[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 30 (Monday, August 1, 1994)]
[Pages 1548-1550]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
<R04>
Remarks at the Signing Ceremony for the Israel-Jordan Washington
Declaration
July 25, 1994
Your Majesties, Prime Minister and Mrs. Rabin, distinguished guests:
Today we gather to bear witness to history. As this century draws to a
close, a new era of peace opens before us in ancient lands as brave men
choose reconciliation over conflict. Today our faith is renewed.
As we write a new chapter in the march of hope over despair on these
grounds and at this historic table, we remember the courage of Anwar
Sadat and Menachem Begin and the leadership of President Carter at Camp
David 15 years ago, the efforts of President Bush to bring Israel and
her neighbors together in Madrid 2 years ago, and that shining September
day last year when Prime Minister Rabin and Chairman Arafat declared
that their two peoples would fight no more.
Today, in that same spirit, King Hussein and Prime Minister Rabin
will sign the Washington Declaration. After generations of hostility,
blood, and tears, the leaders of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the
State of Israel will solemnly declare, with the world as their witness,
that they have ended the state of belligerency between them. From this
day forward, they pledge to settle their differences by peaceful means.
Both countries will refrain from actions that may adversely affect the
security of the other and will thwart all those who would use terrorism
to threaten either side.
The Washington Declaration is the product of much hard work. Less
then a year ago, Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan and Foreign Minister
Peres of Israel met here publicly for the first time. Together, with the
wise counsel and persistent energy of the Secretary of State, Warren
Christopher, Israel and Jordan have pursued peace. And we are all in
their debt.
It takes but a minute or two to cross the River Jordan, but for as
long as most of us can remember, the distance has seemed immense. The
awful power of ancient arguments and the raw wounds of recent wars have
left generations of Israelis, Jordanians, and Palestinians unable to
imagine, much less build, a life of peace and security. Today King
Hussein and Prime Minister Rabin give their people a new currency of
hope and the chance to prosper in a region of peace.
Under the Washington Declaration, Jordan and Israel have agreed to
continue vigorous negotiations to produce a treaty of peace based on
Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. King Hussein and Prime
Minister Rabin will meet as often as necessary to shepherd and
personally direct those negotiations.
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Their objective is a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace between
Israel and all its neighbors, a peace in which each acknowledges and
respects the territorial integrity and political independence of all
others and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized
boundaries.
In the meantime, Jordan and Israel have decided to take immediate
steps to normalize relations and resolve disputes in areas of common
concern. They have agreed to survey the international border based on
the work of their boundary subcommission. They have resolved that
negotiations on water resources should aim to establish the rightful
allocation between the two sides of the waters of the Jordan and Yarmuk
Rivers. They have determined that their police forces will cooperate in
combating crime, with a special emphasis on drug smuggling. They have
set up as their joint purpose the abolition of all economic boycotts and
the establishment of a bilateral economic cooperation.
And as of today, Jordan and Israel have agreed to take the first
practical steps to draw their people together and to let the peoples of
the world share in the wonders of their lands. They will establish
direct telephone links, connect their two nations' electricity grids,
open two border crossings between their nations, including one at Aqaba
and Eilat and another in the north, accelerate the negotiations aimed at
opening an international air corridor between the two countries, and
give free access to third-country tourists traveling between their two
nations. These are the building blocks of a modern peace and ancient
holy lands.
Your Majesty, after our first meeting, you wrote me a heartfelt
letter in which you referred to your revered grandfather King Abdullah.
You told me that his untimely assassination at the entrance to
Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque had come at a time when he was intent on
making peace with Israel. Had he completed his mission, you said to me,
your region would have been spared four decades of war. Today, 43 years
later, Abdullah's grandson has fulfilled his legacy. And in the
declaration you will sign, your role as guardian of Jerusalem's Muslim
holy sites, Al Aqsa among them, has been preserved. And Israel has
agreed to accord a high priority to Jordan's historic role regarding
these holy sites in final status negotiations.
Prime Minister, when you first visited me in the White House, you
spoke eloquently of your soldier's life, defending and guiding your
nation through four bloody decades of struggling to survive. You told me
your people had had enough bloodshed, that this was time to make peace.
Ten months ago, you stood on this same lawn and shook the hand of Yasser
Arafat, the leader of the Palestinian people. Today you stand together
with King Hussein, descendant of the Prophet Mohammed, to declare that
Jordan and Israel have ended their conflict. In holding out to your
people the hope of a normal, secure life, you, sir, have fulfilled the
mission of your life and of all those who have fought by your side for
so long.
Now as we go forward, we must guard against illusions. Dark forces
of hatred and violence still stalk your lands. We must not let them
succeed.
King Hussein, Prime Minister Rabin, as you and your people embark on
this journey of peace, we know the road will not be easy. Just as we
have supported you in coming this far, the United States will walk the
final miles with you. We must all go on until we ensure that the peace
you are seeking prevails in the Holy Land and extends to all Israel's
Arab neighbors. Our common objective of a comprehensive peace must be
achieved.
Now as we witness the signing of this declaration and applaud the
bravery of these men, let us remember that peace is much more than a
pledge to abide by words on a page. It is a bold attempt to write a new
history. Guided by the blessings of God, let us now go forward and give
life to this declaration. For if we follow its course, we will truly
achieve a peace of the generations.
Thank you very much.
Note: The President spoke at 11:40 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White
House.
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