The main point in the interview was the statement by the Prime Minister of Israel's readiness to hand over to the Palestinian Authority some territory, while still allowing it to maintain the right to fight terror in those areas to be handed over. He then enumerated the list of unmet Palestinian obligations. He did not see any need at that time to meet with Chairman Arafat in Washington. Text:
Katie Couric: President Clinton has launched an effort to get the Middle East peace process back on track. He meets tomorrow with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, and yesterday he met well into the night with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Prime Minister Netanyahu, good morning.
Prime Minister Netanyahu: Good morning, Katie.
Ms. Couric: As I mentioned, you met for a long time with President Clinton. Was any progress made? Did you agree to anything?
Prime Minister Netanyahu: We made some progress in examining the various alternatives to move the process forward. Israel wants to get a final peace settlement with the Palestinians. We made some suggestions. We're prepared to withdraw from some territory, but not in a way as to in any way jeopardize Israel's security, which is the foundation of our existence and of any defensible peace.
We also expect the Palestinians to live up to their commitments to fight terrorism, something they haven't done, and to annul the Palestinian Charter that is still on the books, still calling for Israel's destruction. So PLO compliance with promises that they made to the U.S. and to us, and a partial Israeli withdrawal, these were the elements of our discussion yesterday. So yes, I think we made some progress.
Ms. Couric: I understand that you agreed to remove a certain percentage of Israeli troops from the West Bank. Is that correct?
Prime Minister Netanyahu: No, we're not talking about the removal of troops. We're talking about handing over to the Palestinian Authority some territory. There are a variety of ways of doing that and having Israel still maintain its right to fight terrorism in those areas. But we have discussed a number of possibilities.
The important thing that I have to say is this. On the question of the withdrawal, remember that Israel is a tiny country. It's all of 50 miles between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. That includes the West Bank and Israel. Without the West Bank, Israel becomes 10 miles wide.
We're surrounded by countries like Iraq - you know what Iraq is all about - and Syria, with the largest land army in the Middle East. Iran isn't that far away. It is coaxing the Hamas terrorists who are in the Palestinian areas to carry out their sworn pledge to destroy Israel.
So in this very inhospitable neighborhood, this tiny country is trying to fashion a peace. We must have the necessary territorial defenses to maintain the peace to protect ourselves against any future danger. But we are prepared to do that, again, maintaining our security. I'm prepared to go a long way for peace, but not to the point of jeopardizing Israel's survival.
Ms. Couric: Now, I understand, and of course you know, that you and Yasser Arafat will be in Washington at the same time. Any chance at all that the two of you might get together and participate in one meeting with the President?
Prime Minister Netanyahu: That's not planned. First of all, Arafat and I have met in the past and we'll meet in the future. We talk on the telephone regularly. So the meeting has to be one that is substantive. We would like to see a change of Palestinian behavior.
You know, I brought with me two women on this visit. I wish you'd interview them and not me. One is a mother of a young boy who was walking not far from the Palestinian areas, and was murdered on this hike by Palestinian terrorists who fled to Jericho. The people who killed him are sitting in the cafes of Jericho scot-free, laughing all the way, sipping coffee every day and laughing.
Another one is a sister of a young man who was also murdered. His killers are in the Palestinian police in Gaza. They give interviews saying, "We killed this person and we're free." So the Palestinian areas have become safe havens for these killers, for these terrorists.
Ms. Couric: What would you like Yasser Arafat to do about those two situations?
Prime Minister Netanyahu: Extradite them. That's what he's pledged to do. We'd like to see extradition. We'd like to see the annulment of that charter that was promised to be annulled to Yitzhak Rabin and four years later still hasn't been annulled. We'd like to see the jailing of terrorists. We'd like to see the stopping of propaganda, anti-Semitic propaganda, and incitement to violence. These are the pledges that were given to us time and time again. We have kept our side. We redeployed from Hebron.
Ms. Couric: How have you kept your side of the bargain?
Prime Minister Netanyahu: There's a curious thing that people say, "Well, both sides haven't kept their part," or "Israel hasn't kept its part." There is a simple thing. It's a document called the Hebron Accords, the Note for the Record. We pledged in this note for the record to redeploy from Hebron - we did that, to release women prisoners - we did that, to decide on the first withdrawal, the first redeployment - we did that two weeks after the Hebron accords. The Palestinians rejected it, but the United States applauded it. We kept everything on our side of the ledger.
We have not seen the Palestinians fulfill any of the pledges that they've given on their side. I wish they did. I wish I came here to Washington and I could say, "You know, there's a real change of heart." I can tell you that I'm prepared to bring the State of Israel and the people of Israel to move forward to this peace, even though there are some risks involved, if I could see Palestinian compliance with the pledges that they gave the United States and us. I think it would go a long way to move this process forward; and we want to move it forward for peace.
Ms. Couric: Very quickly, before we go, Mr. Prime Minister, there's been a fair amount of domestic turmoil in your country. There have been some scandals you've had to deal with. Time Magazine recently said 1997 was the year of hating Bibi. Do you think that you're in the best position to move the peace process forward?
Prime Minister Netanyahu: Yes. Precisely because there are many, many people who don't hate me and who view sectarian attacks as a vindication of the fact that I stand tough on terrorism and I stand tough to achieve a secure peace. I think that's the kind of government and that's the kind of leadership that ultimately the people trust when you have to make tough decisions.
Tough decisions are made by tough leaders. They're not made by people who accept any demand, any dictate from the other side. When we make a decision, like redeploying from Hebron, we could carry that decision and have 80 percent of the people support us. I'm sure that if we're successful, if there's good will on the Palestinian side and we achieve progress towards a new peace treaty, a new agreement for peace, the people will support us.
Ms. Couric: If the President invites you to join in the meeting with Yasser Arafat, his meeting with Yasser Arafat, would you agree?
Prime Minister Netanyahu: Why don't you let him make that invitation and we'll see. When I receive invitations from the White House, I consider them in a very serious way. I think that if the President and I deemed that such a meeting would be useful, believe me, I'd be there, because I'm certainly willing to meet with Arafat for peace.