    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [March 14, 1996]
    [Pages 444-451]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Shimon Peres of
    Israel in Jerusalem
    March 14, 1996

        Prime Minister Peres. Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, under the
    administration of President Clinton, this is the fourth important move
    that took place in the Middle East. The

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    first was the agreement, the first agreement with the PLO; then the
    agreement with Jordan; then the second agreement with the PLO; now the
    fourth agreement in the Middle East to confront terrorism.
        Those are events that exceeds any normal political achievement. The
    Palestinian conflict looked like insolvable. The Jordanians were not
    quick at the beginning to make peace, and then it became a great
    success. Then we have encountered the danger to all these three
    achievements by the acts of terror. In my eyes, President Clinton is the
    first world leader that put on the agenda peace in our time as the major
    goal.
        If you look back at history, most of the time was spent on wars, on
    cold wars, on confrontations. It was a chance for the first time to
    escape all the bitter histories of blood and terror. And then we have
    encountered again another uninvited and unprecedented problem, how to go
    ahead with peace when you have acts of terror. I think yesterday a
    foundation was laid down to do both, namely to go ahead with peace and
    reject terror. I tell you, Mr. President, that in our eyes, you, your
    administration, the American Congress, have changed the whole destiny of
    the Middle East.
        The importance of the Middle East is not just because it has
    produced religions and Bible, the importance of the Middle East that, in
    our times, it is the first testing ground to take many conflicts that
    were so difficult to solve and try to solve them. If we shall succeed, I
    think it may serve as the model to other places.
        For us, President Clinton is really a great leader, but not less
    than that, a moving friend. He has a tear in his eyes when we go through
    a difficult period of time, and we have a tear in our eyes when we are
    listening to his reaction and involvement. Thank you very much, Mr.
    President.
        The President. Thank you. First, I would like to express my
    appreciation to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet for the meeting that
    we had this morning just before coming over here to discuss the
    situation with regard to terrorism and the recent bombings. We have
    decided that the United States and Israel will immediately begin
    negotiations to conclude a bilateral agreement on combating terrorism. I
    told the Prime Minister that the United States will commit more than
    $100 million to this effort.
        I am taking this step because I am determined that we must have
    every tool at our disposal to fight against extremist violence. Last
    night I sent to the Congress an urgent request for the first installment
    of this counterterrorism effort. I expect Congress to act quickly on
    this important measure.
        The agreement will strengthen our attack on terror in three
    important areas. First, the United States will immediately begin to
    provide Israel with additional equipment and training. Second, our
    nations will join together to develop new antiterror methods and
    technologies. Third, we will work to enhance communications and
    coordination between our nations, as well as other governments who have
    joined with us in the war against terror.
        In addition to what we propose to do under this agreement, the
    United States will also increase its intelligence sharing and
    coordination. At my direction, our Secretary of State, Warren
    Christopher, and the Director of Central Intelligence, John Deutch, will
    remain in Israel to speed the progress of this agreement. We must do
    everything we can to track down those responsible for the recent
    violence, and we must work to prevent them from shedding more innocent
    blood.
        The forces supporting peace and security are stronger than those
    that pursue destruction. We must prove that. Whatever effort it takes,
    whatever time it takes, we must say to them: You will be tracked down;
    you will be rooted out. The message of the pact to the people of Israel
    should also be quite clear: Just as America walks with you every step of
    the way as you work toward peace, we stand with you now in defending all
    that you are and all that has been accomplished. Without security, there
    is no peace. And ultimately, without peace, there can be no permanent
    security. Therefore, we are resolved to work with you until the day that
    Israel achieves peace with security. To give up hope for peace now or to
    fail to stand up for security after all that has been done would be to
    give the terrorists their victory.
        To speak of Israel is to speak of courage and character, to speak of
    strength in the face of decades of hardship and bloodshed. David Ben-
    Gurion once said, ``I have seen what a people is capable of achieving in
    their hour of supreme trial. I have seen their spirit touched by
    nobility.''

