[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book I)]
[March 16, 1994]
[Pages 471-476]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of 
Israel
March 16, 1994

    The President. Mr. Prime Minister, friends, we come together today 
at an important time for the Middle East. We are closer to a lasting 
peace than would have been thought only a year ago. Yet we are further 
from that peace than we expected to be only a month ago.
    The events of the past several weeks have demonstrated the risks in 
this great undertaking. The bloodshed in Hebron was a tragic reminder 
that the forces of reaction will lash out whenever peace becomes a real 
possibility. We must not let the enemies of peace triumph. We must not 
allow them to deny Israel and its neighbors a future of hope. And that 
is why I applaud Prime Minister Rabin's courageous stance against 
militant extremism. And it is why I have called upon the Prime Minister 
and Chairman Arafat to find a way to resume negotiations and to do so 
quickly.
    Today we discussed ways to put the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations 
back on track. We agreed on the need for concrete measures to ensure 
security for Palestinians as well as for Israelis and for rapid 
implementation of the Declaration of Principles to give Palestinians 
control over their own affairs and well-being.
    In our meeting, the Prime Minister and I also discussed ways to make 
1994 a year of breakthrough in the negotiations between Israel and 
Syria. This would not only help bolster the agreement already achieved 
with the Palestinians, it would also help advance our overall objective 
of a comprehensive peace, one that encompasses Jordan and Lebanon as 
well.

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    President Asad spoke in Geneva of his strategic choice for peace 
with Israel. Prime Minister Rabin told me today that peace with Syria is 
a strategic imperative. These two leaders have a great responsibility to 
the people of their region. As a full partner in the process, the U.S. 
stands ready to help them achieve that lasting peace that can end the 
Israeli-Arab conflict and transform the Middle East.
    The Prime Minister and I agreed that as the region turns to the 
business of establishing peace, the Arab boycott of Israel must end. It 
is a relic of the past, born of animosity and exclusion. For all the 
peoples of the Middle East to prosper, economic barriers and isolation 
must yield to dialog and cooperation.
    During our meeting today, we also discussed what the United States 
can do to maintain and enhance Israel's security as it continues to take 
real risks to achieve peace. We talked about ways the U.S. could help 
Israel defend against long-term threats to its security. And I reaffirm 
my commitment to work with Congress to maintain our present levels of 
assistance and to consider how we might help Israel defray the costs of 
peace. We've also pledged to do whatever we can to help resolve the 
cases of Israeli MIA's.
    Since the beginning of this administration, the Prime Minister and I 
have worked to promote the common interest and values our nations share. 
Today we are working closely together on such issues, including those 
which now confront the U.N. Security Council. Our efforts have one 
common purpose, maintaining the principles we both share while doing all 
we can to promote peace.
    This is an historic moment for Israel. And I am profoundly aware, 
Mr. Prime Minister, of the great burdens you are bearing in your search 
for peace. You have the admiration and respect of the entire United 
States and our Nation's pledge of support and steadfast friendship.
    As we approach Passover, a time to celebrate freedom and redemption, 
let us dedicate ourselves to a season of new beginnings and turn our 
gaze to the future to make it a future of peace.
    Thank you.
    Prime Minister Rabin. Mr. President, the Vice President, Secretary 
of State, dear friends, it was important and worthwhile to meet today 
with the President and his team, to know and appreciate what we have 
known for a long time: The friendship and trust between our two 
countries are profound and now as good if not better than they have ever 
been. We could not ask for more. For this, Mr. President, please accept 
our gratitude. It is good to know that a great nation blessed with 
values and democracy stands with us for the greatest battle still to 
come, the battle for peace.
    Mr. President, a few months ago, I stood here with you and many 
others at an historic occasion. We arrived at the beginning of the end 
of the bloody struggle that has lasted for 100 years. It was clear from 
the beginning that in spite of the good will on all sides, it would be 
difficult to bridge in days or in months differences in positions, 
perceptions, points of view, and hatred that have devastated and grown 
over so many decades. But we shall overcome these difficulties and reach 
the day of peace. We shall remain determined in our goal.
    In our talks today, I told you, Mr. President, that in my view, we 
were near the finish line of the talks with the Palestinians on the 
first stage of the Gaza-Jericho first. Some problems and details have 
yet to be solved. I am sure that we shall find the right solution once 
the negotiations are renewed. We will not let the extremists derail the 
peace process.
    On behalf of the state of Israel, I condemn the terrible terms of 
the killing in Hebron. I repeated this today in our conversation. Since 
that time, the Government of Israel has taken tough measures that are 
unprecedented in Israel. We will implement them with determination.
    But, Mr. President, we are also victims of terror, whether organized 
or spontaneous. Our women and children have lived in the shadow of 
terror for decades. Not a week passes that we don't have to bury our 
dead. And if only for this reason, we don't think it appropriate to wage 
new demands after every terrorist attack. Security is a two-way street. 
Real leadership must rise above the realities of the day, even if they 
are painful and bloody, in order to arrive at our strategic goal. Peace 
is not a tactical option but a strategic objective which takes 
precedence over everything else.
    With you, Mr. President, I call on Chairman Arafat of the PLO to 
resume talks immediately and act like me, to fight terror as if there 
were no negotiations and conduct the negotiations as if there was not 
terror.

