In his remarks, the Prime Minister referred to attacks on him by Egypt's President Mubarak in the course of a meeting held in Cairo between the Egyptian leader and the Labor Party Chairman Ehud Barak. He said that Israel was seeking a complete package that would include FRD and fulfillment of Palestinian commitments, which eventually should lead to a permanent settlement. He also commented on reports that the Chief of Staff was not allowed to make a certain report to the Cabinet. He explained that it was a political report and General Shahak felt it best that the Prime Minister make this report. Text of the comments follows:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today (Monday) 15.ó.98, met with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nadedzda Mihailova. Following the meeting, the Prime Minister answered journalists' questions:
In response to a question regarding the statements of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the Prime Minister said, "I promised Israel's citizens that I would do everything possible to protect their security and Israel's national interests. I am doing this and fulfilling my promise even at the price of personal attacks against me. When I am attacked, it means that 'I am not getting from Netanyahu what I want, and I have no faith in him.' But my obligation is first and foremost to the State of Israel and its national interests, and on this I will continue to stand with or without personal attacks. Nothing will make me deviate from my obligations to Israel's security and the achievement of real peace: peace with security."
The Prime Minister added, "I notice that there is a strange coincidence that when MK Ehud Barak meets Arab leaders; for some reason after the meeting, at press conferences, those same leaders launch attacks on the government, which is also the government of MK Barak. I would, therefore, advise MK Barak to act with some restraint when travelling abroad. I think that this issue is worthwhile at all times, especially when the State of Israel is at an advanced stage of very sensitive negotiations regarding the future of the State."
In response to a question regarding the second redeployment, the Prime Minister said, "First of all, you should know that we are not talking about an agreement on the second redeployment only. We are discussing the second redeployment, the third redeployment, reciprocity and conditions for entering the permanent settlement. This is a complete package, and we hope that it will bring about a permanent settlement, or negotiations for a permanent settlement. No one can interfere here and say that we are promising to achieve a permanent settlement; we hope that it will be achieved within a year, and we must be prepared for all possibilities. Therefore, this package is an agreement of fateful importance for the State of Israel, and we are investing every effort in it. The effort focuses on two of these four issues. I think that we have made progress on two of them more than the others, but when the package is completed - and with Palestinian goodwill, it will be completed - we can present it in an orderly manner to the press as well."
Regarding reports of confrontations with the Chief-of-Staff, the Prime Minister said, "First of all, I admire the Chief-of-Staff and IDF commanders very much, and I insist that they express their opinions on all security issues, including security issues relating to political negotiations. This is what has been and will be in the future, nothing will change that. What happened yesterday was related to another matter - it was a clear political issue, the question of the international conference - and I requested that the Chief-of-Staff leave me the report, and he agreed. I must say that I was quite surprised to read about this incident, and of the total blowing out of proportion and distortion of this simple matter. I premise that either the media had a slow news day or that this is another example of the typical flaying and smearing for political purposes on the part of certain elements."