[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.