September 29, 1997
Mr. President,
I would like to begin by congratulating you on your unanimous election as President of the Fifty-Second General Assembly of the United Nations. It is my hope that this Assembly will be successful in bringing nations closer to each other, in finding ways to address the challenges which face all countries and nations, north and south, east and west.
I also wish to congratulate your predecessor, Ambassador Razali Ismail of Malaysia, for the manner in which he carried out his duties.
Mr. President,
We mark this year the twentieth anniversary of the peace initiative of the late Prime Minister of Israel, Menahem Begin, and the late President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat. These leaders, in their historic decision and their courageous leadership, pioneered the way towards the first peace treaty between Israel and an arab neighbor, Egypt.
Throughout its entire history, the people of Israel have aspired to live in peace and safety. Together with our constant call for peace with our neighbors, we have not spared any effort to seek, whether through direct or indirect contacts, a partner in this effort. Today, too, we continue to search for channels of dialogue and to build bridges to peace.
In recent years, since 1991, after the principles for negotiating peace in the Middle East were laid down at Madrid, we have achieved a number of important advances with the establishment of peace between Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the signing of Interim Accords with the Palestinians. Nevertheless, the road to full peace is still long, and negotiations with the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon still lie ahead of us.
Immediately after the last elections, the government of Israel accepted the need to continue to advance the Oslo Accords and has acted to implement them. We have spared no effort in the last year to implement these accords, but unfortunately, the trust which is the lifeblood of the entire process, has been undermined as a result of the failure of the Palestinians to carry out their commitments according to the agreements they have signed.
In the last year, while pursuing these efforts, we have endured many tests, and suffered ongoing terrorist attacks and bloodshed. Our deep-rooted aspiration for peace, security and tranquility has been stained by the shedding of innocent blood, by the murder of men, women and children, cut down by barbaric terrorist attacks. Yet despite our deep sorrow and mourning over the loss of these innocent lives, the hope for peace has not been extinguished in the hearts of the citizens of Israel.
The citizens of Israel have taken upon themselves great risks for peace, but there is no one who is willing to continue to pay the bloody price that is being demanded in the name of peace. We must break the tragic and violent circle. It is only through joint action in confronting the terror that trust will be reestablished and the doubts regarding intentions be removed.
As I stated in my remarks before the Fifty-First Session of this Assembly, "All Israel is united in its deep desire for peace and for a life of calm and security. In Israel, both right and left are united in this quest".
If trust can be restored, if the principle of reciprocity will be honored, it will be possible for us to proceed. We have already proven our willingness to do so in our decisions and actions since taking office, including the signing and implementation of the Hebron agreement in all its aspects.
Mr. President,
Peace can not live side by side with the continuation of incitement, hostility, violence and terror. Peace means, in essence, the unequivocal and irreversible abandonment of violence. Dialogue, negotiation, compromise, and the honoring of agreements are the path to peace.
These principles apply throughout the world and must apply also in the Middle East. The existence of two parallel tracks, one on which negotiations are pursued while a second track of violence, terror and bloodshed continues unimpeded, is totally unacceptable. This is a direct challenge and affront to the very concept of peace.
Terror does not suddenly erupt from nowhere. It is not a spontaneous phenomenon. We have too often seen terrorist leaders and their organizations adopting the facade of innocent and peaceful charitable and welfare organizations, while under this cover contributing to the preparation and perpetration of vicious terrorist attacks. Terror can be likened to a volcano, ready to erupt at any moment and whose boiling lava destroys all who lie in its path.
Those who resort to terror against us are not seeking only to kill Israelis but also to hurt their own brethren. Terror can not be accepted as a legitimate tool for resolving differences. It must be rejected, absolutely and unequivocally, and it must be fought unrelentingly. We will not agree to live under its constant threat.
The words of the President of the United States and the Foreign Minister of Russia at this Assembly just a few days ago are important and should guide us all in this matter. As President Clinton said from this very podium, "Terror is always a crime, never a justified political act". The international community bears the responsibility for ensuring that terrorism enjoys no political support, recognition or legitimacy, not even implicitly.
The Palestinian Authority itself, and its leader, undertook in the name of the Palestinian people already in the Oslo Accords in 1993 to fight terrorism. They reaffirmed this commitment again in the 1995 Interim Agreement, again one year ago at the Washington Summit and again in the Hebron Agreement. Much to our consternation, it has been proven that this commitment has not been upheld as required, causing the present crisis of confidence.
