[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 51 (Monday, December 21, 1998)]
[Pages 2473-2478]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's News Conference With Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu 
in Jerusalem, Israel

December 13, 1998

    Prime Minister Netanyahu. Mr. President, I want to welcome you and 
your entire delegation--the Secretary of State, the National Security 
Adviser, and your exceptional team--for coming here on this mission of 
peace and for your understanding of our concerns.
    We spent many hours in Wye River, and there and in our conversations 
this morning, I've come to appreciate and admire your extraordinary 
ability to empathize and the seriousness with which you examine every 
issue. Your visit here is part of the implementation of the Wye River 
accords.
    Now, this was not an easy agreement for us, but we did our part. And 
we are prepared to do our part based on Palestinian compliance. When I 
say that we did our part, you know that within 2 weeks we withdrew from 
territory, released prisoners, and opened the Gaza Airport, precisely as 
we undertook to do.
    The Palestinians, in turn, were to live up to a series of 
obligations in the sphere of security and ending incitement and violence 
and the repeal of the Palestinian Charter and in commitments to 
negotiate a final settlement in order to achieve permanent peace between 
us. I regret to say that none of these conditions have been met.
    Palestinians proceeded to unilaterally declare what the final 
settlement would be. Coming out of Wye, they said again and again that 
regardless of what happens in the negotiations, on May 4th of 1999, they 
will unilaterally declare a state, divide Jerusalem, and make its 
eastern half the Palestinian capital. This is a gross violation of the 
Oslo and Wye accords, which commit the parties to negotiate a mutually 
agreed final settlement.
    Mr. Arafat and the Palestinian Authority must officially and 
unequivocally renounce this attempt. I think no one can seriously expect 
Israel to hand over another inch of territory unless and until such an 
unambiguous correction is made.
    I said that there are other violations. The Palestinians, I'm 
afraid, began a campaign of incitement. At Wye, as those who are here 
well know, we agreed to release Palestinian prisoners but not terrorists 
with blood on their hands or members of Hamas who are waging war against 
us. No sooner did we release the agreed number of prisoners in the first 
installment that the Palestinian Authority refused to acknowledge what 
they agreed to at Wye. Falsely charging Israel with violating the 
prisoner release clause, Palestinian leaders openly incited for violence 
and riots, which culminated in a savage near-lynching of an Israeli 
soldier. And the Palestinian Authority organized other violent 
demonstrations. Therefore, the Palestinian Authority must stop 
incitement and violence at once, and they must do so fully and 
permanently.
    There has also been some downgrading on parts of the security 
cooperation between us, and the Palestinian Authority must restore

[[Page 2474]]

this cooperation again, fully and permanently. They must live up to 
their other obligations in the Wye agreement in the fields of weapons 
collections, illegal weapons collections, reducing the size of their 
armed forces, and the like.
    Now, I stress that none of these are new conditions. All are 
integral parts of the Wye and Oslo agreements to which we are committed. 
We hope that tomorrow the Palestinian Authority will once and for all 
live up to at least one of their obligations. And if the PNC members 
will vote in sufficient numbers to annul the infamous Palestinian 
Charter, that will be a welcome development. And it's important, 5 years 
after the promise to do so at Oslo, to see this happen, would be a 
welcome and positive development.
    I think this is--it's just as important to see strict adherence to 
the other obligations in order to reinject confidence into the peace 
process and to get this process moving again, where Israel will also do 
its part.
    Mr. President, I'm sure that we can achieve peace between 
Palestinians and Israelis if we stand firm on Palestinian compliance. I 
very much hope that you will be able to persuade the Palestinians what I 
know you deeply believe and I believe, that violence and peace are 
simply incompatible. Because, ultimately, what is required is not merely 
a checklist of correcting Palestinian violations but, I think, a real 
change of conduct by the Palestinian leadership. And they must 
demonstrate that they have abandoned the path of violence and adopted 
the path of peace. For us to move forward, they must scrupulously adhere 
to their commitments under the Wye agreement, on which we have all 
worked so hard.
    And may I say, on a personal and national note and international 
note, that if there's anyone who can help bring the peace process to a 
satisfactory conclusion, it is you, President Clinton. Your devotion to 
this cause, your perseverance, your tireless energy, your commitment 
have been an inspiration to us all. May it help us restore peace and 
hope to our land and to our peoples.
    President Clinton. Thank you very much, Prime Minister. I thank you 
for your statement and for your warm welcome. I would say to the people 
of Israel, I was told before I came here that no previous Presidents had 
ever visited Israel more than once, and this is my fourth trip here. I 
may be subject to tax assessment if I come again in the next 2 years, 
but I am always pleased to be here.
    I want to thank you, also, and the members of your team, for the 
exhausting effort which was made at Wye over those 9 days, the time we 
spent together, the sleepless nights, and the extraordinary effort to 
put together a very difficult, but I think sound, agreement.
    Let me begin by talking about some of the things that we have 
discussed today. We've had two brief private meetings: one, a breakfast 
meeting with our wives this morning, and then a brief private meeting, 
and then our extended meeting with our two teams. I want to begin where 
I always do. America has an unshakable commitment to the security of the 
State and the people of Israel. We also have an unshakable commitment to 
be a partner in the pursuit of a lasting, comprehensive peace.
    I have told the Prime Minister that I will soon submit to the 
Congress a supplemental request for $1.2 billion to meet Israel's 
security needs related to implementing the Wye River agreement. Only if 
those needs are met can the peace process move forward.
    At the same time, I am convinced, as I think we all are, everyone 
who has dealt with this problem over any period of time, that a lasting 
peace properly achieved is the best way to safeguard Israel's security 
over the long run.
    Last month, at the conclusion of the Wye talks, Prime Minister and 
Chairman Arafat and I agreed that it would be useful for me to come to 
the region to help to maintain the momentum and to appear tomorrow 
before the PNC and the other Palestinian groups that will be assembled. 
I also want to commend the Prime Minister for the steps he has taken to 
implement the Wye agreement which he just outlined.
    He has secured his government support for significant troop 
withdrawal from the West Bank and begun the implementation of that 
withdrawal, reached an agreement that allowed for the opening of the 
Gaza airport, and he began the difficult process of prisoner releases.

