[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

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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

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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.