[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 41 (Monday, October 13, 1997)]
[Pages 1508-1510]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Prior to Discussions With President Ezer Weizman of Israel and 
an Exchange With Reporters

October 7, 1997

Middle East Peace Process

    President Clinton. Good morning, everyone. I'm delighted to have 
President Weizman here, and we had a nice dinner last evening, and we're 
going to have further talks today about what we can do in the United 
States to further the peace process. And certainly we are grateful for 
all that he has done as President and throughout his entire career. It's 
a great honor to have you here.
    President Weizman. Thank you very much.
    President Clinton. Thank you.

Jonathan Pollard Espionage Case

    Q. Mr. President, thank you. In light of the recent swap between 
Israel and Jordan, there has also been talk raised again about Jonathan 
Pollard. I was wondering if you believe justice was served when he 
received his life sentence, and do you believe he will spend his life 
sentence in prison?
    And to President Weizman, will you be raising this issue today with 
the President?
    President Weizman. You were talking too fast. What did you say?
    Q. The question of Jonathan Pollard--will you be raising it with 
President Clinton today?
    President Weizman. It's always in our minds.
    Q. Mr. President?
    President Clinton. Well, I receive--when Mr. Pollard applies for 
clemency, I receive recommendations from both my Justice and National 
Security Advisers, and I take into account what they recommend, and then 
I take action. And that's what I'll do if it comes up again.

Assassination Attempt on Khaled Meshal

    Q. Good morning. Thank you, Mr. President. What is your reaction to 
the attempted assassination attempt in Jordan and Mr.

[[Page 1509]]

Netanyahu's apparent contention that it was a legitimate tool of 
government?
    President Clinton. The United States law is different on that, and 
our policy is different on this. I believe that, certainly for us, we 
have the right law. We don't--it's illegal for the United States 
Government to engage in assassination attempts. But I think that it's 
very important for countries to fight terrorism. I think that Israel's 
struggle against terrorism is important, but it's also important to 
consider the consequences on people who are your allies of whatever 
actions you take.
    I think the important thing now for me is to try to get this peace 
process back on track. That's really the only way to ultimately get rid 
of terrorist problems in the Middle East. We've got to keep doing that. 
And then we can all--have all governments working together against 
terrorists.

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

    Q. President Clinton, can I ask you a question?
    President Clinton. Let me first say that we are profoundly honored 
to have President Weizman here. We are grateful for his visit and for 
his work for peace as President and for, indeed, his entire career. I've 
looked forward to this for a long time. We had a grand dinner last 
night, and I'm looking forward to our visit.
    Please ask your question.
    Q. What do you think about this Israeli failed assassination attempt 
in Jordan?
    President Clinton. I believe that it's important to fight terrorism, 
but I think it's important to consider in the fight the consequences on 
all your allies in that fight and what the ultimate conclusions will be. 
The people that are involved have dealt with it as best they could, and 
so I think the important thing for me now is to get the peace process 
back on track and to go forward.
    American law is very different, you know. We don't--it's against the 
law in America for the Government to promote any kind of assassination, 
and I agree with that for us. But I think the most important thing for 
me is to get this peace process back on track.

Middle East Peace Process

    Q. Mr. President, I understand that you were considering last night 
the possibility of inviting both Prime Minister Netanyahu and Chairman 
Arafat to a 2-month summit at the North Pole? [Laughter] Is it on the 
agenda?
    President Clinton. You got a good leak. Let me say what I said last 
night. I said that I would go anywhere or do anything that I thought 
would be most effective in promoting the peace process, and if I thought 
it would help I would get parkas for all of us and we could all go to 
the North Pole and stay there until we had a peace agreement. And I will 
reiterate that in public.
    But what we are going to discuss today, and what I am continually 
assessing, is what is the best way for the United States to promote the 
peace process, without pretending that we're a party that can make the 
peace, and what is the most effective thing for us to do.
    But what I said was that I would do anything, including go to the 
North Pole, if I thought it would help make peace, and I will reiterate 
that in public. I would do that. At least it would cool things down. 
[Laughter]
    Q. Are you optimistic about the peace process? Because people in the 
Middle East are not.
    President Clinton. In a funny way, sometimes when things get really 
bad, they have a way of getting everyone's attention about the bigger 
issues. And it may be that some of the difficulties of the last 6 months 
will create an environment where everyone is more aware of the ultimate 
consequences. And perhaps we can therefore actually have a chance to get 
it back on track that is greater than the chance we've had for the last 
several months. I just hope so.
    Thank you. We need to visit.

Note: The President spoke at 10:48 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu 
of Israel and Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority. A 
tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.

[[Page 1510]]