[[Page 2475]]

    The Palestinian Authority has taken some important steps with its 
commitments, a deepening security cooperation with Israel, acting 
against terrorism, issuing decrees for the confiscation of illegal 
weapons, and dealing with incitement, taking concrete steps to reaffirm 
the decision to amend the PLO Charter, which will occur tomorrow.
    Have the Palestinians fulfilled all their commitments? They 
certainly could be doing better to preempt violent demonstrations in the 
street. This is a terribly important matter. I also agree that matters 
that have been referred consistent with the Oslo agreement for final 
status talks should be left there and should be subject to negotiations. 
But in other areas, there has been a forward progress on the meeting of 
the commitments.
    Now, I know that each step forward can be excruciatingly difficult 
and that now real efforts have to be made on both sides to regain the 
momentum. We just had a good discussion about the specific things that 
the Israelis believe are necessary for the Palestinians to do to regain 
the momentum. And we talked a little bit about how we might get genuine 
communication going again so that the necessary steps can be taken to 
resume the structured implementation of the Wye River agreement, which 
is, I think, part of what makes it work. At least it made it work in the 
minds of the people who negotiated it, and it can work in the lives of 
the people who will be affected by it if both sides meet all their 
commitments, and only if they do.
    Each side has serious political constraints; I think we all 
understand that. Provocative pronouncements, unilateral actions can be 
counterproductive, given the constraints that each side has. But in the 
end, there has been a fundamental decision made to deal with this 
through honest discussion and negotiation. That is the only way it can 
be done. It cannot be done by resorting to other means when times get 
difficult. And again I say the promise of Wye cannot be fulfilled by 
violence or by statements or actions which are inconsistent with the 
whole peace process. Both sides should adhere to that.
    Let me also just say one other word about regional security. I think 
Israelis are properly concerned with the threat of weapons of mass 
destruction development, with the threat of missile delivery systems. We 
are working with Israel to help to defend itself against such threats, 
in particular, through the Arrow antiballistic missile program. We've 
also just established a joint strategic planning committee as a forum to 
discuss how we can continue to work together on security matters.
    We're going to take a couple of questions, I know, but again I would 
like to say in closing, Mr. Prime Minister, I appreciate the courage you 
showed at Wye, your farsightedness in seeking peace and in taking 
personal and political risks for it, which should now be readily 
apparent to anyone who has followed the events of the last 6 weeks. Your 
determination, your tenacity to build an Israel that is both secure and 
at peace is something that I admire and support. And I think, if we keep 
working at it, we can keep making progress.
    Thank you very much.

House Judiciary Committee Vote on Impeachment/Palestinian Vote to Amend 
the Charter

    Q. Mr. President, what is your reaction to the decision of the 
Judiciary Committee of the House yesterday? Do you intend to resign, as 
did President Nixon? And with your permission, one question to Prime 
Minister Netanyahu in Hebrew.