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        For those of us in the rest of the world, after the ordeal of these
    bombings we have seen once again the nobility that is Israel. As a
    result of the meeting in Sharm al-Sheikh yesterday, I have seen for the
    first time a broad-based commitment to making sure the noble people of
    Israel and the peace-loving peoples throughout this region may be able
    to live and work together against terrorism and for a peaceful future.
        Thank you.

    Israel-U.S. Security Relationship

        Q. Mr. President, you just announced the signing of an agreement
    between Israel and the United States about combating terrorism. I would
    like to ask you, will you consider positively the idea of signing a
    defense pact between Israel and the United States, and will you discuss
    this idea with Mr. Peres when he will come to the United States toward
    the end of April?
        The President. Well, first of all, the United States is committed to
    the security of Israel. We have long been committed to the security of
    Israel, and it is not a new event with my administration; it has been a
    bipartisan American commitment for a long time. And we are always
    looking for ways to improve the nature of our security relationship and
    the strength of Israel's security. We have, in fact, in addition to the
    announcement that I made today, a small group of people working on the
    question of what we should do next and where we should go with this
    relationship. The Prime Minister and I discussed it a little bit today,
    and I expect we will discuss it further when he comes to the United
    States in April.

    President's Visit

        Q. Mr. President, the opposition in Israel is quite skeptical, I may
    say even cynical about your visit here. They say you came mainly to
    rescue the Prime Minister before the coming elections. They say the
    conference in Sharm al-Sheikh will do nothing in order to prevent
    terrorism. What can you tell them?
        The President. Well, I don't want to put words in their mouth, but I
    came here because you have over 60 people dead in the last few days as a
    result of terrorism; because the United States is your ally and friend;
    and because we believe without an effort to reestablish security and a
    feeling of security, it will be difficult for the progress of peace to
    go forward. In addition to the Israelis who were killed, there were
    Americans killed, there were Palestinians killed, there were Moroccans
    killed. So that's why I came here at this moment.
        We put together the meeting in Sharm al-Sheikh along with President
    Mubarak because I felt that the time was right for other countries in
    the region and around the world to demonstrate to the nations here most
    affected, especially Israel, and to the Palestinians who have rejected
    terror, that they are not alone, that it's about time that other
    countries stood up and said, this is wrong, we're going to stand against
    it, and we're going to work against it.
        I do not interfere in the internal politics of other nations, and I
    believe that, at least if the American experience is any indication, it
    would be more of a hindrance than a help. This is a democracy; I respect
    the results of democracy here and at home. I came here because of what
    happened to you and because of our relationship with you.
        America stands with Israel in times like this and because we have to
    act to go forward. Now, nobody--let me just say this--nobody can
    guarantee to the people of Israel or the people of the United States or
    the people of any open, free nation in the world absolute protection
    against any terrorist act. We have been victimized by terrorism; the
    Japanese have been victimized by terrorism--essentially a very peaceful
    society. But we can do more to identify the sources of support, to try
    to dry up money, to develop better technical and other means to prevent
    things from happening.
        So there is no guarantee here. There are no guarantees in life
    against this, but we can do a lot better. And I've thought that the
    shock of the impact here was so great--not only in Israel, but in the
    other areas--it was high time we showed up and did more about it, and
    that's why I came.

    Antiterrorism Efforts

        Q. Mr. President, the type of terror attacks that have been going on
    in Israel have been going on for quite a while. Why hasn't something
    like what you announced today been done quite a while ago, and to what
    degree was the delay, if you can call it that, a result of opposition
    from within the Israeli Government?
        The President. Oh, I would say not at all, on the latter question. I
    think, frankly, we all thought that the effort--first of all, we have

