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| Homepage |  | Archive | | Speeches | | 2001 | | October | | Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's speech today to the special Knesset session marking the end of the week of mourning for the late Minister Rechavam Zeevy. |
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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's speech today to the special Knesset session marking the end of the week of mourning for the late Minister Rechavam Zeevy. |
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Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's speech today to the special Knesset session marking the end of the week of mourning for the late Minister Rechavam Zeevy. |
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| 24/10/2001 |
"Members of Knesset, just over one year ago, the Palestinians began a
campaign of violence in the midst of peace talks on a permanent
settlement - true, not with our government, but with a government in
Jerusalem. They thought that they could defeat Israel by terror and
violence. They assumed that they would - by violent means - succeed
in achieving further concessions from the same government - whose
intentions certainly stemmed from its beliefs - that had discussed and
offered unprecedented concessions. They assumed that they would succeed
in isolating Israel in the international arena and thus maneuver it into
an agreement the principles of which stood in complete contradiction to
Israel's national interests. They believed that they would succeed in
causing Israeli society and its quality of life to crumble. They
interpreted Israeli democracy and the multiplicity of opinions in Israel
as weaknesses.
Mr. Speaker, my friends and Members of Knesset, they were wrong. After
a year, they have yet to achieve anything. While the Israeli people
want peace, they are united in their opposition to concessions to
terrorism. A national unity government has been established in Israel
that will not negotiate under fire. The attempts to isolate Israel in
the international arena have failed. Moves at the UN Security Council
have, hitherto, been foiled; I hope that this will also be the case in
the future. Our security forces have registered exceptional successes
in the war against terrorism. Our deep friendship with the US is strong
and enduring despite - and I say this with pain - revelations of
disrespectful localized panic. Ours is a true friendship and
partnership even if we don't always agree on everything. This is
exactly the strength of true friendship.
I said that the Palestinians have not achieved anything. This is not
surprising. Whatever the Arabs have achieved, they have done so through
negotiations. By resorting to violence, they have only brought tragedy
on themselves. Even today, we still hope for, and desire, peace. But
today it is clear what are the necessary conditions for establishing a
true peace process. First, all Palestinian terrorist organizations must
be disarmed. Unless the infrastructure for terrorism is dismantled,
unless the terror option is gotten rid of, there can be no genuine
progress toward peace because we will not compromise with terror. I am
not talking about declarations and promises; we have had enough of
those. Not declarations, but action. Not words, but facts.
The Jews are a people of believers and perhaps this is good but let us
remember that we are facing brutal, treacherous and determined
terrorism. I have said from this dais that I am prepared for painful
concessions on behalf of a true peace, a peace for generations, but true
peace cannot exist in the shadow of terror, burning hatred, relentless
incitement and the aspiration to annihilate Israel.
Members of Knesset, Israel is committed to peace and wants peace.
Israel is interested in returning to the diplomatic negotiating table
and has stated its acceptance of the Mitchell plan . This is our
position. No one can preach peace at the Jewish people. We are
committed to peace because we have seen the full horrors of war. The
purpose of the IDF actions in Judea and Samaria in recent days is to
prevent terrorism and arrest terrorists. Arafat is not making arrests -
so we are. Many important arrests were made overnight, which will
certainly affect the terrorist organizations' ability to continue
attacking us. Arafat is not preventing terrorism - so we are.
Israel's supreme obligation, as in any state, is to protect its
citizens, and Israel will continue to exercise its right to
self-defense. We have clarified our position - not in the wake of the
various reports that circulated here, not in the wake of publications,
remarks or conversations that were held yesterday, and I would like to
take this opportunity to thank Foreign Minister Shimon Peres for his
aggressive stand on the issue of the necessity of stopping terrorism.
We shall continue to act until we accomplish our goals. We have
clarified that we have no intention of remaining in "A" areas, and when
we conclude our mission, we shall withdraw. If we should need to
exercise our right to self-defense in the future, we shall not hesitate
to act. We have clarified that Israel will do all it can in order to
prevent an escalation.
It is impossible to present a diplomatic plan at this point. We've
already tried to. The moment the plan is presented it becomes the
starting point in future negotiations. The military plan should also
not be discussed. There is a plan and it is being successfully
implemented.
Honorable Knesset, the situation Israel is grappling with is neither
simple nor easy. It requires endurance, patience, determination and
perseverance;, it requires mobilization of the will power of our
nation. There are no magic solutions, no easy solutions. We will pay a
heavy price if we are tempted to surrender to terrorism. The government
that I lead will not be so tempted and will not surrender to terrorism.
On the other hand, we should not forget that at the end of this
confrontation, there will still be two peoples here who are destined to
live together in the space of this small country, and it is possible to
live together.
We, the elected representatives, need to strengthen the endurance of the
public more than perhaps in any other situation. We must set an example
in our unity.
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