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    We have to complete the negotiations so that in the spring or in 
early summer, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of Palestinians in 
Gaza and Jericho will at last be able to conduct their own affairs. We 
don't seek to rule them anymore.
    Mr. President, there is no time to waste. We feel that the window of 
opportunity that opened after the Gulf war is narrower than we thought. 
Time is running out. Therefore, 1994 has to be the year of great 
decisions in the peace process. In this framework we spoke of the 
options that can be presented to President Asad in order to achieve 
peace with Syria. I hope that President Asad will respond appropriately 
and we shall be able to sign a peace treaty by the end of this year. 
President Asad said that Syria had made the strategic choice for peace 
with Israel. That was encouraging. Peace with Syria has always been our 
strategic choice. We recognize the importance of Syria to a 
comprehensive peace in the area. We are ready to negotiate peace with 
Syria that takes account of our mutual needs and interests. There must 
be give and take on both sides.
    We know that as we engage in serious and authoritative negotiations, 
the point will come where painful decisions will have to be made. The 
promise of peace and its genuine benefits for all Israelis justifies 
making such decisions vis-a-vis Syria. We will not compromise on our 
security. But we will stand ready to do what is required of us if the 
Syrians are ready to do what is required of them.
    At the same time, we would like to promote and advance the 
negotiations with Jordan as well as with Lebanon. We are hopeful that 
with them, too, treaties of peace can be achieved this year.
    All of us know the time for the Arab boycott of Israel, a remnant of 
a period of hate and rejection, should be lifted. Mr. President, Prime 
Ministers of Israel have come in the past with impressive shopping 
lists. On my list today, I have one item alone, the pursuit of peace.
    As Passover, our feast of freedom, is approaching, let me take the 
opportunity to remind all of us of the fate of the Israeli soldiers 
missing in action and prisoners of war. I would like to thank the 
President for the United States support in this regard and express the 
hope that Passover will also be a time of redemption for them. Mr. 
President, thank you very much.
    The President. Thank you.

Middle East Peace Process

    Q. Mr. Prime Minister, since security is a two-way street, what do 
you plan to do to wipe out the acknowledged double standard in the 
treatment of Palestinians? And also, if you're willing to make peace 
with Syria, Lebanon, Jordan now, why don't you make the quantum leap and 
go for permanent negotiations on peace with Palestinians instead of the 
step-by-step, very slow struggle of the peace process that means more 
strife?
    Prime Minister Rabin. First, about the second question. You have to 
refer to the letter of invitation to the Madrid peace conference. This 
letter of invitation served as the basis agreed on by all the parties 
that were invited to the Madrid peace conference and the negotiations 
that followed this conference.
    What was written there? That the purpose of the negotiations with 
the three neighboring Arab countries beyond Egypt would be to achieve 
peace treaties and with the Palestinians to move by two phases. Phase 
number one--something that was never offered to the Palestinians in the 
past, not by Jordan when Jordan was in occupation of the West Bank, not 
by Egypt when Egypt was in occupation of the Gaza Strip--we offered them 
self-rule, to run their own affairs, to have a Palestinian council, 
self-governing authority as an interim agreement.
    What was agreed in signing between the PLO and us? In the 
Declaration of Principles that was signed on the lawns of the White 
House, we divided the phases by agreement to Gaza-Jericho first; then to 
create the overall arrangement; and not later than 2 years after the 
completion of the implementation of Gaza-Jericho first, to start 
negotiating a permanent solution.
    I believe that sometimes what might look the shortest way is the 
longest and the one that will not lead to a change in the realities. 
Therefore, we are committed to the letter of invitation to the Madrid 
peace conference. We are committed to the Declaration of Principles that 
was signed here between the PLO and Israel. We are committed to the 
Cairo agreement that was reached between the PLO and Israel. And I 
believe to be committed to agreements that were reached is a basic 
precondition for the efforts to reach more agreements.
    Second, you talked about different situations. Let's face it, most 
of the terror attacks are