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    been making a lot of extra efforts since, at least--I can speak for
    since I've been President. We have constantly tried to upgrade our
    capacity to deal with the problems of terrorism. And we have met with
    some considerable amount of success both in dealing with terrorism
    within the United States and in cooperating with our friends around the
    world.
        But what I think has happened is, I think that the impact of these
    incidents coming so close together and being so clearly directed at
    derailing the peace process and undermining those who want peace--
    primarily in Israel, but also among the Palestinians and in the region--
    has had such a shocking impact on other Arab nations and others around
    the world that we were able to put together this meeting at Sharm al-
    Sheikh in a hurry as a result of their changed sense of urgency. And if
    you listened to those--I know it was difficult for those of you who were
    there, particularly those of you who came from the United States with
    little sleep--but if you listened to those 29 separate statements
    yesterday and you compare that to anything that Arab leaders especially
    had said before about Israel or about terrorism, there was a remarkable
    shift there.
        And so I wouldn't say that we're just trying to do more now, and I
    think we have the capacity to do more. I also think it's obvious that we
    have to do more to support and insist on greater effectiveness in the
    Palestinian Authority. I think that's the other thing that hit home to
    everyone as a result of these events.
        Is there another question from an American journalist?
        Q. Mr. President, I'd like to ask you about Congress' handling of
    your antiterrorist legislation. Yesterday the House voted to delete a
    provision to ban foreign fundraising in the United States. Do you think
    this bill is on the right track?
        The President. Excuse me, would you--they voted to delete what?
        Q. Foreign fundraising in the United States. Do you think this
    weakens the bill? Is it on the right track? How do you think they're
    handling it?
        The President. Well, of course I think it should have passed months
    ago, and I don't know why it wasn't. We have a lot of resources to
    combat terrorism now; we would like some more. The bill had been
    transformed and things have been added to it that weren't necessarily
    urgent, but I'm very concerned that because of the hearings we had
    earlier in the year about some of the developments in the United States,
    I'm afraid there's a little too much domestic political considerations
    maybe in the debate of the antiterrorism bill and not enough focus on
    the global aspects of terrorism and how we need these tools to combat
    terrorists from abroad and what terrorists from abroad might do within
    the United States. That's the reason I put forward the legislation, and
    I would hope that Congress would focus on that and keep those two
    elements in mind in moving through this bill and passing a good one.

    Palestinian Territories

        Q. I would like to ask the President and the Prime Minister about
    the closure that could jeopardize the whole peace process according to
    the Palestinians' claim.
        Prime Minister Peres. Well, the closure is not aimed against the
    Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank. There are really, to answer, some
    security needs. The minute we shall overcome it, the closure will reach
    its end. We are trying very hard not to create any starvation or any
    suffering in the territories. This is clearly a security measure and
    nothing else.
        The President. To be fair, I mean, I think that's a legitimate
    concern. But that's one of the--that's clearly one of the objectives of
    the terrorists. And I think that's the point we were trying to make at
    Sharm al-Sheikh yesterday, that the Israelis and the people who are not
    only--the people who died, their families, their friends, this country,
    your attitudes, that's primarily the target of the terrorists. But
    they're also trying to get to the people in the--the Palestinians who
    would like to have a peaceful future. And so they know that if they can
    put Israel in a position of closing the territories as a security
    measure, they then have a chance to change the attitude of the
    Palestinians.
        So it's a deliberate attempt by them to make the Palestinians as
    miserable as possible. And in that sense the Palestinians are the
    targets of the terror as well; that was the point we were hammering home
    yesterday in Sharm al-Sheikh and why it's so important that Mr. Arafat
    and his administration do everything possible to cooperate with us in
    rooting this out so that we can keep the free flow of transportation
    open and so that they can enjoy their jobs and have access to food and
    do all the things that they

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    need to do, because if it becomes--look, countries are like individuals
    and families. If you have to choose anything over your continued
    existence, you will always choose your continued existence. Security
    will take preference. So these people are not stupid. They're doing this
    to provoke the reaction that they got. And we have to stand against them
    together.

