    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
    [September 13, 1993]
    [Pages 1480-1482]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Interview With the Israeli News Media on the Middle East Peace Process
    September 13, 1993

        Q. Mr. President, thank you for granting this interview to the
    Israeli television. I wanted to ask you first, with your permission,
    after having Mr. Arafat and Prime Minister Rabin shake, reluctantly,
    sort of, each other's hand, did you manage to get them to talk to each
    other?
        The President. Yes, indeed. They talked a little bit before they
    came out and before they had shaken hands. I understand the many decades
    of events which have divided them and the awkwardness of this moment for
    both of them. And I understand, I think, why this is different from the
    agreement reached by Israel and Egypt at Camp David. This was an
    agreement that will require not just the concurrence of two governments
    but tens of thousands of people who will literally be living in close
    proximity to one another. So it was a very challenging moment.
        But before we came out, Mr. Rabin and Mr. Arafat were alone in the
    Blue Room upstairs with me, and we walked down together when everyone
    else had left. And they had not spoken during the time of the reception.
    But they looked at each other really clearly, in the eye, for the first
    time, and the Prime Minister said, ``You know we're going to have to
    work very hard to make this work.'' And Arafat said, ``I know, and I am
    prepared to do my part.'' And they immediately exchanged about three
    sentences, right to business, no pleasantries but went right to
    business. But I thought they were both quite serious.
        And you saw what happened on the stage. They did shake hands. A lot
    of people thought that would never happen. And I thought the fact that
    they did it and that they said what they did, each trying to speak to
    the people represented by the other, was an important gesture.
        Q. How involved, Mr. President, do you plan to get in getting this
    accord off the ground?
        The President. Very involved. I spent about 10 minutes with Mr.
    Arafat today after the occasion and made it clear to him that I was
    prepared to take a the lead in trying to organize the finances necessary
    to carry this through and to try to build the political support for it
    but that it was imperative that he honor the commitments made to
    Israel's security, to denouncing terrorism, to assuming responsibility
    within the areas of self-government for maintaining law and order.
        And then I came over here to the Oval Office and went into my dining
    room and had lunch with the Prime Minister. And we had a good, long talk
    about what the next steps are. And I reaffirmed to him my determination
    to use the influence and the power of the United States and the
    resources of the United States to make sure that the people of Israel
    feel more secure, not less secure, by this agreement. And we talked a
    little about that, and we agreed that we would move immediately to begin
    to implement it.
        Q. Were you disappointed with the contents of Mr. Arafat's speech,
    if I may ask, since many Israelis feel that he did not repeat those
    commitments that he was undertaking in writing. That is, to publicly
    denounce terrorism, say ``no more violence,'' repeat what the late
    President

    [[Page 1481]]

    Sadat was saying here during the ceremony of Camp David: ``No more war,
    no more bloodshed.'' He was probably the only speaker who didn't say it
    explicitly. It is not the way we wanted to hear him say that.
        The President. Well, he did say the time had come for an end to war
    and bloodshed, but he did not reaffirm the specific commitments he made
    in writing. And yes, I think I would have liked the speech better had he
    done so. But when I listened to it in Arabic, it seemed to be delivered
    with great conviction and passion, more than the translation would
    imply. And I think you have to have a certain discount factor really for
    both of the speeches because of the ambivalence of the supporters of
    both men about this agreement. I mean, Arafat, after all, did not get a
    unanimous vote in his council for this agreement. You know, what he was
    trying to do is to reach out to the Israeli people to establish his good
    faith without further weakening his position.
        And by the same token, I think the Prime Minister did a terrific job
    of reaffirming to the Israeli people how difficult this was for him, how
    strongly committed he is to the welfare of the people of Israel and why,
    that he is doing this because he thinks it's better for them.
        I wasn't perhaps as disappointed as you were, because I thought it
    was so important that Arafat came and spoke directly to the people of
    Israel, reaffirmed in general the commitments he had made, looked at me
    and thanked the United States in ways that he--I mean, he has to know,
    because I've made it so clear publicly and privately, that the United
    States is committed to the security of Israel and that therefore if he
    wants us to help him, he's going to have to honor every last one of the
    commitments he made, which in private again today I asked him to do, and
    he reaffirmed that he would.
        Q. Do you feel, Mr. President, that in view of the new circumstances
    in the Middle East, the American commitment to Israel's security will
    have to take a different shape, other forms?
        The President. Well, I think we may have to do some more different
    things. We may wind up doing more in terms of economic development; we
    may wind up doing more in terms of shared technology. I think we've
    agreed already, the Prime Minister and I have, in our previous meeting
    that we want to do some more joint strategic thinking just to recognize
    the fact that military technology itself has changed the dimensions of
    what Israel has to do to protect its security. But I would leave it with
    you this way: I have no intention of doing anything on my own which
    would in any way raise the question in the mind of any citizen of Israel
    that the United States is weakening in support for the security of
    Israel. The only way we can make this work is if every day more and more
    and more Israelis believe that they will be more secure if there is a
    just peace. That's why I went out of my way not to try to impose terms
    in these negotiations but only to create the conditions and the process
    and the environment within which agreement could be made and why I have
    constantly, since it was announced, reaffirmed my commitment to the
    security of Israel.
        Q. In a conversation with Mr. Arafat last night, he was asking me--
    he doesn't need me as an intermediary, of course--to ask you on this
    interview today whether the United States would be willing to help the
    Palestinians create those institutions and establish this police force
    which----
        The President. Absolutely. Absolutely, I would be willing to help
    him do that. And I think that is very much in Israel's interest. And my
    clear impression from the Prime Minister and from the Foreign Minister
    and from our contacts back and forth is that that's what you want me to
    do, that's what Israel wants me to do.
        There are all kinds of practical questions left unanswered by this
    agreement. This agreement has very specific commitments on Israel's
    security and sovereignty and right to exist, on denouncing terrorism, on
    the Palestinians being willing to assume responsibility for conduct
    within the areas of self-governance. But it doesn't say how is a police
    force going to be set up, funded, and trained. How are elections going
    to actually be conducted? How will the candidates be able to get out and
    campaign? All these things have not been worked out. These are areas
    where the United States can genuinely help the process to work.
        Q. Is there any change in the U.S. position on the establishment of
    a mini-Palestinian independent state at the end of the road?
        The President. No. Our position on that has not changed. That is
    something that the parties are going to have to discuss and agree to.
    The United States is not going to change its position. That is something
    to be left to the parties to make and discuss.

