Sharm El Sheikh Remarks of Ehud Barak, October 2000 (original) (raw)
Introduction
During the period after the breakdown of the Camp David Summit in the summer of 2000, Israeli General Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount, on 28 September 2000. This provoked a wave of Palestinian violence and Israeli counter attacks that led to suspension of negotiations and of security cooperation, and ultimately to election of Ariel Sharon as Prime Minister of Israel.
In an effort to return both parties to the negotiating tables, U.S. President Clinton convened a summit meeting at Sharm El Sheikh, hosted by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, at which both parties agreed to resumption of bilateral security cooperation, easing of Israeli restrictions on Palestinian life and an effort by both sides to curb the violence. At the insistence of the Palestinian side, a commission was investigated to investigate the causes of the violence and to make recommendations. The commission was a compromise. Israel did not want a commission at all. The Palestinians wanted a UN-appointed commission that would be empowered to make mandatory recommendations for execution. They hoped in this way to force the deployment of U.N. troops in the West Bank and Gaza, the areas occupied by Israel.
Israel PM Ehud Barak made impromptu remarks before leaving Sharm El-Sheikh, that are recorded below.
He emphasized, from the Israeli point of view:
The test will be in the implementation, and not in gestures. I advise all of us to pay less attention to gestures, and to focus on the reality. There is a whole list of detailed understandings regarding actions to be taken on the path to the calming of the situation. If the Palestinian side will comply with the understandings, we will do our share, and calm is indeed restored, this will be a very important change. The test, once again, is in the implementation of these understandings...
...
We have a test before us. The outcome will be influenced by every comment and guess that we make, and not necessarily for the better. There are understandings, the President made a declaration, there is American involvement in the monitoring of these matters. It is crucial for the State of Israel and its citizens that the violence come to an end, if this is possible...
...
The issues of the collection of illegal weapons and the rearrest and imprisonment of Palestinian terrorists are part of existing agreements, which we expect to see implemented. I do not want to list every detail of the trilateral Israeli-Palestinian-American security understandings. We will all wait and see. If this leads to a reduction in the violence, then we have a great achievement. If the reduction in violence does not come about, then Israel will have made a necessary effort to find a way to reduce the violence - and I say this in sorrow. We will know what action to take in any situation.
None of the above were mentioned in the concluding remarks of President Clinton, nor were they alluded to again, nor was any action taken on them.
Four days later, on October 21, 2000, the Arab League convened a special summit meeting in Cairo, also hosted by Hosni Mubarak. The meeting again called for a UN investigation of alleged Israeli misdeeds and praised the Intifada.
Despite repeated vows to curb violence, Palestinians carried out a suicide bombing two weeks later in Mahaneh Yehuda in West Jerusalem.
Ami Isseroff
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Excerpts from Remarks by
Prime Minister Ehud Barak after the Conclusion of the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit
Sharm el-Sheikh Airport, October 17, 2000
We have achieved our goals at this summit, and we thank the President of the United States for his efforts to convene the summit at Sharm el-Sheikh. The goals are: first, a concerted effort to end the violence of recent days. Second, the prevention of the establishment of an international commission of inquiry, focusing rather on an examination of the facts using the formula that we agreed upon in Paris. Of course, these two matters will be put to the test, in their implementation on the ground, and we will judge the entire situation on the basis of this implementation.
The test will be in the implementation, and not in gestures. I advise all of us to pay less attention to gestures, and to focus on the reality. There is a whole list of detailed understandings regarding actions to be taken on the path to the calming of the situation. If the Palestinian side will comply with the understandings, we will do our share, and calm is indeed restored, this will be a very important change. The test, once again, is in the implementation of these understandings...
We are talking about a major change in reality that has to come about. We are concerned for the State of Israel. If the situation continues, and we see that we have no partner, then we will know what action to take, as in any other situation. The events which we have experienced in the last two weeks have left an imprint on our memories, and we will proceed cautiously. I believe that the Americans have also made their position clear. In the next two weeks, they intend to examine whether and upon what basis it will be possible to resume the contacts...
We have a test before us. The outcome will be influenced by every comment and guess that we make, and not necessarily for the better. There are understandings, the President made a declaration, there is American involvement in the monitoring of these matters. It is crucial for the State of Israel and its citizens that the violence come to an end, if this is possible...
The issues of the collection of illegal weapons and the rearrest and imprisonment of Palestinian terrorists are part of existing agreements, which we expect to see implemented. I do not want to list every detail of the trilateral Israeli-Palestinian-American security understandings. We will all wait and see. If this leads to a reduction in the violence, then we have a great achievement. If the reduction in violence does not come about, then Israel will have made a necessary effort to find a way to reduce the violence - and I say this in sorrow. We will know what action to take in any situation.
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