The Israel-Arab Reader (99 page)

2.7 The Government will honor and implement the agreements which Israel has signed with the Palestinians, while, at the same time, insisting that the Palestinian Authority also honor and implement these agreements.

2.8 The Government will resume the negotiations with Syria with a view toward concluding a peace treaty therewith full peace that bolsters the security of Israel, grounded in UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and on the existence of a normal relationship between two neighboring states, living side by side in peace. The peace treaty with Syria will be submitted for approval in a referendum.

2.9 The Government will act toward bringing the IDF out of Lebanon, while guaranteeing the welfare and security of residents of the north, and aspiring to conclude a peace treaty with Lebanon.

2.10 The Government views Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority as important partners in the effort to establish peace in our region, and will conduct an ongoing political dialogue with each of them. The Government will also work to advance understanding and friendship, as well as the development of the economy, commerce and tourism between the Israeli people and the Egyptian, Jordanian and Palestinian peoples.

2.11 The Government will conduct an ongoing dialogue with the United States with regard to its positions on the permanent settlement. The dialogue will also relate to American political, economic and defense assistance to Israel. The Government will work to intensify the special friendship between the United States and Israel, and to continue and cultivate the strategic cooperation with the United States. . . .

3.1 Greater Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel, will remain united and complete under the sovereignty of Israel.

3.2 Members of all religions will be guaranteed free access to the holy places, and freedom of worship.

3.3 The Government will work toward the development and prosperity of Jerusalem, and for continued construction therein for the welfare of all its residents.

4.1 The Government views all forms of settlement as a valued social and national enterprise, and will work to improve its ability to contend with the difficulties and challenges it faces.

4.2 Until the status of the Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza is determined, within the framework of the permanent settlement, no new communities will be built and no existing communities will be detrimentally affected.

4.3 The Government will work to ensure the security of the Jewish residents in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, and to provide regular Government and municipal services equal to those offered to residents of all other communities in Israel. . . .

When the history of this century is written, some of its most illustrious chapters will be the stories of men and women who put old rivalries and conflicts behind them and looked ahead to peace and reconciliation for their children. What we are witnessing today is not yet peace, and getting there will require bold thinking and hard choices. But today is a big step along that path. Prime Minister Barak and Foreign Minister Shara are about to begin the highest level meeting ever between their two countries. They are prepared to get down to business. For the first time in history, there is a chance of a comprehensive peace between Israel and Syria and indeed all its neighbors. That Prime Minister Barak and Foreign Minister Shara chose to come here to Washington reminds us of one other fact, of course, which is the United States' own responsibility in this endeavor. Secretary Albright and I and our entire team will do everything we possibly can to help the parties succeed. For a comprehensive peace in the Middle East is vital not only to the region, it is also vital to the world and to the security of the American people. For we have learned from experience that tensions in the region can escalate, and the escalations can lead into diplomatic, financial and ultimately military involvement far more costly than even the costliest peace. We should be clear, of course. The success of the enterprise we embark upon today is not guaranteed. The road to peace is no easier and in many ways it is harder than the road to war.

There will be challenges along the way, but we have never had such an extraordinary opportunity to reach a comprehensive settlement. Prime Minister Barak, an exceptional hero in war, is now a determined soldier for peace. He knows a negotiated peace, one that serves the interests of all sides, is the only way to bring genuine security to the people of Israel, to see that they are bound by a circle of peace. President Assad too has known the cost of war. From my discussion with him in recent months, I am convinced he knows what a true peace could do to lift the lives of his people and give them a better future. And Foreign Minister Shara is an able representative of the president and the people of Syria.

Let me also say a brief word about the continuing progress of the Palestinian track. Chairman Arafat also has embarked on a courageous quest for peace and the Israelis and the Palestinians continue to work on that. We see new leaders with an unquestioned determination to defend and advance the interest of their own people, but also determined to marshal the courage and creativity, the vision and resolve to secure a bright future based on peace rather than a dark future under the storm clouds of continuing, endless conflict. At the close of this millennium and in this season of religious celebration for Jews, for Muslims, for Christians, Israelis, Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese, all have it within their power to end decades of bitter conflict. Together they can choose to write a new chapter in the history of our time. Again, let me say that today's meeting is a big step in the right direction, and I am profoundly grateful for the leaders of both nations for being here. We have just talked and agreed that it would be appropriate for each leader to say a few brief words on behalf of the delegation. We will take no questions in keeping with our commitment to do serious business and not cause more problems than we can solve out here with you and all your helpful questions.

We came here to put behind us the horrors of war and to step forward toward peace. We are fully aware of the opportunity of the building of responsibility and of the seriousness, determination and devotion that will be needed in order to begin this march together with our Syrian partners to make a different Middle East where nations are living side by side in peaceful relationship and in mutual respect and good neighborliness. We are determined to do whatever we can to put an end and to bring about the dreams of children and mothers all around the region to see a better future of the Middle East at the entrance to the new millennium.

