    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [July 15, 1999]
    [Pages 1220-1224]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister Ehud Barak of Israel and an Exchange With Reporters
    July 15, 1999

        President Clinton. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am
    delighted to welcome Prime Minister Barak to Washington. As all of you
    know, he is the most decorated soldier in Israel's history. And as a
    soldier, as Army Chief of Staff, Interior Minister, and Foreign
    Minister, he has made immeasurable contributions to his nation's
    security and its emergence as a modern, thriving

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    democratic society, time and again taking on tough tasks and getting
    them done right.
        Now, as Prime Minister, he has put Middle East peace at the top of
    his agenda, telling his fellow citizens that Israel's triumph, and I
    quote, ``will not be complete until true peace, trust, and cooperation
    reign between Israel and its neighbors.''
        Mr. Prime Minister, if your mentor, Yitzhak Rabin, were here today,
    I believe he would be very gratified, seeing the leadership of his
    cherished nation in your most capable hands.
        For more than half a century, the United States has stood proudly
    with Israel and for the security of its people and its nation. Now, Mr.
    Prime Minister, as Israel again walks bravely down the path of peace,
    America will walk with you, ready to help in any way we can.
        As we have seen before here at this house, as Israelis,
    Palestinians, Egyptians, and Jordanians have come together, what at
    first seems unlikely, even impossible, can actually become reality when
    the will for peace is strong. America will help as you move forward, as
    you put implementation of the Wye River agreement back on course, as you
    work for a final status agreement, as you seek to widen the circle of
    peace to include Syria and Lebanon and to revitalize talks among Israel
    and the Arab world to solve regional problems and build a prosperous
    common future. I look forward to our meeting and to strengthening the
    bonds between Israel and the United States.
        First, Mr. Prime Minister, again, welcome. The podium is yours.
        Prime Minister Barak. Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, I came
    here as a messenger of the people of Israel who have called for change
    and renewal, and I am determined to bring about change and renewal. I
    and the people of Israel attach great importance to the relations with
    the United States, its friendship and support, and its invaluable
    contribution to the peace process. The United States has always been
    true and tried friend of Israel, and President Clinton personally has
    played an important role in changing the Middle East landscape.
        I came to Washington following a series of talks with a number of
    Middle East leaders. I assured them that we would work as partners with
    mutual trust in order to overcome all the challenges and complications
    that are still awaiting us down the street.
        We agreed that we need to abide by the previous agreements signed by
    all parties, including the Wye accords. It is our intention to inject
    new momentum into the peace process and to put it back on all tracks.
    For this, we need American leadership and support all along the way.
        Mr. President, we are on the threshold of the 21st century and the
    third millennium. Mothers, fathers, and children all across the Middle
    East yearn for the dawn of a new era. They expect us to provide them
    with a better and safer future. We cannot let their hopes down.
    Together, as partners in the search for peace, we can help transform the
    Middle East from an area of confrontation and enmity to a region of
    peace, security, and prosperity.
        I look forward to all my meetings here, and I hope that this visit
    will usher in a new era in the peace process and further deepen
    American-Israeli relations.
        Thank you very much.
        Q. Mr. Prime Minister----
        Q. Mr. President----
        President Clinton. Let me tell you--here's what we'll do. We'll take
    a couple of questions from the Americans and a couple of questions from
    the Israelis, but we'll start with a question from the American press.
        Sam [Sam Donaldson, ABC News].

    U.S. Role in Middle East Peace Process

        Q. Mr. Prime Minister, when you say as you did the other day, words
    to the effect that the United States perhaps should step back somewhat
    and let the parties do more of the work, what do you mean by that?
        And, Mr. President, how would that change U.S. involvement in the
    process?
        Prime Minister Barak. I think that the United States can contribute
    to the process more as facilitator than as a kind of policeman, judge,
    and arbitrator at the same time. This was the tradition when Yitzhak
    Rabin was leading the peace process, and I deeply believe that this is
    the right way to have the best kind of inference and the best kind of
    contribution that the United States can bring into the peace process.
        It is clear to all of us that without United States participation,
    contribution, and without the leadership that had been shown in the past
    by the President--and I hope will be shown in the future by the American
    administration--we won't be able to reach a peace. And I'm

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    confident that we'll find these resources and move forward towards peace
    that all our peoples are awaiting.
        President Clinton. I agree with what the Prime Minister said. I
    thought that the peace process worked best when we were essentially
    facilitating direct contacts between the parties and helping to make
    sure that there was a clear understanding, helping to make sure that we
    were there to do whatever we could do to, now and in the future, to make
    sure that it would work.
        We took a more active role, in effect, as a mediator when the bonds
    of trust and the lines of communication had become so frayed that we
    were in danger of losing the peace process. And I did not want that to
    happen, and I didn't think either side wanted that to happen. So we did
    what was necessary to keep it going. But, obviously, if there is a
    genuine priority put on this, there's a sense of trust and mutual
    communication on both sides--the people in the region have to live with
    the consequences of the agreements they make; it is far better for them
    to take as large a role as possible in making those agreements. And so,
    to that extent, I agree with the Prime Minister.
        Do you want to call on an Israeli journalist? Is there anyone----

