(Communicated by Prime Minister's Media Advisor)
Jerusalem, 1 January 1997
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is deeply shocked by the criminal act in Hebron and strongly condemns it.
Netanyahu sends his wishes for a quick and complete recovery to the wounded.
He has given instructions to do whatever necessary to restore quiet and order in Hebron and called on all Hebron residents, Jews and Arabs alike, to show restraint and a sense of responsibility.
The Prime Minister said that there have been many incidents of violence in Hebron recently, committed by both sides. These acts must stop, he said. "We must begin a period of peaceful coexistence in Hebron."
The Prime Minister added that today's criminal act was carried out by someone who does not reside in Hebron and, according to the perpetrator, it was intended to derail the agreement on Hebron.
The Prime Minister said that he is committed to completing the agreement and criminal acts of this sort will not deter him from implementing it.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telephoned Chairman Yasser Arafat today (Wednesday), 01.01.97, and told him that he strongly condemns the crime that was perpetrated in Hebron.
The Prime Minister told Chairman Arafat that this is an act which any person with conscience must oppose and that he sends his wishes for a quick recovery to the wounded.
The Prime Minister added that the person who carried out the shooting said he had done so to sabotage the Hebron agreement. However, the Prime Minister said that we have already made clear that this criminal act will not prevent us from concluding the Hebron agreement and implementing it.
Chairman Arafat thanked the Prime Minister for the telephone call and for what he said.
Prime Minister Netanyahu Statement on Hebron Shooting
(Communicated by PM's Media Advisor)
Following are remarks which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made today (Wednesday), 01.01.97, in his Jerusalem office, to the foreign press, at 13:00 hours:
"On behalf of all [of] Israel's citizens, I want to express my shock and revulsion at the crime committed in Hebron today. We condemn it completely. It is a despicable crime.
We still don't know if anyone was killed in Hebron today. We hope and we pray that there won't be any further fatalities as a result of this attack.
We extend our wishes for a speedy recovery to all those wounded in this attack, and I expressed these sentiments directly in a phone call to Chairman Arafat a short while ago. We all have to do whatever we can to restore calm and tranquility, and law and order, to Hebron. I have spoken to the Minister of Defense, who is en route to Hebron to help quiet things. I have instructed the heads of our security arms to do everything that is necessary to restore stability in the city.
I call on all residents of Hebron -- both Jews and Arabs alike -- to act with restraint and with responsibility. There have been -- over the recent times -- acts of violence on both sides and against both sides. There were Molotov cocktails hurled, there was physical aggression. All this must stop. We have to start a new era of peaceful coexistence with security in Hebron.
From the initial reports that have reached my office, it appears that this act, this crime, was committed by someone who tried to obstruct the impending agreement on Hebron. Someone, by the way, who is from outside the city of Hebron.
I think the agreement we have been laboring on for several months has been designed to prevent precisely such acts of violence. I have said repeatedly that undue delay in its conclusion and its implementation creates a twilight period of uncertainty and instability that could induce the kind of attacks that we have seen today. And that is why we are committed to the speedy resolution of this agreement, properly concluded, and no crime will stand in our way of doing so.
I again call on all Palestinians and Israelis, inside and outside of Hebron, to act and demonstrate responsibility and restraint. We have to live side by side with each other. This has been ordained by history and by geography. We have to do so in security and coexistence. The way of peace is the only way to assure that we achieve these aims, it is our only alternative."