[At this point, a question was asked in Hebrew, and the translation 
follows.]

    Interpreter. Mr. Prime Minister, you have, to some extent, appointed 
Mr. Clinton to act as a referee between the Israelis and the 
Palestinians. He will appear tomorrow in Gaza where the decision of the 
committee will be to revoke its objection to the existence of Israel. 
What will you do if this decision is taken, and how will you react to 
issues facing you with the Cabinet regarding a no-confidence vote?
    President Clinton. My reaction to the committee vote is that I 
wasn't surprised. I think it's been obvious to anyone who is following 
it for weeks that the vote was foreordained. And now it is up to the 
Members of the House of Representatives to vote their conscience on the 
Constitution and the law,

[[Page 2476]]

which I believe are clear. And I have no intention of resigning. It's 
never crossed my mind.

[At this point, Prime Minister Netanyahu answered in Hebrew.]

    Prime Minister Netanyahu. If you can translate all of that, you're a 
genius. [Laughter]

[The Prime Minister's remarks were translated as follows.]

    Interpreter. In essence, we expect to see the Palestinian side 
revoke the Palestinian Charter. We also expect the Palestinians to meet 
their commitment to stop incitement. If, in fact, tomorrow the 
Palestinian Charter is revoked, we will view it as a success of our 
policy. What we merely expect is the Palestinians honor their 
commitments. And that's our expectation.
    Prime Minister Netanyahu. I would say that's a pretty good 
abbreviation of what I said. [Laughter] You have a great future as an 
editor. [Laughter]
    The President. We all need one. [Laughter]

House Impeachment Vote

    Q. Mr. President, how confident are you that you can avoid 
impeachment in the full House next week, and are you planning any 
particular kind of outreach additional to lawmakers or the public?
    President Clinton. Well, I think it's up to--it's a question of 
whether each Member will simply vote his or her conscience based on the 
Constitution and the law. And I don't know what's going to happen. 
That's up to them. It's out of my hands. If any Member wishes to talk to 
me or someone on my staff, we would make ourselves available to them. 
But otherwise, I think it's important that they be free to make this 
decision and that they not be put under any undue pressure from any 
quarter.
    Many of them have said they feel such pressure, but I can't comment 
on that because I haven't talked directly to many members of the House 
caucus, the Republican caucus, and I have talked to those--a few--who 
said they wanted to talk to me. Otherwise I have not. I don't think it's 
appropriate for me to be personally calling people; unless they send 
word to me that there is some question they want to ask or something 
they want to say, I don't think it's appropriate.

Middle East Peace Process

    Q. Mr. President, you said that now it's up to the Members of the 
House to decide----
    Prime Minister Netanyahu. May I ask a favor. You are free to ask any 
one of your questions, but I think the President has come here on a very 
clear message, on a very clear voyage of peace, and I believe that it 
would be appropriate also to ask one or two questions on the peace 
process. I would like to know the answers, too.
    Q. This would be exactly my second question. The first one is about 
what will happen Thursday if the Members of the House will decide about 
impeachment, if in this case, whether you will consider resignation. And 
second question, about the peace process, after all what you see now, 
after you hear the Prime Minister, don't you think you were wrong in the 
Wye memorandum, that you figured you'd get an agreement which both sides 
cannot comply?
    President Clinton. Well, the answer to both questions is, no. And 
let me amplify on your second question. No, I don't think it was wrong. 
Look, if this were easy, it would have been done a long time ago. And we 
knew that in the Wye agreement it would be difficult for both sides to 
comply. Actually, the first 2 weeks were quite hopeful. In the first 
phase, I think there was quite good compliance on both sides. And I 
think the Prime Minister feels that way as well.
    A number of things happened with which you are very familiar which 
made the atmosphere more tense in the ensuing weeks. And one of the 
things that I hope to do while I'm here, in addition to going and 
meeting with the Palestinian groups, including the PNC, is to do what I 
did this morning, to listen very carefully to the Prime Minister and to 
his government about what specific concerns they have in terms of the 
agreement and compliance with it and then try to resolve those and 
listen to the Palestinians, as I will, so that we can get this process 
going again.

