Israel, 1996

Allow

me first, Sir, to congratulate Mr. Razali Ismail on his

unanimous election as President of the General Assembly

at its fifty-first session and to wish him every success. I

would also like to thank his predecessor, Mr. Diogo Freitas

do Amaral, for the outstanding manner in which he carried

out his duties.

The succession of Governments, which is a defining

principle of Israeli democracy, has recently brought to

power a new Government in Israel. A section of the

international community has deemed this democratic Israeli

choice impertinent, suggesting that it would work against

regional peace. In response to this prejudice I would like to

make a simple statement: Israel is united in its quest for

peace. It is not a question of good people and peace-seekers

on one side and mischief-makers and people who reject

peace on the other. In Israel, those on the left and right

converge in their quest for peace, their sensibilities and

differences notwithstanding.

I wish to raise the recent history of the Israeli-Arab

peace process in order to dispel any ambiguity regarding

the practice of peace in Israel and to show that the new

majority cannot be disqualified from efforts to achieve

peace. The peace between Israel and Egypt is a founding

landmark of coexistence between Israelis and Arabs. The

Madrid Conference, to which I had the honour of

contributing, also bears the special stamp of the pioneers of

peace, to whose achievements the new majority in Israel are

the direct heirs.

The firm commitment of the Netanyahu Government

with respect to the Oslo accords is also closely tied to the

peace process, which our immediate neighbours, Egypt and

Jordan, helped to shape. However, my Government’s swift

engagement in the peace process has been minimized,

reduced and distorted. The meetings that the Prime

Minister and the Minister of Defence of the State of Israel

and I have had with the Chairman of the Palestinian

Authority have been met with sarcasm and given only

secondary importance. Those meetings dealt precisely

with the substance and the content of peace. They

initiated the ways and means necessary for the

achievement of peace. They amplified the resonance of

the Oslo accords and extended mutual Israeli-Palestinian

recognition to new sections of society and Israeli political

classes. It is Israel’s determination to reach peace

according to the policies and fundamental guidelines of

the new Government.

On its road to peace, the Government of Israel is

guided by several principles, which I would like to

expound. For us, security is neither an obsession nor a

blind belief. It touches upon our very existence in a

region where, unfortunately, threats and instability still

rage. Security must be the cornerstone in the architecture

of peace. It cannot, under any circumstances, tag along

behind a process in which terrorism and violence have not

yet spoken their last word.

Negotiations themselves, through their joint creative

energies, allow us to control the dangers and drifts. The

battle against terrorism and its infrastructures and its

sources of financing and assistance is not only for us to

fight. We solemnly call upon the United Nations

relentlessly to pursue active cooperation in the struggle

against terrorism and in condemning it unequivocally. It

is imperative to preserve the Israeli-Palestinian peace

process free from violence.

I have just returned from the Washington summit,

held at the initiative of President Clinton. On behalf of

the Government and the people of Israel, I wish, from this

rostrum, to thank the President and the Secretary of State

of the United States for their exemplary contribution to

peace by bringing the parties together and for their

profound commitment to reinvigorating the peace process.

In this respect the role and contribution of the United

States remain of great importance.

On Sunday the Israeli and Palestinian teams will

convene again in an attempt to resolve their differences in

respect of the various agreements. We are responsible to

our people and to our whole region in this matter. We

must therefore display good faith and mutual

understanding in order to fulfil our mission, and to send

out the message of stable peace and lasting security.

12

The Washington summit reconfirmed the principles

and guidelines for the negotiations. I associate myself

wholeheartedly with President Clinton’s statement that face-

to-face negotiations in a constructive atmosphere are the

key to resolving problems. A future free of hostility and the

renunciation of violence: these represent the very basis of

mutual efforts for peace.

The choice is in our hands. Will we opt for

cooperation, progress, real peace and security? Or will we

revert to the dark days of conflict, confrontation and

violence, thereby putting an end to all hope? For its part,

Israel has chosen hope.

Another major principle in our search for peace is the

will of the partners to allow a tangible peace to exist.

Regional cooperation is a critical factor in ensuring peace

and stability. Israel entertains no dreams of economic

hegemony; it wishes to play its fair role in the creation of

regional cooperation. This is a basic principle of

normalization. Peace and normalization are one and

indivisible. Consequently, if we are to follow the logic of

peace and dialogue, we cannot risk having normalization

taken hostage and brought to a halt.

Israel makes no secret that normalization of its

relations with the Arab world must be fully implemented.

This means comprehensive political and economic relations,

and the broadest possible intellectual, cultural and spiritual

acceptance. Some of our neighbours still view Israel as a

body foreign to the region. Normalization must erase

forever the residue of this ideological negation.

Normalization is the indispensable cement for keeping

together the edifice of peace.

One of our immediate goals is the resumption of

negotiations with Syria on the basis of the Madrid

principles, which inaugurated the dialogue between the two

countries. We recognize Syria’s important role in the

establishment of lasting peace in our region. From this

rostrum, we call upon President Al-Assad to resume

negotiations.