    Terrorism

        Q. Mr. President, in an editorial this morning highly critical of
    Mr. Arafat, the Jerusalem Post makes the point that the bloodshed here
    would be the equivalent of killing 10,000 Americans over 31 months, and
    they further say that American people would not ``be pacified by the
    mindless platitudes'' that went on yesterday in Egypt. Your reaction?
        The President. Well, I think the--I do believe if you think about
    the American people losing 10,000 over 30 months, or several thousand in
    a matter of just 3 weeks, and if you compound that by saying that every
    American felt that that had happened within about 50 miles of where he
    or she lived--that's another thing you can't overlook, the density, the
    geographical dimension of this, so that every Israeli feels that this
    happened next door--that our people would be off the wall. They would be
    angry, they would be furious, they would want action, they would want
    what the Israeli people want.
        But I think if you look at the extent to which the terrorists'
    networks which are active in this area have mobility and have ties
    beyond Israel proper, beyond the Palestinian areas proper, it is wrong
    to say that the rather specific commitments that we got from those
    countries to work together to try to dry up their sources of support and
    move as one against them was an empty commitment. I showed up here today
    to say I will be the first, the United States will stand up first,
    here's our $100 million, here's what we're going to do with it, here's
    how we're going to work together. These are not empty commitments.
        It is not easy for democratic societies to defeat organized forces
    of destruction. The end of the cold war means that there will in all
    probability, and we hope, be less conflict among nation-states. There
    will be more conflict in the future by people who organize themselves
    for illegitimate means through terrorism and who try to access the
    dangerous weapons--traditional, biological, and chemical weapons--who
    try to use the forces of organized crime and the money they can get from
    drug trafficking to build a network of destruction, if you will, that
    can cross the boundaries of nation-states. I believe this is a problem--
    the Prime Minister alluded to this earlier--this is today Israel's
    problem, it's the Middle Eastern problem, but it will be the principal
    security problem of the future, and I think we had better get after it.
    And that's what we're trying to do.

    Israel-U.S. Security Relationship

        Q. Mr. President, would a defense pact between Israel and the United
    States limit Israel's ability to strike at Hezbollah for example?
        The President. Well, first of all, the decision has not been made,
    either in Israel or in the United States, to go beyond the agreement
    that we announced today and our clear, unambiguous, longstanding
    commitment to Israel's security, to maintaining its qualitative
    advantage in defense capacity. But the discussions that we have under
    way about what we can do from here on out obviously would have to
    encompass every conceivable contingency. And that's why I urge you not
    to jump ahead. We're going to really have serious discussions about what
    we should do to strengthen Israel's security and our relationship. But
    let's not undermine the impact of what we're announcing today, which
    will do just that. It's very important.

    Syria

        Q. Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, I have a question about Syria
    for both of you. First of all, Mr. President, you have on two occasions
    met with President Asad. You went to Damascus once, you met with him in
    Geneva once, even though the State Department continues to include Syria
    on the official list of countries that support terrorism. Syria's
    decision not even to send a representative to Sharm al-Sheikh must have
    been a severe blow to you personally given your courting, if you will,
    of President Asad over the past few years to engage in the peace
    process. How much of a setback will that be in terms of Israeli-Syrian
    negotiations?
        And to you, Mr. Prime Minister, you mentioned that Iran was a
    capital of terror yesterday, but you didn't mention anything about Syria
    and its absence from this conference yesterday. Can you continue
    negotiations with Syria at this point after President Asad decided not
    even to send a representative to Sharm al-Sheikh?

