Prior to meeting with visiting U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce, the Prime Minister once again stressed that Israel was waiting for the Palestinians to take meaningful steps in implementing those parts of the Hebron accords to which they were committed; top among them the rescinding of the PLO Covenant. Text:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today (Tuesday), 9.6.98, with the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for the Near East and Africa Judith Barnett, who is leading a visiting delegation of senior representatives of American hi-tech and telecommunications firms.
At the start of the meeting, the Prime Minister referred to the current political situation. He said, "There has been some progress in the process, but the road is still long. We expect to achieve an agreement which will ensure that the Palestinians carry out all of their commitments, as they undertook in the Hebron accords, an agreement which must ensure the security needs of the State of Israel.
"As soon as we achieve this, there will be an agreement, and I hope that this will be soon, but I cannot give a more exact statement. The articles of the Palestinian Covenant must be completely changed. How can Israel be expected to make further concessions to the Palestinian Authority, when it refuses to say that the Covenant calling for Israel's destruction has been rescinded? This is not a legal question, but a logical one. If Arafat cannot convene the Palestinian National Council in order to say that the articles calling for the destruction of Israel have been rescinded, then what kind of peace do we have? He must do this; it is a logical step, and it is also acceptable to the Israeli public and all those who seek peace. He must rescind the covenant, period."