Combating threats to peace in the Middle East - joint statements from President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Warren Christopher and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin - Transcript

US Department of State Dispatch, Oct 24, 1994

The responsibility for the tragic death of Corporal Wachsman and his Israeli comrade rests squarely on Hamas. The killers of Hamas place no value on human life. Their only objective is to intimidate, to terrorize, and to kill. Once again, Hamas has shown it has no place in the civilized world.

There can be no compromise with these killers. We can never surrender or turn a blind eye to their terror. The United States stands side by side with Israel and all those who seek to give terror no quarter.

Hamas's efforts to kill the peace process are first and foremost a threat to Israelis and Palestinians and their process of reconciliation. Palestinians are building institutions of self-government, and there can be no place for the proponents of terror in the new society they are creating. I stressed this point today with Chairman Arafat and urged him to do everything in his power to accomplish it, and he said he would.

Palestinians and Israelis need our help in this struggle. Countries throughout the region and the international community must take steps to fight Hamas by shutting down its operations and its sources of funding. Terrorism knows no borders, and eliminating it must be a collective responsibility of the international community.

We cannot allow Hamas and the enemies of peace to destroy the remarkable progress we have made. The Middle East is in a process of transformation. The future is one of hope, and we will not permit terrorism to stop it.

Again, I want to express my deepest sympathies to Corporal Wachsman's parents and family. My thoughts and prayers are with them at this very sad and difficult time.

Secretary Christopher, Prime Minister Rabin

Remarks following a meeting at the Ministry of Defense, Tel Aviv, Israel, October 13, 1994.

Prime Minister Rabin. Mr. Secretary, your colleagues: We welcome you again on your visit to Israel. As I told you on several occasions, we appreciate very much your efforts, your contribution to the peace process--to what has been achieved and to what is needed to be achieved. No doubt, your efforts helped us so far and no doubt will continue to help us in solving the problems, removing the obstacles, and reaching comprehensive peace. In our talks today, the first issue, of course, was the terrible event carried out by the Hamas of kidnaping an Israeli soldier and bringing him--in accordance to our information--to Gaza and holding him as a hostage, and I explained Israel's policy to the Secretary. We see the Palestinian Authority and its leader, Chairman Arafat, responsible for the well-being, life, and the safe return of Nachshon Wachsman to his family and to Israel.

In accordance with the implementation of the Declaration of Principles--the way it was formulated in the Cairo Agreement--the Palestinian Authority and its leader, Chairman Arafat, have received a certain area that comes under their control. I refer to the Gaza Strip and Jericho, and they are responsible for what is done or is not done there. Therefore, for us, they are the address to make sure that the soldier be kept alive and returned alive to Israel. I described the severe consequences, if this does not happen, to the continuation of the implementation of the Declaration of Principles between the Palestinians and Israel. We negotiate with every Arab partner in the context of the Madrid peace conference on the merits of the bilateral issues. Therefore, this issue is related only to the continuation of the negotiations and the implementation of the Declaration of Principles between us and the Palestinians and will not affect our progress with Jordan and hopeful progress with Syria and Lebanon.