2 Press conference with Prime Minister Netanyahu- 4 January 1998

Prime Minister Netanyahu: Good evening. I regretted very much hearing about Foreign Minister Levy's intention of resigning from the government, and I hope very much that he will change his mind.

We've made great efforts recently to implement the promises we made to him and the Gesher Party. Some of these promises were made before the beginning of the negotiations on the budget. These relate to the long school day and the fighting of unemployment. As you know, we're already starting to implement the long school day in development towns. Fighting and combating employment is something that we also are tackling with great vigor.

This morning, several ministers and I agreed on the establishment of a high-speed railway between Tel Aviv and B'eer Sheva. That would not only allow residents to get to Tel Aviv quickly, but also would link the so-called peripheral regions of the center to the far-flung areas of the south.

Also this morning we made major efforts to implement the other promises that we had undertaken through Gaza through the Gesher Party. This involves finding financing sources that don't involve implementing of taxes, because we don't want the economy to be brought to a halt. And we don't want extra taxes imposed on Israeli citizens.

Now we did this in order to ensure that we would make sure these promises were not empty ones that merely work on paper. We managed to locate these sources today. So we've found the sources in order to actually implement our promises to Gesher as we have to the other parties.

Now let me say that it is not just the question of meeting coalition agreements that is important, we're talking about basically a fundamental duty on the part of this government, which is important for the coalition, the Likud, and myself as prime minister. Social matters have always been important to us and always will be. The Likud has always proclaimed that social issues are important, and it always will.

David Levy has been one of the leading figures here in the government as well. I'm very proud that although we acquired and inherited a 15 billion shekel deficit from the former government - which squandered money on sectors close to it - we've managed, despite that overdraft, to allocate considerable resources to the weaker sectors, the development towns, the residents of the disadvantage neighborhoods, the Jews and all the other disadvantaged sectors of the population over the last few years. We are allocating resources to them in this budget, and also intend to give further expression to this need in the current year.

I intend to allocate further moneys to renovate the underprivileged neighborhoods and also to produce a fund for university student loans and a special fund for development towns as I promised Minister Levy.

I believe this government will continue with its important work. First of all, because it is doing the right thing in order to provide a secure peace, real peace, not just peace on paper, we're about to renew political negotiations. Here we will insist adamantly on the matter of security and the other vital interests of the State of Israel. I believe with all my heart that only this coalition is capable of doing this.

Secondly, only this government is capable of producing a healthy economy at the same time as protecting the underprivileged sectors. We have made major investments in the last year, and we know that they will shortly kick in and provide impetus for the Israeli economy.

And thirdly, perhaps most importantly, is this: in this coalition, people don't want the government to fall and "the left" to come back into power. This would immediately return Israel to the 1967 lines on all fronts. The border would be up on the West Bank, the Sea of Galilee and on the outskirts of Kfar Saba. I know the government doesn't want that; the people, I'm sure, don't want it either.

I saw the smiles on the face of the Labor people listening to the Foreign Minister. I'm saying to them, don't smile too quickly. The national camp and the people won't remake the dreadful mistake it made back in 92 when it got the left wing government into power.

We are striving for a permanent final status that people can live with, where there will be security arrangements and all the other arrangements that are vital, so we can live in a secure state for many, many years. I would ask everyone from the national camp - indeed everyone in Israel - to examine this perspective. It is the correct and historic perspective. I'm sure that everyone will join with me in close ranks and continue along these lines, which I think is the only way that will give us a genuine hope, not delusions, genuine hope of a real future. That is why I intend to submit the budget to the Knesset tomorrow and to continue with the rest of the political process.

Question: A point has been made about a domino effect that the first stage in the fall of your government is being represented by what Levy has done.

Prime Minister Netanyahu: I don't think this is what has happened. I think this government will show it is far more stable than people think. I also believe that a feeling of responsibility characterizes the members of this coalition that have been chosen and this move will continue.

Question: Let me ask, Prime Minister, whether the government you're talking about and the government that Mr. Levy talked about that is going nowhere, is the same government?

Prime Minister Netanyahu: Our government is moving in the direction of a second redeployment. That is subject to certain actions by the Palestinians. We promise to correct all the errors that have been made - very grave errors. We know how and what the security situation was. We know how adamantly we had to work to prove to the Palestinians that it wasn't a question of unilateral concessions by the Israelis only. We've reached the point where we know that now that the Palestinian expectations have dropped off. We can make progress, and we are going exactly where we intended to. That is to say a safe peace, a real peace appears with security zones, a peace with unified issues.

Question: Do you have a majority in the Knesset for that?

Prime Minister Netanyahu: I believe we'll have a majority.

Question: Can you admit that you've failed in your efforts to satisfy Foreign Minister Levy? Have you given up in your efforts to satisfy him or will you meet with him again?

Prime Minister Netanyahu: Let me say, first of all, I hope he will withdraw his resignation and come back to the government. We've been in contact for the last few weeks, including the days just before the end of the budget negotiations. The specific problem for the Gesher Party is that the sum in votes was a considerably larger one that in the case of the other parties. We worked very hard. We've come up with the money. But I'm sure that this will in fact make it possible to meet Gesher's requirements. As far as foreign affairs are concerned, I intend to hold on to this portfolio myself.

