    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [April 7, 1997]
    [Pages 396-397]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister
    Binyamin Netanyahu of Israel
    April 7, 1997

    Middle East Peace Process

        Q. Mr. President, how dangerous is the standoff between Israel and
    the Palestinians?
        President Clinton. Well, I think it's very important to get this
    peace process back on track. The Prime Minister is coming here at a very
    good time. As you know, he saw King Hussein the other day; I did, too.
    And I want to have this chance to spend an hour with him to discuss what
    we can do to get it going again.
        Q. Mr. President, will you be amenable to hosting a peace conference
    at Camp David, as the Prime Minister has suggested?
        President Clinton. Well, I think it's important not to jump the gun
    on that. The first thing we have to do is get the process going again.
    There is a preexisting process. There are a whole lot of agreements. And
    the Prime Minister has got some ideas about what we can do to get the
    substance working.
        Obviously, I've been heavily involved in this from the day I became
    President. I continue to be heavily involved, and I wouldn't rule out
    any reasonable opportunity for me to make a positive contribution. But
    we have to have the conditions and the understandings necessary to go
    forward. That's the most important thing, is to get the thing going
    again.
        Q. Mr. President, are the Palestinians entitled to a concession in
    order to make a statement against terrorism, the kind of zero-tolerance
    statement you want? Does Israel have to trade something for that, or is
    that just an obligation under the Oslo agreement?
        President Clinton. I think under the Oslo agreement and under any
    sense of human rights and human decency, we ought to have zero tolerance
    for terrorism.
        Q. Mr. Prime Minister, how was your visit with King Hussein?
        Prime Minister Netanyahu. It was very good. I wanted very much to
    see him. He had paid a visit to Israel under very difficult times and, I
    think, expressed his humanity and his concern for peace, and I wanted to
    come there. And I wanted very much to come here as well. It's always,
    for me, a pleasure to meet President Clinton. He is the world leader,
    who is also taking tremendous efforts and tremendous pains to assist us
    in the quest for peace with security. I think both of us see eye to eye
    on the need to fight terrorism, and we'll explore these and other
    subjects, I'm sure.
        Q. Mr. President, you've said that your role is to support Israel as
    it takes risks for peace. Has the time come to exert more influence or

    [[Page 397]]

    pressure, as some would say, to get certain concessions from Israel?
        President Clinton. I think the important thing is to create the
    environment in which the steps can be taken which will make peace
    possible. And one precondition of that, obviously, is the absence of
    terrorism; the other is the presence of a certain confidence on the part
    of both sides that peace is possible. And I think that I will do
    whatever I think is most appropriate to achieve that. But you all need
    to let us go to work here and try to get something done.
        Q. Thank you.

    [At this point, one group of reporters left the room, and another group
    entered.]

        Q. The Prime Minister said this morning that Israel will not pay
    with concessions for the right of not being terrorized. Just how badly
    concessions and gestures are needed now, or maybe the best one is a
    unity government in Israel to ignite and restart the peace process
    again?
        President Clinton. Well, of course, the form of government in Israel
    is for the people of Israel to determine and, in this case, for the
    leaders of Israel to determine, not for me.
        I agree that freedom from terrorism is something which no one should
    have to purchase. I think it should be--it's a precondition. We have to
    have a secure environment, and terrorism is wrong. Having said that, I
    think then the question is, how do we actually have an honorable
    negotiating process which will lead to a peace that the parties can
    fully and, indeed, wholeheartedly embrace? And that will require
    constructive steps. That's what we want to talk about today.
        But it shouldn't be ever seen as a bargain to be free from
    terrorism. No one should have to bargain to be free from terrorism. But
    we do need to continue the peace process in an honorable way that will
    bring it to an honorable conclusion.
        Q. Mr. President, what would be your position on the idea of having
    some sort of a Camp Clinton for the Middle East?
        President Clinton. Well, I think the important thing, if I might, is
    to get the process going again and to have some idea in the minds of all
    of us who are part of it about where we're going, an agreed-upon
    destination, and then to reestablish the confidence necessary for the
    parties to go forward. I think it's premature for us to commit to that
    until we can get this thing back on track again.
        I've been very active in this from the day I became President and
    deeply, personally committed to it and will remain so. So I wouldn't
    rule out anything. But I think it's important that we not put form over
    substance here. We need to know where we're going, and that's--I need to
    talk to the Prime Minister about that.
        Q. Mr. President, are you going to ask the Prime Minister to stop or
    to freeze the building in Har Homa near Jerusalem?
        President Clinton. I'm going to have a conversation with the Prime
    Minister, if I can end the press conference. That's what I want to do.

    Note: The exchange began at 12:05 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, the President referred to King Hussein I of
    Jordan. A tape was not available for verification of the content of this
    exchange.