[[Page 2477]]

    I find that when the parties are talking to each other and establish 
an atmosphere of understanding of the difficulty of each other's 
positions and deal with each other in good faith, we make petty good 
progress. But there is a long history here. And 9 days at Wye, or 2 
weeks of implementing, you know, it can't overcome all that history, 
plus which, there are political constraints and imperatives in each 
position which make it more likely that tensions will arise.
    But the fact that this has been hard to implement doesn't mean it 
was a mistake. It means it was real. Look, if we had made an agreement 
that was easy to implement, it would have dealt with no difficult 
circumstances, and so we'd be just where we are now, except worse off.
    We have seen in the first phase of implementation that good things 
can happen on the security side from the point of view of the Israelis 
and on the development of the territory from the point of view of the 
Palestinians--and the airport--if there is genuine trust and actual 
compliance. And so what we have to do is to get more actual compliance 
and in the process rebuild some of that trust.

Perjury and Censure

     Q. Mr. President, some Republicans want you to go further than a 
statement of contrition. They say that they want an admission of 
perjury. And you willing to do that? And what do you think about 
Chairman Hyde and the Republican leadership opposing a vote in the full 
House on censure?
    President Clinton. Well, on the second question, I think you ought 
to ask them whether they're opposed to it because they think that it 
might pass since, apparently, somewhere around three-quarters of the 
American people think that's the right thing to do.
    On the first question, the answer is: No, I can't do that, because I 
did not commit perjury. If you go back to the hearing, we had four 
prosecutors--two Republicans, two Democrats--one the head of President 
Reagan's criminal justice division, who went through the law in great 
detail and explained that, that this is not a perjury case. And there 
was no credible argument on the other side. So I have no intention of 
doing that.
    Now, was the testimony in the deposition difficult and ambiguous and 
unhelpful? Yes, it was. That's exactly what I said in the grand jury 
testimony, myself, and I agree with what Mr. Ruff said about it. Mr. 
Ruff answered questions, you know, for hours and hours and hours and 
tried to deal with some of the concerns the committee had on that. And I 
thought he did an admirable job in acknowledging the difficulty of the 
testimony.
    But I could not admit to doing something that I am quite sure I did 
not do. And I think if you look at the law, if you look at the legal 
decisions, and if you look at what the Republican as well as the 
Democratic prosecutors said, I think that's entitled to great weight. 
And I have read or seen nothing that really overcomes the testimony that 
they gave on that question.

Jonathan Pollard

    Q. What about Jonathan Pollard, Mr. President? What about Jonathan 
Pollard? Can you--[inaudible].
    President Clinton. Yes, I can. I have instituted the review that I 
pledged to the Prime Minister. We've never done this on a case before, 
but I told him I would do it, and we did it. And my Counsel, Mr. Ruff, 
has invited the Justice Department and all the law enforcement agencies 
under it, and all the other security, intelligence, and law enforcement 
agencies in the Government and interested parties to say what they think 
about the Pollard case, to do so by sometime in January. And I will 
review all that, plus whatever arguments are presented to me on the 
other side for the reduction of the sentence. And I will make a decision 
in a prompt way.
    But we have instituted this review which as I said is unprecedented. 
We are giving everyone time to present their comments, and I will get 
comments on both sides of the issue, evaluate it, and make a decision.
    Q. I would like to ask----
    President Clinton. What did you say? They're demanding equal time, 
three and three?
    Q. I just want to ask the Prime Minister----

[[Page 2478]]

    President Clinton. Oh, he wants to ask you a question. That's good.
    Q. Prime Minister, can you explain, perhaps to the American people, 
why you think Mr. Pollard is worthy of release at this point?
    Prime Minister Netanyahu. Jonathan Pollard did something bad and 
inexcusable; he spied in the United States; he collected information on 
behalf of the Israeli Government. I was the first Prime Minister--and 
this is the first government--to openly admit it. We think that he 
should have served his time, and he did. He served for close to 13 
years. And all that I appealed to President Clinton for is merely a 
humanitarian appeal. It is not based on exonerating Mr. Pollard. There 
is no exoneration for it. It is merely that he has been virtually in 
solitary confinement for 13 years. It's a very, very heavy sentence.
    And since he was sent by us on a mistaken mission--not to work 
against the United States but, nevertheless, to break the laws of the 
United States--we hope that, on a purely humanitarian appeal, a way will 
be found to release him.
    That is all I can tell you. It is not political. It is not to 
exonerate him. It is merely to end a very, very sorry case that has 
afflicted him and the people of Israel.

Note: The President's 167th news conference began at 1:50 p.m. in the 
Office of the Prime Minister. In his remarks, he referred to Chairman 
Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine National 
Council (PNC).