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        Prime Minister Peres. Well, both to the first question of the
    previous question and this one, let's take things seriously as they are.
        About the Palestinians--I'm referring to the editorial in the
    Jerusalem Post--yes, we can mobilize the whole of the Palestinians
    against us. It is very easy. We can take measures and steps and return
    to the time of intifada, push back the PLO to become a terroristic
    organization, or work gradually with all the pains from a majority of
    the Palestinians who support today peace to a complete support of peace
    by the Palestinians. We shouldn't submit to minorities.
        Now, frankly about Syria and Iran, there is a similarity because
    there are headquarters of terroristic organizations in Damascus. But
    there is also a difference. Syria does not call today, like Iran does,
    for the destruction of Israel. Syria is negotiating with Israel to look
    for a peace, which Iran refuses completely. So we didn't reach yet the
    necessary agreement, but we don't want to close all the doors. And to be
    fair I think what we have to do is to impress the Syrians with the need
    to depart from any support or shelter to terror and terrorism, but not
    to kill the future.
        And I agree that the peacemakers do have a much more complicated
    road to go. It's not black and white. It's like climbing a mountain; it
    is difficult, it takes time, you don't reach the peak in one jump. So
    what is necessary to retract we shall retract in clear terms, and I
    think we shall clearly make it known that we cannot support terroristic
    headquarters in Damascus or elsewhere. But at the same time and by the
    same token, we shall continue the peace effort. Our purpose is not to
    submit to terror, but to overcome it when it is necessary by force and
    otherwise by hope.
        The President. My answer to your question is I was disappointed that
    no Syrian representative came and I think it was a mistake, but I was
    not surprised because if you look at the pattern of all these
    developments since I have been President and indeed, before, President
    Asad tends to deal with these matters with people one-on-one. And to
    have Syria steer a different course, I think it was a missed opportunity
    for the Syrians and I wish that they had been there. But I do not
    believe that undermines the fundamental fact that the United States is
    committed to support Israel if Israel is involved in negotiations and is
    taking risks for peace.
        And as long as there are fruitful negotiations going on--we know
    there will never be a comprehensive peace in the Middle East until there
    is a resolution of the differences between Israel and Syria. We also
    know if those differences were resolved the capacity of the Syrians to
    help to live up to any agreement they might make and to create a more
    secure region is very considerable. So my position is that the
    negotiations should absolutely continue as long as Israel is prepared to
    be a part of that, and we should support that.

    Antiterrorism Efforts

        Q. With your permission, I would like to relate to a question I
    heard several times yesterday from different people. The question was,
    how can a conference like yesterday's persuade a person who's got a bomb
    strapped around his middle to turn it off or take it off or not set it
    off? I think they're asking, do you have any short-term answers for
    terrorism or are your solutions only long term?
        Prime Minister Peres. We have a collection of answers, not one--
    short terms and long terms. But you know, it's again a very simplistic
    way of putting the question. For example, if we can dry out the sources
    of finance to this man that goes finally with the bomb, will it help or
    not? My answer is yes. If we can stop the traffic of arms, will it help
    or not? It will, yes.
        I mean people are confusing; we are fighting on three different
    fronts in order to create one system and do it systematically. One is
    domestically, to increase our forces, to fortify our borders, to control
    the passages, and when necessary, to put a closure--instead of the
    conference in Sharm al-Sheikh. As a matter of fact, what is so
    interesting is that in spite of the closure and in spite of this
    measure, the conference in Sharm al-Sheikh took place. So even the Arabs
    understand that those were necessary measures.
        Then we have demands from the Palestinian side. We don't ask them to
    defend us, but we ask them clearly to have just one armed authority in
    Gaza to put order at home, that Gaza cannot become a headquarter for
    terror in other ways. And then, by the leadership of the President, we
    are organizing practically the whole world to stop the traffic of arms,
    the supply of money, the shelter to the murderers, the mobilization of
    the existing systems, police, or intel-