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aimed against Israelis. We, the Government of Israel, in accordance to 
the international law, are the sovereign, true military government of 
the territories. It's our responsibility for the safety, the welfare of 
all the residents, Jews and Palestinian alike. This government, as a 
result of the terrible tragedy that took place in Hebron, has taken 
measures that are unprecedented in Israel vis-a-vis those who violate 
the law.
    But we are a lawful country. I can give you an example. I used, in 
my responsibility as a Minister of Defense, orders for administering 
detention of two Israeli residents, not the territories. But in 
accordance to our laws, they have to be approved by a president of a 
district court. I ordered administrative detention for 3 months; the 
president of the district court reduced it to 6 days. I cannot violate 
the verdict of the court. Whatever the government does comes under the 
supervision and decision of our courts.
    I believe that many people in Israel believe that we have done 
almost encroaching the line of the law. But we are determined to do 
within the law whatever is needed to fight terrorism from whatever 
direction it will come.
    The President. The question from the Israeli press.
    Q. The two alternative issues--[inaudible]--Jerusalem  and  
settlements,  are  now de facto on the table. Do you agree that they 
should wait until the final stage, or should you tackle them right now?
    The President. You are asking me?
    Q. I am asking both of you, Mr. President and Mr. Prime Minister.
    The President. Well, in terms of the resolution of Jerusalem, the 
position of the United States has not changed. But that is a matter for 
the parties to decide in accord with the declaration. It is something to 
be ultimately decided at a later point. That's what we think should be 
done.
    Prime Minister Rabin. My answer is basically simple. We signed here 
in Washington the Declaration of Principles. It is written very clearly 
there that issues that have to be settled once we negotiate permanent 
solution will not be dealt with now. And it is written very clearly as 
examples for this kind of issue: Jerusalem, settlements, borders, 
refugees, and others. Therefore, by agreement with the PLO, these issues 
will be dealt with when we negotiate permanent solutions.
    The President. Terry [Terence Hunt, Associated Press].

China

    Q. Mr. President, I'd like to ask you about China. There are growing 
calls for the United States to delink the issues of trade and human 
rights. Former Secretaries of State Vance and Kissinger say the United 
States has to pay attention to human rights but that it also has to have 
a pragmatic approach. What are you getting out of your current strategy 
or your current approach to China? And are you thinking about changing 
it?
    The President. Well, I think you can safely assume that we have been 
and will continue to be spending a good deal of time on the issue of our 
relationships with China, that our policy is what it has been, that 
human rights are important but the other issues are important, too. And 
I'm confident that we will be able to work through this and strengthen 
our relationship and our advocacy of human rights over the long run. 
That's what I think will happen, and we've got some time to do that. And 
I think you'll see an enormous effort coming out of this administration 
to try to achieve both those objectives.
    Is there another question from the Israeli press?

Middle East Peace Process

    Q. Mr. President, are you going to urge the President of Syria to 
meet with the Israeli Prime Minister? And did you ask the Israeli Prime 
Minister the question, if Israel will be ready to leave the Golan 
Heights to get peace with Syria?
    The President. We had quite an extended conversation about this 
issue, and I believe that the Prime Minister very much wants to make 
peace with Syria. I talked with President Asad just a few days ago. I'm 
convinced he wants to make peace with Israel. Since I think both of them 
want to make peace with each other, the best thing for me to do is not 
to say anything which will make their task more difficult.
    Q.  But we need details, Mr. President.
    The President. Yes, but they can't come from me.
    Q. Mr. President, I'm wondering if you could describe what your view 
is of the concrete measures that you mentioned early on in your remarks 
that should be taken to keep peace in