    [[Page 1482]]

        Q. Mr. Arafat was speaking last night about his wish to have some
    form of confederacy with Jordan. Mr. President, will the United States
    support moves in this direction, linking up whatever Palestinian entity
    will finally emerge into--West Bank and Gaza with the national kingdom
    of Jordan?
        The President. Well again, let me say the first step there is for
    Israel and Jordan to make peace and to reach an agreement. And I think a
    general agreement is forthcoming very soon. Then the three of them can
    get together, and they can discuss those things, and we'll see whether
    there is agreement among the parties to the peace process. If all the
    parties agreed, then the United States would be supportive. We want to
    facilitate the debate. We want ideas to remain on the table. But we
    don't want to impose a settlement of any kind. And so we'll just see
    what happens.
        Q. The agreement between Israel and the Palestinians was reached
    through Norway, as an honest broker, mediator. We could not hope, I
    believe, to arrive at any conclusion of our negotiations with Syria
    without your administration playing a major role in bringing the two
    sides together. Do you think the time is right now to embark upon a
    similar effort in getting the Israelis and the Syrians together?
        The President. I think we have to keep the talks going, but I think
    first we need to focus on implementing this agreement. And if you look
    at what happened in Norway--I mean, I think it was quite important. But
    if you go back and look at how it fit with the talks going on here in
    Washington, the question of the relationship of Israel to the PLO is
    such a volatile one that I doubt seriously that this agreement ever
    could have been made in Washington with anybody's involvement because of
    the intense publicity surrounding everything that happens here.
        The thing that Norway did that was so important was to provide a
    representative of Israel and a representative of the PLO a chance to
    talk over an extended period of time in absolute secrecy so that they
    were free to say things to one another and to explore ideas without
    having to read about it in the paper the next day. And I think it was
    very important.
        Our job during this time was to keep this process going, not to let
    the deportation crisis and the crisis occasioned by the raids in the
    Bekaa Valley or anything else derail this. And I was pleased with the
    agreement which came out which was very like the original principles the
    United States put on the table and that it included the Gaza-Jericho
    resolution which we were very pleased by.
        Q. Finally, Mr. President, there are probably five million Israelis
    watching us now and five million Palestinians and who knows how many
    other Arabs across the border, whatever you would like to tell them on
    this day.
        The President. I would like to tell them that this is a great day
    for the Israelis, for the Palestinians, for the Middle East, but it must
    be followed up. We must make good the promises of this agreement. And
    the United States has a terrific responsibility first to make Israel
    feel secure in making peace; second, to help the Palestinians to set up
    the mechanisms of self-government and of growth, of economic
    opportunity; and third, to keep the overall peace process going. And I
    intend to meet my responsibility. But in the end, whether it succeeds
    depends upon what is in the minds and the hearts of the people who live
    in the area.
        I believe with all my heart that the time has come to change the
    relationships of the Middle East and that the future is so much brighter
    if we can abandon the polarization, the hatred, not just the war but the
    constant state of siege which prohibits and prevents both the Israelis
    and the Arabs from having anything resembling a normal life. I think the
    Middle East can bloom again. It can be a garden of the world if we can
    put aside these hatreds. And I'm going to do what I can to help.

    Note: The interview began at 3:45 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of this
    interview.