    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
    [September 9, 1993]
    [Pages 1457-1458]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1457]]

    Remarks on the Israeli-Palestinian Agreement and an Exchange With
    Reporters in Cleveland, Ohio
    September 9, 1993

        The President. I just got off the telephone with Prime Minister
    Rabin. I called him to congratulate him on the agreement that he has
    reached today.
        When we first met, he told me that he was prepared to take risks for
    peace, and I told him that it was the responsibility of the United
    States to do everything we could to minimize those risks. And I
    reaffirmed that today. They have reached a general agreement, but the
    process of implementing it will be quite complicated. And we expect to
    be closely involved in the process all along the way. I am extremely
    happy that it has finally happened. I am very, very hopeful for the
    future. And this is a very brave and courageous thing that has been
    done.
        Q. Will there be a signing ceremony Monday----
        Q. Will the U.S.--with the PLO as part of this deal, Mr. President?
        The President. Well, let me answer you in this way. Later today we
    will see what the statements of the parties are, and then I will have
    another formal statement later in the day. If the PLO's statement today
    meets the criteria we have repeatedly set down, renouncing terrorism,
    acknowledging Israel's right to exist, those things, then we will resume
    our dialog with them and then we'll go forward from there. And we'll
    have an announcement probably today, perhaps tomorrow, about what
    happens next with regard to this agreement.
        Q. Will that constitute formal recognition of the PLO?
        The President. I don't want to say any more today. Let's wait until
    their statement comes out. For the moment, for the next few hours let's
    savor the fact that they have made this agreement. As Prime Minister
    Rabin said, it's the first time in 100 years that the Israelis and the
    Palestinians have agreed on something fundamental and important.
        Q. Why do you think the time was right now for such an agreement,
    sir?
        The President. I think that there are many reasons. I think,
    frankly, the major leaders in Middle East, beginning with Prime Minister
    Rabin and Mr. Arafat, were at a point in their lives, their careers,
    their experiences, where for all kinds of reasons they thought the time
    had come. And I also want to compliment Foreign Minister Peres; I think
    he deserves a lot of credit.
        I think the circumstances were propitious. I think most people
    thought they had exhausted their reasonable alternatives, and they
    didn't want to go on in this manner anymore. And I hope we can keep this
    process going.
        But I want to remind you that there are a lot of things that still
    have to be done to make this really happen, and the United States is
    committed to doing our share.
        Q. Was the U.S. cut out of this deal, Mr. President?
        The President. No. You know the facts, but let me briefly reiterate
    them. We sponsored, along with the Russians, the resumption of the
    talks. We put on the table a set of basic principles. About 70 percent
    of them were in the ultimate agreement that came out of the secret
    channel in Oslo. Our job was to keep these talks going in Washington,
    and the Secretary of State did a masterful job on two different
    occasions, once with the deportations and once with the conflict in the
    Bekaa Valley, when they were in danger of being derailed. And he worked
    hard. He went to the Middle East. We've worked hard to do that.
        We were made aware in the most general terms of what was happening
    in Norway, but we didn't know a lot of the details, nor should we have
    known. I think this matter was so volatile and so difficult that it may
    be that the only way the final agreements could have been reached on the
    principles was in a secret and totally unknown channel. I think it gave
    both sides the freedom to reach out to one another.
        So I think we did everything we could have, and a lot of our work is
    still to be done now that the agreement has been made and is public and
    has to be implemented. And we're prepared to do our part. But I'm
    pleased about this, and I hope that it means more good things in the
    future.
        Q. Will the U.S. find the money, sir, to support this kind of
    agreement? Because after all,

    [[Page 1458]]

    there's going to be a lot of aid needed.
        The President. [Inaudible]--a lot of work, a lot of economic
    reconstruction that has to be done. I believe we'll do our part. I
    believe the Congress will be willing, and I think the American people
    will be willing. I think that our people will appreciate the absolutely
    historic significance of this. This is a huge development in the----
        Q. Did you offer to sponsor a signing ceremony or have some kind of
    official recognition in Washington?
        The President. We've been discussing that for the last several days,
    but I think that I should wait until there is a formal statement by the
    Israelis and the PLO later today, and then we'll have more to say about
    that.
        Thank you.
        Q. But you will----
        The President. Later today.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:50 a.m. upon arrival at the Park Corp.
    I-X Jet Center. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Yitzhak
    Rabin and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres of Israel and Yasser Arafat,
    Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman.