Jerusalem, 8 May 2001
I would like to thank you Howard for your words. I would like to
thank the Foreign Press Association, thank you for coming. I will
make some remarks, we call them headlines, and then if you will
have any questions, only if you do have I will be ready to answer
it.
You know from the last two months, I regard the National Unity
Government to be very very important in order to be able to
accomplish all those hopes that we have in order to be able to
contain and face all the dangers that we are facing.
I would like you to know that all of us are committed to peace.
For Israel peace is a natural and first choice. I am really sorry
to say that I am not sure that is the first choice of the
Palestinians.
I know that myself, I have been portrayed to be, maybe as a result
of my long time service in the Israeli Defense Forces or just
being a general, I have always been portrayed as a general looking
for wars. But I would like to tell you that myself, I am committed
to peace like everybody here in Israel. I had the merit to serve
in all the wars of the State of Israel, always in the hardest part
of those wars. I had the merit to command perhaps the best units
and formations of the Israeli army. I went through the ranks, I
could have seen it from every angle, and I saw all the horrors and
fears of wars. I saw my friends being killed in battles. Myself I
was badly wounded in battles twice and felt all those terrible
pains in hospitals. I had to take decisions of life and death of
others, and of myself.
Therefore, I think I can say that I understand the importance of
peace, not less, or I may say even better than, many of the
politicians who speak about peace, but never had that experience.
I saw all these things myself. But for me, peace is not an
election gimmick, peace is something serious that should last for
generations and peace should provide security to the Israeli
citizens in the one and only small country that we have -- where
we have the right and the capability to defend ourselves by
ourselves. For that we have to thank G-d every day. That, of
course, we have to preserve.
I don't have to tell you that we are deeply saddened by every loss
of life. And talking altogether about the Israeli armed forces, I
don't know any other military force, I would say, that has the
kind of moral values that we have. Maybe the Israeli armed forces
are the only real people's army. As I said, we are greatly
saddened by every loss of life.
Altogether, about the political developments, I see a two-step
plan. The first phase where we have to ease restrictions while
fighting terrorism -- not a reduction of violence but a total
cessation of violence. Then after calm is restored, we start
negotiations. We have no desire to occupy areas already given to
the Palestinian Authority. I can say that we have a burning desire
to reach peace.
No doubt, we believe that the Palestinian Authority must fight
terrorism. They made commitment to fight violence; violence will
not get them anywhere. I would like to tell you in a very frank
way we -- will not pay protection money. That is our position. We
don't have to pay in order to create a situation that we will not
be killed. That is not what we believe. We believe there should be
security, that is the first role of the Palestinian Authority.
They signed an agreement, that is what they signed, and that is
what they committed themselves to.
Looking backwards now, I don't think that the Oslo Agreement would
have been signed unless Arafat himself committed himself and
signed himself that he is responsible for that law and order, and
of course no terror or no incitement will be here. That is how we
see it.
I know that is a complicated situation, not an easy one. It will
not take one day, it will not take one month, and it will be a
long struggle. I believe in the strength of the Israeli citizens.
Of course, we have many goals that we have to achieve and I
believe that that is what we are going to do. Altogether I think
we can look forward with optimism and we see what we are doing in
the last one hundred years here.
I think that I must say that the Zionist revolution -- maybe it
was the greatest one - it may be the only true revolution that
took place in the last century, in the last one hundred years. We
managed to bring over here millions of Jews from all around the
world. We brought Jews here from 102 countries speaking 82
languages and all were integrated. It was not an easy task, but
all were integrated, they all speak Hebrew. We built here a
tremendous infrastructure -- from a very sophisticated industry to
very interesting farming. That I know, I am a farmer myself, that
I know maybe better than any other thing that I know. We have here
from the most beautiful music, which I am sure you have listened
to. We have here centers of research and science and a tremendous
infrastructure which we built here. Of course, when you see all
those achievements, I believe that we can look forward with
optimism. I think that one of the main goals of the government
will be to bring another million Jews in the coming ten to twenty
years to Israel. And by the year 2020 our hope is that the most or
the largest part of the Jewish people will be living here in the
State of Israel.
So, having all those hopes I believe that we can look forward, as
I said, with optimism. I am optimistic about the future of the
State of Israel. We are united and determined to meet the
challenges that lies of head. Of course, I believe the day will
come and we will have peace with the Palestinians and with the
rest of the Arab world with whom we have not signed yet peace
agreements.
Thank you.