Question: (foreign language)

Prime Minister Netanyahu: No, we didn't reject him. I think there was a real contact and a real attempt on our part to achieve an understanding. And I think with good will, one can achieve this. Of course as far as we're concerned, there was in fact good will, and certainly we intend for this to be attempted.

Question: (foreign language)

Prime Minister Netanyahu: We intend to continue exactly as I've said. I think this is required given the circumstances. You will discover this government will get a budget passed. That will happen tomorrow, and this government will continue along its path.

Question: (foreign language)

Prime Minister Netanyahu: I believe that the government's policy is very clear cut. I believe that it has brought about a basis which is a very realistic one. We require reciprocity. First of all, we rejected any return to the 67 lines. Israel made one concession after another; it hadn't received anything, except a lot of terror. We are not saying we've solved the problem of terrorism, but we have combated it. And we are saying that the Palestinians combating terrorism is a condition for our talking to them.

As far as the principle is concerned, we've made it quite, quite clear that Israel is not going to return to borders which are indefensible. I'm not prepared to accept a border which is just outside Kfar Saba, nor a border along the Jordan River.

Those are things that we are going to insist on. In other words, Israel is not the only one that is going to make concessions. The Palestinians have to make concessions as well. That is a recognition that has to be made not only by the Israeli public, but also we have to make the international public aware of this. After a year and a half of very, very arduous efforts, it would have been much easier to make concessions, but we haven't. We've stuck to our guns as it were.

We got to a stage where we made it quite, quite clear that the negotiations have to bear fruit. It wasn't easy, but that is the state we have achieved now. That is what I'm going to say to President Clinton. I will make those points with regard to the detailed concessions and the detailed conditions that we will insist upon.

Question: (foreign language)

Prime Minister Netanyahu: I believe that it wasn't a simple thing to come up with these financial sources. If you had seen what we had to do to go digging around it, you would have realized it wasn't a tall and easy exercise to come up with these financing sources. I'm not a budget expert. But I must say in the last few days, I have developed a certain expertise. It is certainly not easy and people work very hard at it.

The fact is that we have come up with the sources. We've managed these days to reduce our national deficit, which is vital for the economic future of all of us. We have managed by respecting our budgetary framework to come up with this money. It wasn't easy, but we've managed it. As far as elections are concerned, I believe this coalition will continue with its work, will continue to exist, will continue to do what it has to at least until the year 2000.

Question: (foreign language)

Prime Minister Netanyahu: It is my intention to get the budget passed tomorrow by the Knesset. I'm going to consult with the Minister of Finance this evening. There are two specific things which we committed ourselves to with David Levy. One is increasing the budget for the development towns or rather for project renewal of neighborhoods, which also includes development towns, of course.

The second is university grants for residents of the development towns. In this respect, we didn't agree on the specific sections with David Levy. This was supposed to be an overall amount. Then we were supposed to break this down into concrete projects. I'm going to discuss with the treasury officials what is the best way to do this. But those matters will be implemented in 1998.

And the other question with regard to David Levy: I don't want to go into David Levy's considerations. He's very good at expressing himself. I suggest you ask him. I just like to say that I do hope that he changes his mind. David Levy was involved in the political exercises that we undertook. He was a full partner with me. Obviously, there may be differences of opinions; these are always possible in any setting. But basically we worked in partnership. That really characterized our work. I have tried to call him in the last few days, obviously. If he wants to, we can have that contact. We'll find ways of being in touch.

Question: (foreign language)

Prime Minister Netanyahu: I said that I would go to the U.S. with the decisions taken by the government. I announced in the Cabinet meeting today that we would have a session and make a decision on exactly what we want to present to the President of the United States at this stage.

Question: (foreign language)

Prime Minister Netanyahu: No, I hear about this all the time, some sort of secret document. The Americans have already denied this, and I certainly have and will continue to deny this. I cannot propose a redeployment simply because this has to be done by the agreement of the government. It can only be done by the government with all the government agreeing to it.

Question: (foreign language)

Prime Minister Netanyahu: I would be happy if that were not to happen, I agree with you. It would be easier to run things without this occurring, but I will continue, because I think that we can have the appropriate majority for getting the budget passed and also running our political affairs. This will all be done with the joint effort and contribution of all the coalition parties.

Question: What are you basing your assumption on?

Prime Minister Netanyahu: I think the government will pass the budget tomorrow. I have no doubt that will be the case. I think the government can continue on the political track, because it will make a decision that it would have made anyway.

Question: What precisely will be...

Prime Minister Netanyahu: What precisely will be the details of that decision is something that I cannot put before you as of yet, because the Cabinet has to sit down and make those decisions, but it will. I think in general you have to remember that there have been governments in Israel that were 61 or even 60 on occasion. Some of them have proved more stable than predicted. This is not the case here.

Question: Mr. Netanyahu, doesn't Mr. Levy's resignation subsequently resulting in the Likud - will the government be able to ...

Prime Minister Netanyahu: If the Palestinians meet the conditions that they had promised the United States to comply with in fighting terrorism and annulling the covenant and other matters, then I see no reason why we would not be able to meet our promise.

Question: (foreign language)

Prime Minister Netanyahu: I don't think there will be early elections. I think the coalition will hold.