Welcome Statements With Israel Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom
Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Jerusalem
July 21, 2005
FOREIGN MINISTER SHALOM: Good evening. Let me open my remarks by extending my feeling of solidarity and sympathy with
Britain on yet another day of violence in London. The government and people of Israel stand as one with Britain at this
time. Next week I will be visiting London for a meeting with Prime Minister Blair and my colleague, Foreign Secretary
Straw. I will convey to them our determination to continue working together, as we do with the United States and our
other partners in the war on terror. In our joint struggle to preserve our shared democratic values and way of life from
the violence of the extremists, it is my pleasure to welcome the Secretary of State to Israel once again.
We are on the verge of a most crucial and decisive moment in the implementation of disengagement plan. On the one hand,
it provokes a difficult internal debate which, although difficult, we will manage with our inner strength. On the other
hand, it brings new hope to us and our future generations. In this regard, we are stressing the need of coordination
with all the relevant factors, mainly with the Palestinians. However, we will need the assistance of our friends in this
matter.
First and foremost, the assistance of Dr. Rice and the American administration. Your commitment to restoring calm and
to ensuring the success of the disengagement plan will hopefully have the desired and necessary impact, and we thank you
for that. For eight months now, Palestinian leader Abu Mazen has been claiming that he is too weak to deal with the
terrorists effectively, but his action in the last few days has shown that he does have the ability to stand up to
Hamas. Action to stop terrorism of Hamas and Islamic Jihad must not be just a temporary response to specific attacks. It
must be adopted as a proactive strategy and the principle of policy so that our peace efforts can have any chance of
success.
In our meeting this evening, Secretary Rice and I will discuss the steps that must be taken to wrest control of the
fate of our peace efforts from the hands of the extremists and place it back in the hands of the moderates. Indeed, the
United States continues to show the way in its uncompromising attitude towards terrorism. We welcome the United States'
firm opposition to any kind of political dialogue with those engaged in terrorism, whether in the Palestinian context,
the Lebanese context, or any other. This approach must serve as an example to all. In our meeting we will also discuss
how Israel and the United States can work together to promote greater regional cooperation in support of peace.
The coming month will provide a window of opportunity for improvement in the normalization of relations between Israel
and the Arab countries. In this context we will hope to see an opening of new representations, offices of Arab states in
Israel. We are confident that the United States will continue to contribute to this effort.
Once again, it is a pleasure for me personally, and for all of us, to welcome you once again to Jerusalem.
SECRETARY RICE: Thank you very much. Thank you, Foreign Minister, for those kind words of welcome. It is very good to
be here in Israel again. I want to add my words of support to the people of London and to the people of Great Britain
for the incidents that occurred today. There are obviously those who would try to terrorize populations and free peoples
everywhere. The British people have impressed everyone with their strength and their resolve and I am certain that they
will continue to do the same.
I look forward to my discussions with Foreign Minister Shalom tonight and with other Israeli officials as the next
couple of days go on and also with Palestinian officials. This is a critical time in the history of this region because
Prime Minister Sharon has taken a historic decision to disengage from the Gaza and from four settlements in the West
Bank. This is an effort and I know that it is an effort by the Prime Minister and his government to improve the security
situation for the Israeli people. That is the most important job, of course, of any Israeli Prime Minister, and also to
improve the chances for a lasting peace.
I look forward to talking with both the Israelis and the Palestinians about the need for tight coordination and for
rapid resolution of a number of key issues that are before the parties in advance of the disengagement. I also look
forward to talking about the need to resist any efforts by terrorists to destroy this moment of hope for the people of
the Palestinian territories and for the people of Israel.
There are always those who will try and destroy hope. President Abbas made a very fine statement the other day as the
Palestinians have begun to act. I would just encourage them in that work because I am quite certain that the Palestinian
mothers and fathers and grandparents want a world in which their children can live in peace and prosperity just as
Israeli parents and grandparents want the same for their children.
So, I look forward to talking with the parties about how we can advance. The United States remains committed to peace
in this region, remains committed to active engagement to help assure that peace and of course, remains committed to the
broader struggle against extremism and those who would frustrate the hopes of peaceful and democratic peoples
everywhere.
Thank you very much.
ENDS