symbolic gesture?
Prime Minister Netanyahu: I won't get into that, but I will say here's a symbolic gesture that Arafat could make that would electrify the entire Jewish people and the people of Israel, and that is to take the covenant that was promised to be annulled at day one of the Oslo Accords four years ago, to take it and to throw it to the dustbin all those provisions that still call for the liquidation of Israel. You know what that would do?
Mr. Blitzer: Well, let me ask you.
Prime Minister Netanyahu: That would do exactly what Sadat's visit to Israel did. It would have the entire people rise up and applaud him. That would be a symbolic gesture that would tell us that the leader of the Palestinians is telling the Palestinian people, no more war, no more bloodshed.
Mr. Blitzer: Would it be a good idea for Yasser Arafat to visit Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem?
Prime Minister Netanyahu: Again, these are decisions that are made by the independent directors there. But I think that you should know that just last week the Palestinian Minister of Justice compared me to Hitler. There is considerable denial of the Holocaust in Palestinian politics, I'm afraid, and equally there is the attempt to create this horrible false symmetry between Israel and Nazism. I think that the best way to begin a prelude to any such move would be for Arafat to stop these kinds of statements that emanate from Palestinian officials.
But again, I think the larger move that he could make would be to annul the charter, the PLO Charter. That would send a message of peace that would capture every Israeli heart.
Mr. Blitzer: And just to tie it up, would you be opposed to his visiting Yad Vashem?
Prime Minister Netanyahu: Well, if it will be brought before me, I'll make a decision.