. . . . Your announcement, Mr. President, was warmly welcomed, both in Syria and in the Arab world, and its positive echoes resonated in the world at large. That is because it promises for the first time the dawn of a real hope to achieve an honorable and just peace in the Middle East. And as you have mentioned in your letter of Oct. 12, 1999, to President Assad, the issues have crystallized and difficulties defined. That is why, if these talks are to succeed as rapidly as we all desire, no one should ignore what has been achieved until now or what still needs to be achieved.

It goes without saying that peace for Syria means the return of all its occupied land, while for Israel, peace will mean the end of the psychological fear which the Israelis have been living in as a result of the existence of occupation, which is undoubtedly the source of all adversities and wars. Hence, ending occupation will be balanced for the first time by eliminating the barrier of fear and anxieties, and exchanging it with a true and a mutual feeling of peace and security.

Thus, the peace which the parties are going to reach will be established on justice and international legitimacy, and thus peace will be the only triumphant after 50 years of struggle. Those who reject to return the occupied territories to their original owners in the framework of international legitimacy send a message to the Arabs that the conflict between Israel and Arabs is a conflict of existence in which bloodshed can never stop, and not a conflict about borders which can be ended as soon as parties get the rights, as President Assad has stressed to these meetings more than once before and after Middle East peace conference.

We are approaching the moment of truth, as you have said, and there is no doubt that everyone realizes that a peace agreement between Syria and Israel and between Lebanon and Israel would indeed mean for our region the end of a history of wars and conflicts, and may well usher in a dialogue of civilization and an honorable competition in various domains the political, cultural, scientific and economy. Peace will certainly pose new questions to all sides, especially for the Arab side, who will wonder, after reviewing the past 50 years, whether the Arab-Israeli conflict was the one who solely defied the Arab unity or the one which frustrated it.

During the last half-century, in particular, the vision of the Arabs and their sufferings were totally ignored due to the lack of immediate opportunity for them which conveys their points of view to international opinion. And the last example of this is what we have witnessed during the last four days of attempts to muster international sympathy with a few thousand of settlers in the Golan, ignoring totally more than half a million Syrian people who were uprooted from tens of villages on the Golan where their forefathers lived for thousands of years and their villages were totally wiped out from existence.

The image formulated in the minds of Western people and which formulated in public opinion was that Syria was the aggressor and Syria was the one who shelled settlements from the Golan prior to the 1967 war. These claims carry no grain of truth in them. As Moshe Dayan has explained in his memoirs, that it was the other side who insisted on provoking the Syrians until they clashed together and then claimed that the Syrians are the aggressors. Mr. President, the peace talks between Israel and Syria have been ongoing for the last eight years with off and on, of course.

We hope that this is going to be the last resumption of negotiations which will be concluded with a peace agreement, a peace based on justice and comprehensivity, an honorable peace for both sides that preserves rights, dignity and sovereignty. Because only honorable and just peace will be embraced by future generations. And it is the only peace that shall open new horizons for totally new relations between peoples of the region.

President Assad has announced many years ago that peace is the strategic option of Syria, and we hope that peace has become the strategic option for others today in order to have or to leave future generations a region that is not torn with wars, a region whose sky is not polluted by the smell of the blood and destruction. We all here agree that we are at a threshold of a historic opportunity, an opportunity for the Arabs and Israelis alike, and for the United States and the world at large. Therefore, we all have to be objective and show a high sense of responsibility in order to achieve a just and comprehensive peace, a peace that has been so long awaited by all the peoples of our region and the world at large.

The Security Council welcomes the report of the Secretary-General of 16 June 2000 (S/2000/590) ... [that] Israel has withdrawn its forces from Lebanon in accordance with resolution 425 (1978) of 19 March 1978.

. . . . The Council notes that Israel and Lebanon have confirmed to the Secretary-General, as referred to in his report of 16 June 2000 (S/2000/590), that identifying the withdrawal line was solely the responsibility of the United Nations and that they will respect the line as identified. . . .

The Security Council calls on all parties concerned to continue to cooperate fully with the United Nations and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and to exercise utmost restraint. The Council reemphasizes the need for strict respect for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon within its internationally recognized boundaries.

The Security Council, recalling resolution 425 (1978) and resolution 426 (1978) of 19 March 1978, calls on the Government of Lebanon to ensure the return of its effective authority and presence in the south. The Council notes that the United Nations cannot assume law and order functions which are properly the responsibility of the Government of Lebanon. In this regard, the Council welcomes the first steps taken by the Government of Lebanon and calls upon it to proceed with the deployment of the Lebanese armed forces as soon as possible, with the assistance of UNIFIL, into the Lebanese territory recently vacated by Israel.

The Security Council welcomes the measures taken by the Secretary-General and the troop-contributing countries relating to UNIFIL augmentation, in accordance with paragraph 32 of the report of the Secretary-General of 22 May 2000. The Council stresses that the redeployment of UNIFIL should be conducted in coordination with the Government of Lebanon and with the Lebanese armed forces. . . .

. . . . The moment of truth is close and I am prepared for it.

One hundred years of enmity and struggle meet at this point in time. We have buried too many; there has been suffering and anguish on both sides because of the unbearably high price not only for defeat but also for victory. The time has now come to put an end to the conflict, and to give our children the opportunity to flourish in peace.

The time has come to make decisions and to bequeath a better future for our children; a different reality from that of our generation and our parents' generation.