As to Lebanon, we have no territorial disputes with

Lebanon. We are committed to its sovereignty. Lebanon

can be fertile ground for the restoration of confidence and

the building of peace.

Egypt and its President, Mr. Hosni Mubarak, are our

partners in peace. They are the authors and actors that have

always been engaged in all stages of the peace process.

Jordan is unquestionably a decisive factor in the

building of peace in our region. A man of peace and

dialogue, His Majesty King Hussein has actively

supported the peace process and has provided a vital

guarantee of continuity. The Washington summit enjoyed

his complete support.

On the long path to peace, the country of Morocco,

the country of my birth and family roots, has always

walked and illuminated the path of Israeli-Arab

reconciliation. The vision displayed by His Majesty King

Hassan II has left its distinctive mark on the entire Arab-

Israeli dialogue. The Moroccan King will continue his

essential role and breathe into peace the remarkable

inspiration of his solidarity.

I would like to pay tribute also to the active support

of Tunisia. Oman, Qatar and, more recently, Mauritania

have all helped to consolidate peace efforts.

The peace process has benefitted from the

considerable support of the co-sponsors, the United States

and Russia, and from the active and positive contribution

of the European Union and Norway and of Powers such

as Japan and Canada.

Once again, I wish solemnly to reaffirm Israel’s

irreversible commitment and determination to pursue the

path of peace.

Since the dawn of history our region has been a

meeting point of diverse civilizations and cultures, a

vibrant wellspring of progress for all of humanity. At the

crossroads of continents and countries, the Middle East

must, in times of peace, discover again the genius of this

place and the richness of its edifying civilizations. Arabs

and Jews must pool their knowledge and wisdom to

regenerate their vocation as the promoters of life and

humanity.

Through international cooperation, Israel is sharing

with young countries from Africa to Asia, from Latin

America to China, its achievements and assets in the

fields of agriculture, health and science.

We hope that the day will come when a regional

security system will be established in the Middle East to

provide a cooperative multilateral response to all security

problems. The advantage of this regional approach is that

it is based on direct negotiations between the States of the

region. The first stage is to build confidence, and

thereafter we must put arms control and disarmament

13

mechanisms into place. For this reason, Israel welcomed the

establishment of the Arms Control and Regional Security

Working Group as part of the multilateral talks. We hope

that in the future this framework will encompass all States

of the Middle East.

Israel’s position is defined by a dual mandate: to set

ambitious objectives, and to pursue them pragmatically and

realistically. After peace and reconciliation have been

established among all the States of the region, Israel will

endeavour to establish in the Middle East a zone free of

chemical, biological and nuclear weapons as well as

ballistic missiles. This demilitarization will be subjected to

rigorous verification.

Negotiations to establish such a zone will commence

following the signing of bilateral peace accords between

Israel and all the countries of the region. In the meantime

Israel will implement confidence-building measures that

will increase openness and transparency and, thereby, make

a contribution to easing tensions and preventing all armed

conflict.

We generally prefer regional security arrangements.

However, Israel is in favour of the implementation of

certain aspects of international mechanisms for arms control

and disarmament where appropriate. Accordingly, Israel

signed the Convention on conventional weapons and

adopted a moratorium on the manufacture and export of

anti-personnel landmines. It has also signed the Treaty

against the use of chemical weapons and now the

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Israel will

consider ratification of that Treaty depending upon

developments in the region, particularly the adoption of that

Treaty by the major countries.

Israel has thus demonstrated its determination to be

involved, whenever possible, in the efforts of the

international community to prevent the spread of

conventional and non-conventional weapons.

Israel strongly desires to be an active and fully-fledged

member of the family of nations represented in this

Organization. We note with regret and deep disappointment

that the question of our membership in a regional group has

still not been resolved. Israel is thus deprived of the right

available to all States Members of the United Nations to

participate on an equal footing in all its activities. This

impairs the principle of equality among sovereign nations

under the Charter of the United Nations. I hope that this

injustice will be rectified and that Israel will finally be able

to act within this Organization on the same footing as all

other Member States.

It is with the subject of Jerusalem, whose very name

is invoked in so many prayers for peace, that I wish to

conclude. Jerusalem is the cradle of the three great

religions. We reaffirm this status daily by respecting and

ensuring total freedom of worship and spiritual expression

for all believers. It is an entirely shared religious reality

to which Israel has made a profound contribution.

Jerusalem, the horizon of our dreams and prayers,

has throughout our exile and dispersions constituted the

summit of our collective being. Capital of Israel, both in

ancient and modern times, never has Jerusalem been the

capital of any country other than Israel.

Rarely if ever has any sovereign State been denied

the right to freely determine its capital. Israel, the people

of peace restored to sovereignty after 2,000 years of exile,

has returned to the city of peace, Yerushalayim:

Jerusalem. Thereby it demonstrates its unswerving

devotion to its ancestral capital to renew its psalm of

peace: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem”. We shall

tirelessly dedicate all our efforts to that search for peace.