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    ligence, whatever it is, to cooperate and put an end to it, because
    terror is becoming an international phenomenon; it is also in a way
    global.
        So I don't understand all this criticism. I think people simply--
    those who criticize--didn't think about the question.
        The President. If I might follow up, if you had to answer the
    question the way you asked it, the answer would be no, no one can do
    that. But no one could have done that before this meeting, and no one
    can do that 6 months from now.
        I wish I had it in my power to reach into the hearts of those young
    men who have bought some apocalyptic version of Islam and politics that
    together causes them to strap their bodies with bombs and blow
    themselves to smithereens and kill innocent children. I wish I could do
    that. I don't pretend to be able to do that. But that's not the
    question. The question is, can we improve the capacity of Israel and of
    the Palestinian Authority to prevent these things from occurring? The
    answer to that question is yes.
        Second question, can we improve our capacity to break up the
    networks of money and materiel that make these things possible? The
    answer to that is yes. Can we create a risk-free world here in Israel?
    No. Can we reduce the risks and do much better? Yes. That is the way we
    should look at this and that is the focus we should take. You know, I
    couldn't do that in the United States. Is it less likely that someone
    could do what happened in Oklahoma City again in the United States? I
    think it is because of steps we have taken. Is it absolutely certain
    that nothing like that will ever happen again? No.
        As long as you have free societies where people have some ability to
    move, some right of privacy, some ability to transfer funds, and some
    ability to get access to materials that can be made into bombs, you
    cannot have a totally risk-free world. What we are trying to do is to
    reduce the risks, to reduce the likelihood of this, to prevent more of
    these things from happening, to catch more of the wrongdoers. That's
    what we're trying to do. We can absolutely do that, and that should be
    the focus.

    Iran and Saudi Arabia

        Q. Mr. President, I'd like to ask you specifics, two specific
    questions related to yesterday's conference. You met with all the
    European leaders privately. Do you feel you have an assurance from
    them--they last week had asked the Iranians to condemn terrorism; they
    didn't get what they asked for. Do you sense from them they're now
    willing to go forward and get tougher in their relations with Iran? They
    haven't really followed your dual containment program with the Iranians.
    Do you see this as a turning point in their policy toward the Iranians
    in your discussions with them yesterday, because people are looking for
    very specifics?
        Second, do you sense in your talks with the Saudis that they're now
    willing to turn off the spigot because they've allowed funds to go to
    Hamas? I just would like to know, I think the Israeli public would like
    to know, do you have a sense of assurance on specifics? Because the
    principles were set out, and you said in a month there will be this
    working group, but can you just give us a sense from these European and
    Gulf leaders what they are willing to do specifically? Thank you.
        The President. Well, I would have to give you two separate answers.
    To the first question, when I announced an even stronger policy against
    Iran last year, I think it's fair to say that the leaders, most European
    leaders thought I was wrong and disagreed with me. I believe now they're
    having second thoughts. And I received some indications--I think it's
    quite important that I not speak for them and go beyond what they're
    prepared to say in public, but based on my private conversations, I did
    believe that there was a change in attitude and direction in the minds
    of some of the European leaders with whom I met.
        With regard to Saudi Arabia, that specific question was not
    discussed, nor as you would imagine could the Foreign Minister discuss
    that on his own. We didn't have a bilateral meeting yesterday. But the
    thing I will say about it is that we know that the Middle Eastern
    leaders, the Arab State leaders are quite careful about what they say.
    And a lot of times the phrases and words they use carry a lot of
    historic either meaning or baggage, depending on the perspective you
    have, about what they say. He said some things yesterday that no Saudi
    leader had ever said before. So I am hopeful, but I had received no
    explicit commitments, because we didn't have a private conversation.
        On the European front I can tell you that I had the distinct
    impression that our view, which I think is the view broadly held in
    Israel,

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    I know it is, is making some inroads among the Europeans. I mean, you
    only--how many times does it have to be demonstrated to them what the
    facts are, and we are perfectly prepared to do everything we can to
    demonstrate to them what the facts are, and obviously we need their help
    if we're going to really keep turning up the heat on this issue.
        It is regrettable, but the Iranians are committed to supporting
    these terrorist activities and glorifying them, totally ignoring the
    progress of the last several years, totally ignoring the facts, totally
    ignoring what is happening. Now, that's just the fact. And every country
    in the world that deals with them is going to have to just wake up in
    the morning, look in the mirror, and decide whether they're going to
    stay with the policy they have or change it, and whether the policy is
    based on principle or some other basis.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President's 116th news conference began at 11:19 a.m. in the
    auditorium at the Jerusalem Convention Center. In his remarks, he
    referred to Minister of Foreign Affairs Saud al-Faysal bin Abd al-Aziz
    Al Saud of Saudi Arabia.