    Visit of Prime Minister Barak

        Q. Mr. President, when you say that you are waiting for Mr. Barak as
    a kid that's waiting for a new toy, you don't think that by this remark
    you're making some kind of patronizing on Mr. Barak, that you want to
    play with him? What kind of game do you want to play with Mr. Barak?
        President Clinton. No, I don't think it's patronizing at all; it's
    just the reverse. What I'm saying is that the United States is a sponsor
    of the peace process. We have done what we could consistently for more
    than 20 years now through all kinds of administrations to try to advance
    the peace process. I have probably spent more time on it than anyone
    has, and certainly I've spent a lot of time on it.
        But my view is that we should not be in a patronizing role, we
    should be in a supportive role. We should do what is necessary to keep
    the peace process going. But you heard what the Prime Minister said. He
    said that the United States' role was essential, it was best if it
    worked as a facilitator. He has already gone to see all the leaders of
    the region with whom he must work, or many of the leaders of the region
    with whom he must work, which I thought was the right thing to do in the
    right order. So I was supporting the position that he took.
        Prime Minister Barak. Wolf Blitzer [Cable News Network], you are
    half American, half Israeli, so you get priority. [Laughter]
        Q. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. I think what the previous
    reporter, Shimon Shiffer, was asking the President--I don't think the
    President necessarily understood the question. Your comment at the
    Democratic fundraiser in Florida the other day, when you said you were
    as excited as a young kid with a new toy about the meetings that you're
    going to have with the new Prime Minister, which today have caused some
    consternation, headlines in Israel--that you were referring to the Prime
    Minister as a new toy.
        President Clinton. No, no--I see, yes----
        Prime Minister Barak. May I tell you Wolf, that I feel like someone
    who got the mission of diffusing a time bomb, and I believe that we are
    all under urgent need to deal very seriously not with a tricky
    interpretation of an innocent favorable statement but by looking into
    the real problems and focus on solving them.
        President Clinton. Yes, let me say, though--I didn't understand,
    you're right. Thank you, Wolf. That is--in
    English, what that means is that you are very excited. It has no
    reference to the Prime Minister. For example--[laughter]--I would never
    do that. For example, if I--no, no, if I were taking a trip to Hawaii, I
    might say, I'm as excited as a kid with a new toy--doesn't mean I think
    Hawaii's a toy, if you see what I mean. It means that--it's a slogan,
    you know. In American English, it means I am very excited about the
    prospect of the rejuvenation of the peace process. And that's all it
    means. I would never say such a patronizing thing, ever.
        So I thank you; thank you, Wolf. This is a
    historic moment. Blitzer helps me make peace with the press and the
    people of Israel. That's wonderful. [Laughter] Yes, now you get a real
    question.

    Middle East Peace Process

        Q. Mr. President, the Prime Minister has suggested that he's going
    to have to use up a lot of his domestic political capital in Israel in
    order to fully implement the Wye agreement. Would

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    it be wise to go right away to the final status issues and let them save
    some of that political capital for the tough decisions Israel is going
    to have to make down the road? Would you be willing to go along with
    deferring some of the agreements that were achieved at Wye?
        President Clinton. First of all, I'm not quite sure that's what he
    said, but I think that those kinds of questions ought--may be properly
    to be asked of us after we have a chance to have our meeting. But the
    problem is, we have--maybe we ought to let him answer it--but there is
    another party there, and they have their expectations. So maybe I should
    let the Prime Minister answer that.
        Prime Minister Barak. We abide by an international agreement, Wye
    agreement included. It had been signed by an Israeli freely elected
    government, by the Americans, and by Chairman Arafat. We are committed
    to live up to it. But there is a need to combine the implementation of
    Wye with the moving forward of the permanent status agreement. It could
    be this way: first Wye, then final status. It could be this way, but
    only through an agreement with Arafat after mutual, open, frank, and
    direct discussion.
        If we together agree, whether with the Americans and Arafat, that
    something could be made in order to bring those two elements together, I
    hope and believe that even the international press would not resist it
    very forcefully.

    Prime Minister Barak's Possible Meeting With President Hafiz al-
    Asad of Syria

        Q. Prime Minister Barak, you have met with President Mubarak; you
    have met with President Arafat; you have met with King Abdullah. What
    are the possibilities of a meeting between you and President Hafiz al-
    Asad?
        Prime Minister Barak.  We still wait to see. When the time comes, I
    hope we'll be able to meet. It takes two to tango. I'm ready; the arena
    is ready; maybe the dancing instructor is ready. We have to find
    opportunity and begin.
        President Clinton. Now, let me say that is not a patronizing remark
    toward President Asad as the Prime Minister's dancing partner.
    [Laughter]
        Helen [Helen Thomas, United Press International], go ahead.