Israel stands firmly upon its call to the Palestinian Authority to fulfill its promise to fight relentlessly against the terror. The Authority must act together and in full cooperation with us, against terrorism and violence. We seek neither to dictate nor to coerce. We seek merely the implementation of signed agreements. The fight against terror is in the Palestinian interest.
In response to the repeated crises in the process caused by the failure of the Palestinian Authority to live up to its commitments, Israel proposes that a binding code of conduct for the relations between us and our neighbors be adopted. This code should include:
- The rejection of violence as a means for achieving political goals.
- Preservation of the framework of direct negotiations and agreement to refrain from attempts to transfer the disputes and the negotiations onto the international stage.
- Institutionalizing permanent channels of communication, including in times of crisis.
- Cessation of incitement, of the call to violence and jihad, and their replacement by the language of reconciliation and mutual respect.
- The advancement and encouragement of normalization and support for regional activities.
The purpose of this code of conduct is to facilitate uninterrupted negotiations and crisis management, and to create an atmosphere of dialogue. This code must meet the sensitivities and needs of both sides. We believe that the adoption of the above principles will allow us to overcome the present crisis and help in preventing future ones as the negotiations proceed. These rules of the game will also contribute to renewed trust between the leaders and greater confidence and understanding between the peoples.
Mr. President,
In the wake of the visit to the Middle East of the U.S. Secretary of State, renewed agreement has been reached to continue the efforts at restoring the peace process to its proper track. We have been conducting intensive talks in recent days, with the assistance of the United States, both in Washington and here, with a view to resuming the negotiations and advancing our efforts to reach a permanent settlement with the Palestinians.
Israel values and appreciates the action of the U.S. Secretary of State and her commitment to extricate the peace process from its current impasse, to bring the parties closer together and to ensure the success of the negotiations. We are fully committed to these efforts.
Israel reaffirms its proposal to conduct accelerated negotiations on permanent status, according to an agreed timetable. We propose conducting negotiations in which the sides will agree upon the desired outcomes and the way towards achieving them. This proposal is intended to hasten the attainment of a peaceful settlement, not to delay it. This is also our call to the Palestinian Authority - join us as partners in the effort to hasten the achievement of the permanent status resolution.
The international community can play an important role in facilitating the dialogue between the sides which will make it possible for us to resolve our differences through direct negotiations and to create the trust and confidence needed for the advancement of the process. It is only through direct negotiations, through open and frank dialogue, that the peace process can be advanced and brought to a successful conclusion. Neither one-sided international declarations, dictates nor pressures will assist. Attempts to internationalize the dispute and to transfer the arena of negotiations to the U.N. and other international fora only serve to create unnecessary obstacles and to rigidify already entrenched positions.
The comprehensive peace we yearn for will not be achieved until we reach peace agreements with Syria and Lebanon. It is imperative to reach understandings and agreement that will enable us to renew negotiations and to resolve all the matters at issue between us. We expect to find in Syria and its leadership a partner in the search for a just and fair peace. If Syria has indeed made a strategic choice in favor of peace, the "peace of the brave", as claimed by its leadership, then we must explore together every possible avenue, at any place and at any time, how we may renew the talks between us.
Israel can not accept the continued violence and terror on its northern border. The terrorist activities of organizations such as Hizbullah, the fear of katyusha rockets and attacks upon our cities and towns, bear with them the threat of ongoing regional violence and continued bloodshed. There is no territorial dispute between Israel and Lebanon. We wish to see a sovereign, free and independent Lebanon acting determinedly against the terrorist organizations which operate from its territory.
Mr. President,
If we are to reach peace, we can not make do with agreements and contracts only. The reality of peace means normalization. Open borders, freedom of movement, commerce and cooperation for the benefit of the entire region - these are the soul of peace and its essence. Normalization is not a prize or a gift for israel alone.
The decisions of the Foreign Ministers of the Arab League at their recent meeting in Cairo just over one week ago, stand in direct contradiction to the aspiration for peace, and undermine its foundations. The attempts to prevent normalization with Israel and to freeze the level of existing relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors, to close liaison and interests offices and to reactivate the Arab boycott, add up in practice to a boycott of peace itself. This is a destructive policy which is reversing the process.
The ongoing and intentional freeze of the multilateral talks also has a deleterious effect on the entrenchment of peace. The multilateral talks were meant and should serve as a platform and incentive for building peace. We must promote both the bilateral and multilateral channels, and not make one conditional upon the other, and not create further obstacles and barriers on the road to peace. The question mark hanging over the regional economic conference scheduled to take place later this year in Doha, Qatar, is further evidence of this negative drive.