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Israel, and whether or not you would support the PLO idea for a police 
force in Hebron?
    The President. I think the Prime Minister would like to respond to 
that also, but let me say, Israel has accepted responsibility on the 
security issue for law and order, if you will. And even the United 
Nations, in the draft that is being circulated, has reaffirmed that. 
Within that broad framework, I think there are a number of options which 
can be pursued to deal with this issue. And I think the Israelis have an 
obligation, as I have said, to come up with some specific initiatives 
for reassurance on this.
    I also think it is important for the PLO not to use this as an 
excuse not to return to the peace talks. I think the Prime Minister is 
doing what he can to demonstrate his good faith, has been very firm in 
reaction to the massacre in Hebron. There are some specifics that have 
been discussed. I think they will be forthcoming. But I don't think that 
we should get the two so mixed up that the whole future of the Middle 
East is, in effect, put on hold.
    Would you like to----
    Q. So does that mean you don't support the PLO's presence there, 
sir?
    The President. Well, that's not what I said.
    Prime Minister Rabin. Well, allow me first to make it clear. In the 
agreement, once it will be reached and signed, there is a building--in 
the past it was 8,000 to 9,000 men as a Palestinian police force in Gaza 
and Jericho. If by now agreement has been reached, by now there would 
have been 8,000, 9,000 Palestinian policemen in Gaza and Jericho. The 
more the negotiations are postponed, the longer it will take them to 
come.
    Second, even if there will be some Palestinian police--and there 
were in the past. At least 900 Palestinian police in the territories 
were Palestinian residents of the territories in Hebron and in Ramallah 
and in Nablus. They resigned because of the Intifada. As long as ours is 
the overall responsibility for the territories under the military 
government, using our civil administration, their presence will not 
relieve us from our overall responsibility.
    Therefore, we have to look at it in the context of what is our 
international and practical responsibility. We, as long as agreement 
will not be reached that will cover all these areas with the PLO, we 
will remain internationally responsible to the security of all those who 
reside there, if there will be or will not be part of any Palestinian 
police. They will have to come under the control of the government 
there, and the government is the military government of Israel. 
Therefore, you can't have separate armed groups. There must be one chain 
of command of those who have to keep and maintain law and order.

Russia

    Q. Mr. President, the Israeli Government is seemingly uncomfortable 
with the sort of involvement that the Russian Government has sought to 
assume lately in the Middle East process. Are we seeing increasingly a 
phenomenon worldwide in which Russia, in the way of making a point that 
it is still a great nation and deserves recognition, gets in the way of 
restoring stability back in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central 
Europe, and elsewhere?
    The President. I don't think they have gotten in the way of 
restoring peace and stability in the Balkans. I think that so far they 
have been a constructive force. They are a cosponsor of the Middle East 
peace talks and, therefore, have a right to have their say. I think it 
is very important, however, if I might turn your question back just a 
minute, that as a cosponsor, insofar as possible, that we coordinate our 
actions together and that anything they do is not seen as an obstacle to 
peace but facilitates it. And the answer to your question basically will 
have to be revealed by the conduct of the Russians themselves in the 
days and weeks ahead.
    I think when we were attempting to get the safe zone around Sarajevo 
and get the talks back going in the Balkans, the Russians were basically 
a positive force. Whether they will be such in the Middle East will be 
revealed by their own conduct in the days and weeks ahead. I hope they 
will be, and we certainly are willing to coordinate with them. You know, 
they were here when we had the signing in September, and I have always 
appreciated the fact that they were a cosponsor of these talks.
    Press Secretary Myers. Two more questions.
    The President. Brit [Brit Hume, ABC News].

Whitewater Investigation

    Q. Do you and Mrs. Clinton still stand by the conclusions of the so-
called Lyons report on your real estate investment in Whitewater, or are 
you uncomfortable with those findings?
    The President. Look, I don't have anything else to say about that 
right now. We are cooper-


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ating fully with the Special Counsel, which is what all of you asked me 
to do. I wish you'd let them do their work.
    Yes.

Middle East Peace Process

    Q. Mr. President, do you think that Jews should exercise their right 
to reside in the middle of Arab cities? And Mr. Prime Minister, could 
you also respond to that?
    The President. What was the question?
    Q. Should Jews exercise their right to reside in the middle of Arab 
cities in the West Bank? Should they live in Hebron, for instance?
    Prime Minister Rabin. I don't understand the question.
    Q. Well, there were ideas of evacuating Jews from the middle of 
Hebron, for instance.
    Prime Minister Rabin. Again, as part of the DOP that we signed with 
the PLO, it is said very clearly that the settlements remain there for 
the period of--the interim period. I'm not saying it. It is written very 
clearly in the DOP. Therefore, since it was agreed, I don't see at this 
stage as a condition for anything even to discuss this issue.

Ames and Pollard Espionage Cases

    Q. Mr. President, I wonder if you could tell us, and Mr. Prime 
Minister, the extent to which you've discussed the Jonathan Pollard case 
again, and how much, if at all, the Ames investigation has interfered 
with action on it that was presented as imminent several months ago.
    The President. We did not discuss it. And the Ames case has not 
interfered with it inasmuch as the Pollard case is already in the hands 
of the Justice Department, and the White House is awaiting a 
recommendation from the Justice Department.
    Thank you.
    Q. Could you let the Prime Minister answer?
    Prime Minister Rabin. In today's meeting the issue was not brought 
up.
    The President. Thank you.

Note: The President's 53d news conference began at 1:11 p.m. in the East 
Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to President Hafiz 
al-Asad of Syria.