    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
    [September 13, 1993]
    [Pages 1475-1477]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Signing Ceremony for the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration
    of Principles
    September 13, 1993

        The President. Prime Minister Rabin, Chairman Arafat, Foreign
    Minister Peres, Mr. Abbas, President Carter, President Bush,
    distinguished guests.
        On behalf of the United States and Russia, cosponsors of the Middle
    East peace process, welcome to this great occasion of history and hope.
        Today we bear witness to an extraordinary act in one of history's
    defining dramas, a drama that began in the time of our ancestors when
    the word went forth from a sliver of land between the river Jordan and
    the Mediterranean Sea. That hallowed piece of earth, that land of light
    and revelation is the home to the memories and dreams of Jews, Muslims,
    and Christians throughout the world.
        As we all know, devotion to that land has also been the source of
    conflict and bloodshed for too long. Throughout this century, bitterness
    between the Palestinian and Jewish people has robbed the entire region
    of its resources, its potential, and too many of its sons and daughters.
    The land has been so drenched in warfare and hatred, the conflicting
    claims of history etched so deeply in the souls of the combatants there,
    that many believed the past would always have the upper hand.
        Then, 14 years ago, the past began to give way when, at this place
    and upon this desk, three men of great vision signed their names to the
    Camp David accords. Today we honor the memories of Menachem Begin and
    Anwar Sadat, and we salute the wise leadership of President Jimmy
    Carter. Then, as now, we heard from those who said that conflict would
    come again soon. But the peace between Egypt and Israel has endured.
    Just so, this bold new venture today, this brave gamble that the future
    can be better than the past, must endure.
        Two years ago in Madrid, another President took a major step on the
    road to peace by bringing Israel and all her neighbors together to
    launch direct negotiations. And today we also express our deep thanks
    for the skillful leadership of President George Bush.
        Ever since Harry Truman first recognized Israel, every American
    President, Democrat and Republican, has worked for peace between Israel
    and her neighbors. Now the efforts of all who have labored before us
    bring us to this moment, a moment when we dare to pledge what for so
    long seemed difficult even to imagine: that the security of the Israeli
    people will

    [[Page 1476]]

    be reconciled with the hopes of the Palestinian people and there will be
    more security and more hope for all.
        Today the leadership of Israel and the Palestine Liberation
    Organization will sign a declaration of principles on interim
    Palestinian self-government. It charts a course toward reconciliation
    between two peoples who have both known the bitterness of exile. Now
    both pledge to put old sorrows and antagonisms behind them and to work
    for a shared future shaped by the values of the Torah, the Koran, and
    the Bible.
        Let us salute also today the Government of Norway for its remarkable
    role in nurturing this agreement. But above all, let us today pay
    tribute to the leaders who had the courage to lead their people toward
    peace, away from the scars of battle, the wounds and the losses of the
    past, toward a brighter tomorrow. The world today thanks Prime Minister
    Rabin, Foreign Minister Peres, and Chairman Arafat. Their tenacity and
    vision has given us the promise of a new beginning.
        What these leaders have done now must be done by others. Their
    achievement must be a catalyst for progress in all aspects of the peace
    process. And those of us who support them must be there to help in all
    aspects. For the peace must render the people who make it more secure. A
    peace of the brave is within our reach. Throughout the Middle East,
    there is a great yearning for the quiet miracle of a normal life.
        We know a difficult road lies ahead. Every peace has its enemies,
    those who still prefer the easy habits of hatred to the hard labors of
    reconciliation. But Prime Minister Rabin has reminded us that you do not
    have to make peace with your friends. And the Koran teaches that if the
    enemy inclines toward peace, do thou also incline toward peace.
        Therefore, let us resolve that this new mutual recognition will be a
    continuing process in which the parties transform the very way they see
    and understand each other. Let the skeptics of this peace recall what
    once existed among these people. There was a time when the traffic of
    ideas and commerce and pilgrims flowed uninterrupted among the cities of
    the Fertile Crescent. In Spain and the Middle East, Muslims and Jews
    once worked together to write brilliant chapters in the history of
    literature and science. All this can come to pass again.
        Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Chairman, I pledge the active support of the
    United States of America to the difficult work that lies ahead. The
    United States is committed to ensuring that the people who are affected
    by this agreement will be made more secure by it and to leading the
    world in marshaling the resources necessary to implement the difficult
    details that will make real the principles to which you commit
    yourselves today.
        Together let us imagine what can be accomplished if all the energy
    and ability the Israelis and the Palestinians have invested into your
    struggle can now be channeled into cultivating the land and freshening
    the waters, into ending the boycotts and creating new industry, into
    building a land as bountiful and peaceful as it is holy. Above all, let
    us dedicate ourselves today to your region's next generation. In this
    entire assembly, no one is more important than the group of Israeli and
    Arab children who are seated here with us today.
        Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Chairman, this day belongs to you. And
    because of what you have done, tomorrow belongs to them. We must not
    leave them prey to the politics of extremism and despair, to those who
    would derail this process because they cannot overcome the fears and
    hatreds of the past. We must not betray their future. For too long, the
    young of the Middle East have been caught in a web of hatred not of
    their own making. For too long, they have been taught from the
    chronicles of war. Now we can give them the chance to know the season of
    peace. For them we must realize the prophecy of Isaiah that the cry of
    violence shall no more be heard in your land, nor wrack nor ruin within
    your borders. The children of Abraham, the descendants of Isaac and
    Ishmael, have embarked together on a bold journey. Together today, with
    all our hearts and all our souls, we bid them shalom, salaam, peace.

    [At this point, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres of Israel and Mahmoud
    Abbas, PLO Executive Committee member, made brief remarks. Following
    their remarks, Foreign Minister Peres and Mr. Abbas signed the
    declaration, and Secretary of State Warren Christopher and Foreign
    Minister Andrey Kozyrev of Russia signed as witnesses. Secretary
    Christopher and Foreign Minister Kozyrev then made remarks, followed by
    Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Chairman Yasser Arafat of the
    PLO.]

        The President. We have been granted the great privilege of
    witnessing this victory for

    [[Page 1477]]

    peace. Just as the Jewish people this week celebrate the dawn of a new
    year, let us all go from this place to celebrate the dawn of a new era,
    not only for the Middle East but for the entire world.
        The sound we heard today, once again, as in ancient Jericho, was of
    trumpets toppling walls, the walls of anger and suspicion between
    Israeli and Palestinian, between Arab and Jew. This time, praise God,
    the trumpets herald not the destruction of that city but its new
    beginning.
        Now let each of us here today return to our portion of that effort,
    uplifted by the spirit of the moment, refreshed in our hopes, and guided
    by the wisdom of the Almighty, who has brought us to this joyous day.
        Go in peace. Go as peacemakers.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:15 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White
    House.