[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 3 (Monday, January 22, 2001)]
[Pages 198-199]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Open Letter to the Palestinian People

January 19, 2001

Open Letter to the Palestinian People:

     On Saturday, January 20th at the stroke of noon, I will step down 
as President of the United States. As I look back upon my eight

[[Page 199]]

years in office, the experiences I have had and the lessons I have 
learned, one will stand out: my visit to Gaza, the first ever by a U.S. 
President. I will never forget what it taught me about your suffering, 
your history of dispossession and dispersal, but also about your 
resilience and courage. I said at the time that the Palestinian people 
should be able to determine their own future on their own land and I 
believe that as strongly now as I did then.
    These past eight years have not been easy ones for you. You face 
daily humiliations; you must struggle simply to find a job; worst of 
all, you continue to see too many children grow up in poverty. Peace, it 
is true, has not yet born its fruits. And so I understand the 
disillusionment, the frustration, even the anger.
     But do not lose sight of what you have achieved: The ability to 
govern yourselves, to elect your leaders, to build your institutions. As 
one who has seen you and Chairman Arafat work so hard to achieve your 
goals, allow me to say this: now is not the time to heed the voices of 
revenge and desperation, for they produce only bloodshed and death. 
Nothing you have accomplished has been accomplished through violence and 
nothing will be. It will only be accomplished through peace and 
negotiations. Now, more than ever, is the time for courageous 
leadership.
     For courage is not only, or even mainly, measured in struggle. It 
is measured in the ability to seize historic opportunities. Today, it is 
that other form of courage that is being tested. Never have you been as 
close to achieving your goals--regaining your land, establishing a 
state, building a prosperous future for your children. There will always 
be those sitting comfortably on the outside urging you to hold out for 
the impossible more. But they are not the ones whose refugees will 
continue to languish in crowded camps. You are. They are not the ones 
whose children will grow up in poverty. You are. They are not the ones 
who will pay the price of missing a historic opportunity. You are. At 
Oslo, your leaders--and principally Chairman Arafat--demonstrated the 
courage needed to take the first historic step toward peace. By taking 
the final one, you will be able to fully realize your God-given 
potential and to pass on even brighter possibilities to your children.
     For my part, I remain convinced that despite these difficult and 
often tragic days, both you and your Israeli partners will find a way to 
move from the logic of war and confrontation to the logic of peace and 
cooperation. And that, together, you will bring peace to this Holy land, 
sacred to Moslems, Jews, and Christians alike.
                                            William J. Clinton

Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of 
this letter.