The countries of the Middle East who are party to the peace effort have a common interest in regional stability and the advancement of prosperity and well-being for all the nations of the region. We face together the growing shortage of water, and the ever-expanding desert. We are also faced by threats from within our region, dangers which threaten to undermine the stability of the regimes of various nations and which threaten to plunge the entire region into violence, war and bloodshed.
It was only a few years ago that the entire world was forced into forming a coalition to combat an aggressive dictator who sought to conquer a neighboring country, and to terrorize the entire region. Today we face new and even more extreme dangers, but the lessons of recent experience have not been learned and many countries turn a blind eye to the threat.
The leadership of Iran continues to speak in terms which threaten the state of israel and call for its destruction. Yet the international community continues to remain deaf and refuses to speak out against iran's policies, its declarations and its actions.
Iran's efforts, like those of Iraq, to acquire operational weapons of mass destruction of all kinds, represent the greatest threat to security and stability in the Middle East and beyond.
The ramifications of Iran's weapons program extend far beyond the geographical confines of our region. They threaten the security of other members of the international community and their interests.
Israel reiterates its call to the members of the international family of nations, and at their head the United States, Russia, the members of the European Union and of the commonwealth of independent states, to exercise the full weight of their influence and to take concrete steps to prevent this development, which represents an existential threat to the State of Israel.
After the establishment of peace treaties between Israel and every country of the region it will be possible to bring about the establishment of a regional security system, which would provide multilateral and shared solutions to the range of security problems in the Middle East, including a mutually and effectively verifiable Middle East free of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
Mr. President,
Israel is an active and responsible member of the family of nations represented in this body. However, fifty years after the United Nations adopted, on 29 November 1947, the resolution calling for the establishment of the State of Israel, we are still denied our equal rights in this organization.
We attach great importance to the fundamental reform of the U.N.'s work. We also share the opinion of other U.N. member countries who believe that the organization urgently requires greater efficiency and a redirecting of its valuable but limited resources towards its truly important tasks. At the same time, we are convinced that no reform can be completed as long as the question of Israel's membership of a regional group remains unresolved. We call upon this organization to correct this anomaly.
Much to our chagrin, in the last year we have seen an intensification of the political campaign waged against Israel at the U.N. The outcome of this campaign is only to impede the peace process and to further undermine confidence between the parties. We call upon the member nations to refrain from lending their support to such resolutions. The time has come for this Assembly to reduce the number of resolutions on the Middle East it adopts each year and to contribute positively to facilitating an atmosphere conducive to direct negotiations between the parties.
As part of Israel's international and regional commitment and as part of its credo as a state, we are engaged in cooperative programs with many countries with whom we share the experience and knowledge we have acquired in various fields. Israel attaches great importance to its international cooperation program and in assisting various peoples address the challenges of development, and the hazards of nature, hunger and disease.
Over more than three decades, tens of thousands of trainees have participated in courses in Israel and in their own countries within the framework of Israel's cooperation and assistance program in the fields of education, health, agriculture, industry, social affairs and leadership. We are especially proud of the participation in recent years of trainees from arab countries, amongst them Palestinians. These trainees are emissaries of goodwill, ambassadors of peace, who bear with them the message and the great hope of human well-being. As in the words of the prophet: "Each shall help his neighbor and make him strong".
Mr. President,
This year, the Jewish people in Israel and around the world marks the jubilee of its national revival. Fifty years ago the Jewish people restored its national sovereignty in its ancient homeland. Throughout the dark days of our two-thousand year dispersion we dreamt of the day that we would renew our national life in the land of our forefathers, the land of Israel.
It is the privilege of our generation to fulfill this aspiration. The Jewish people has returned and built up its land, the Jewish people is once again gathering in its ancient home, and we have succeeded in building a vibrant and democratic society, a flourishing economy, science, research and industry.
For the last fifty years we have labored to ensure Israel's security and independence, while always seeking peace and good neighborly relations in our region. Fifty years on, the State of Israel is an irremovable reality.
This week, we mark the beginning of the Jewish New Year. At this holy time every Jew turns his eye towards the heavens with a prayer in his heart for the peace of the world, the end of misery, and the new dawn of hope for all. On this day of remembrance the blow of the shofar is accompanied by the prayer, "May the year and its troubles pass, and a new year and its blessings begin".