    Israeli Settlements

         Q. Mr. Prime Minister, when do you plan to disband the heavily
    armed settlements in Palestine?
        Prime Minister Barak. I'm not sure whether I understood the
    question, so could you please repeat it?
        Q. There are more and more settlements being built around Jerusalem
    and so forth. Are you going to disband them?
        Prime Minister Barak. No. I'm not going to build new ones. I'm not
    going to dismantle any one of them. Israeli citizens live in them. They
    came to these places, almost all of them, through an approval of the
    Israeli Government. We are responsible for them. But the overall picture
    will be settled once we end the permanent status negotiation and
    whatever will be agreed, we will do. I believe in a strong block of
    settlements that will include most of the settlers in Judeo-Samaria and
    the Gaza Strip.
        Thank you.
        President Clinton. Thank you.

    Arab-Americans

        Q. Mr. President, many Arab-American organizations in this country
    are very skeptical about Arabs getting a fair chance in Israel, while
    Arab-Americans from Arab descent and from this country going to Israel
    having very harsh treatment. There are four people sitting in jail
    without due process. They are badly treated at the airport. Can you
    comment on that?
        Prime Minister Barak. I will answer. I'm ready to look into this
    problem. We have no intentions to humiliate or to intimidate any Arab
    citizens, be it Israelis, Americans, or of other countries. And I cannot
    respond directly to the story you are telling since I don't know the
    details.
        President Clinton. Thank you very much.

    Palestinian Right of Return/Location of U.S. Embassy in Israel

        Q. Mr. President, do you personally believe in the Palestinian right
    of return, even though your comments perhaps at the press conference
    with Mr. Mubarak might not reflect a change in U.S. policy?
        And to Prime Minister Barak, one issue here in the States has been
    the question of moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Jerusalem to Tel
    Aviv. Do you think that that has to happen? I'm sorry--from Tel Aviv to
    Jerusalem. Thank

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    you. Do you believe that that needs to happen now?
        Prime Minister Barak. Be careful about the directions. [Laughter]
        Q. Do you believe that that needs to happen now, or can that wait
    for progress in the peace process?
        President Clinton. Do you want me to go first?
        First of all, as you correctly stated, nothing that I have said
    should be interpreted as a change in United States policy. I do think
    there will be a general atmosphere when the peace is finally made which
    will be positive. That's all I said.
        On that question, the question you asked me, that is explicitly an
    issue stated for final status negotiations by the parties; that's part
    of the final status talks. The United States, as a sponsor of the peace
    process, has asked the parties to do nothing to prejudge final status
    issues. We certainly should be doing nothing to prejudge the final
    status issues. That is why I have had a consistent position on that, on
    the Embassy, on every issue. Whatever else we do, the United States has
    no business trying to prejudge these final status issues. That's what
    the parties have to work out in the final status talks.
        Q. But Mrs. Clinton has certainly prejudged them.
        Prime Minister Barak. As the Prime Minister of Israel, I would like
    to see all the Embassies from all around the world coming to Jerusalem,
    and we will do whatever we can to provide the preconditions for it. I
    feel that the essence of the peace effort that we are trying to drive
    forward right now is to bring within the shortest possible time a new
    landscape, political landscape in the Middle East that will make the
    whole question irrelevant; you will see all the Embassies together, side
    by side, in Jerusalem.
        Thank you very much.

    Israeli Astronauts

        Q. Mr. Prime Minister, is there going to be Israeli astronauts on
    the space station? Are you going to discuss this issue, and do you
    desire such?
        Prime Minister Barak. I like Israelis, especially Israeli
    astronauts. There is an officer, highly competent officer in our air
    force, and I would be more than glad to see him walking in space when we
    enter the new millennium, maybe in 2001 or 2002.
        Thank you.
        President Clinton. Thank you. We have to go to work.

    First Lady's Views on Middle East
    Peace Process

        Q. Mr. President, what about Mrs. Clinton? She's prejudged the
    issues. What about Mrs. Clinton's prejudgment, Mr. President? Tell us
    about Mrs. Clinton's prejudgment, sir.
        President Clinton. That's why Senator Moynihan's law is good; every individual Member of Congress can
    express a personal opinion, but because of the waiver, the United States
    does not have to prejudge the final status issue. That's good. That's
    the way the law is set up, and it's good.
        Q. Also, she's not President, is she?
        President Clinton. That's right.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:29 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. Prime Minister Barak referred to Chairman Yasser Arafat of the
    Palestinian Authority. A portion of the remarks could not be verified
    because the tape was incomplete.