Israeli PM Ariel Sharon’s Media Adviser

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Media Adviser

Following is a statement delivered by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Media
Adviser, Arnon Perlman, this evening (Sunday), 18.5.2003, following the
Cabinet meeting:

“This morning’s terrorist attack in Jerusalem in which seven civilians were
killed and dozens were wounded, last night’s terrorist attack in Hebron in
which a husband and his pregnant wife were killed, and other attacks and
victims in recent days, all prove – again – to us and the world what kind of
an enemy the State of Israel is dealing with. The murderous suicide attacks
which have struck the entire region, and which have been directed against
Western targets, show all of us the brutality of the enemy with which we are
at war.

The objective of Palestinian terror, as perpetrated by all of the
organizations operating out of the Palestinian Authority areas and from
abroad, is to continue to murder civilians, women, children, babies and the
elderly simply because they are Jews and Israelis. The goal of the
terrorists, their accomplices, those who dispatch them, and those who
finance them, is to cause us to despair and lose hope. They will not
succeed. The State of Israel will continue to fight terror everywhere, at
all times, and in every way possible. The State of Israel will continue to
act in order to foil the murderous designs on its citizens until we see that
there is someone on the other side who can do this.

Israel is a peace-seeking country. Its hand has always been, and will
always be, extended in peace to those who are willing, and mainly to those
who can accept it. However, peace can prevail only after terror has been
defeated, only after there will be quiet here. Only then will it be
possible to make diplomatic progress.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is determined to make progress and, in the end,
to achieve quiet, security and a genuine peace, in all its ramifications.
The Prime Minister will continue his efforts until the hoped-for and correct
solution is reached that will bring quiet, security and peace for both
peoples.

The Prime Minister and the Cabinet send their condolences to the families of
those who were murdered and their best wishes for a speedy recovery to those
who were wounded and who are still hospitalized.”

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