    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [March 13, 1996]
    [Pages 436-437]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Opening of the Summit of the Peacemakers in
    Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt
    March 13, 1996

        Thank you very much. President Mubarak, Your Majesties, Your
    Highnesses, heads of state, heads of government, Foreign Ministers, and
    Mr. Secretary-General.
        I'd like to begin by thanking President Mubarak for his
    extraordinary efforts in the last few days to convene this meeting, to
    host us here, and to make us feel welcome. I thank President Yeltsin, my
    distinguished cosponsor of the peace process, and all the rest of you
    who have come so far on such short notice to this very important
    meeting.
        From all around the world we have come to the Sinai to deliver one
    simple, unified message: Peace will prevail. This summit is
    unprecedented in the history of the Middle East. It would have been
    inconceivable just a few short years ago. It stands as proof and promise
    that this region has changed for good. Leaders from Israel and the Arab
    world, from Europe, from Asia, from North America, 29 of us, shoulder-
    to-shoulder, joined in support of peace. We have gathered before to
    celebrate new milestones in our journey; today we join in common defense
    against those who would turn us back. We are here because we know what
    is at stake.
        In the 18 years since Egypt and Israel made a miracle at Camp David,
    Israelis and Arabs have changed the course of history in their lands.
    Step by step, courageously they have broken with the past, laying down
    the arms of war and opening their arms to one another. But with every
    milestone passed along the road of peace and progress, the enemies of
    peace have grown more desperate and more depraved. They know they cannot
    compete in the marketplace of ideas; they know they have nothing to
    offer but hardship and despair. And so they resort to murderous attacks
    that are an affront to the civilized world and to the moral precepts
    that lie at the core of the three faiths represented here, as President
    Mubarak has so eloquently stated.
        In the busy streets of Jerusalem, Ashkelon, and Tel Aviv, suicide
    bombers launched a wave of terror to kill as many Israelis as possible:
    ordinary men and women riding the bus to work, families shopping for the
    holidays, innocent children in their Purim costumes, murdered for the
    blood in their veins. Our hearts go out to the people of Israel and to
    all the victims of these atrocities, which include also Palestinians and
    Americans. Many of the nations here today have experienced the nightmare
    of terror. Death does not discriminate among the terrorists' victims.
    Over the last 2 weeks, as I

    [[Page 437]]

    have said, losses were felt not only in Israeli but also in Palestinian,
    American, and Moroccan homes.
        The hard-won achievements of the Palestinian people are under direct
    assault. The merchants of terror would sell out their future and trade
    their dreams for despair. And Arab mothers and fathers who seek a better
    life for their children understand the enemies of peace have targeted
    them as well.
        Let no one underestimate the significance of our gathering here
    today. Today the wall of division we face is not really between Arab and
    Israeli. It is instead between those who reach for a better tomorrow and
    those who rail against it, between those who traffic in hate and terror
    and those who work for peace.
        To the forces of hatred and violence I say, and let us all say, you
    kill yourselves and others in the aim of killing peace. Yet today, as
    you see, peace survives. And peace will grow stronger. You will not
    succeed. Your day has passed. You have plowed the fields of hatred, but
    here we are coming to reap unity and new strength to defeat you and to
    keep the promise and hope of peace alive.
        We who have gathered in Egypt today are committed to the search for
    peace. Our very presence here underscores the depth of our dedication.
    But words and symbols are not enough. The world looks to us now for
    action, and we must direct our collective resolve in three specific
    areas.
        First, we must be clear in our condemnation of those who resort to
    terror. Violence has no place in the future we all seek for the Middle
    East.
        Second, we must reinforce our common search for a comprehensive
    peace. We must press forward until the circle of peace is closed. And we
    must work to bring the benefits of peace to the daily lives of the
    people here, for if people lose their hope in peace, the terrorists will
    have succeeded. This would be the cruelest victory of all, and we must
    not let it happen.
        Third, we must actively counter the terrorists with all the means at
    our command, combining our efforts tangibly and joining our strength to
    defeat their evil aims. Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian Authority
    are responding to that challenge. Each of us here must do our part to
    help them succeed in their mission. We know we cannot guarantee 100
    percent success, but all of us must demand of each other and of
    ourselves 100 percent effort. The danger we face is urgent, the
    challenge is clear, but the solidarity of the peacemakers will conquer
    the forces of division if we will resolve to keep that solidarity.
        We stand today as one not far from the mount where God gave the word
    to Moses, the law of humanity, tolerance, and faith that guides our way
    today. We are the heirs of that moral legacy whether we be Muslim or Jew
    or Christian. From many lands and many different traditions we come,
    today all speaking the language of peace.
        In the Bible we are told that when they were grown, Isaac, the
    patriarch of the Jews, and Ishmael, the patriarch of the Arabs, met but
    once. They came together at the death of Abraham, the father they
    shared, the father of both peoples. Today the descendants of Isaac and
    Ishmael have joined together in a spirit of rebirth to secure the shared
    promise of a life of peace for all the peoples of this region. Those of
    us who come here today to stand with them must not allow the forces of
    the past to deny them the future they seek, that we all seek.
        Let our charge go forth from the Sinai today: We will win the battle
    for peace.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:20 p.m. in the Orangerie Room at the
    Movenpick Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to President Hosni Mubarak
    of Egypt, United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali,
    President Boris Yeltsin of Russia, and Chairman Yasser Arafat of the
    Palestinian Authority.