If one was reached, he wanted my commitment to... If one was reached, he wanted my commitment to send NATO forces, including Utroops, to Bosnia to enforce itI reaffirmed my intention to do so
On September 9, Yitzhak Rabin called to tell me that Israel and the PLO had reached a peace agreementIt was achieved in secret talks the parties held in Oslo, which we were informed of shortly before I took officeOn a couple of occasions, when the talks were in danger of being derailed, Warren Christopher had done a good job of keeping them on trackThe talks were kept confidential, which enabled the negotiators to deal candidly with the most sensitive issues and agree on a set of principles that both sides could acceptMost of our work lay in the future, in helping with the immensely difficult task of resolving the tough issues, hammering out the terms of implementation, and raising the money to finance the costs of the agreement, from increased security for Israel to economic development and refugee relocation and compensation for the PalestiniansI had already gotten encouraging signs of financial support from other countries, including Saudi Arabia, where King Fahd,
ceramic chanel though still angry about Yasser Arafats support for Iraq in the Gulf War, was supportive of the peace process
We were still a long way from a comprehensive solution, but the Declaration of Principles was a huge step forwardOn September 10, I announced that the Israeli and Palestinian leaders would sign the agreement on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday, the thirteenth, and that because the PLO had renounced violence and recognized Israels right to exist, the United States would resume its dialogue with themA couple of days before the signing, the press asked me if Arafat would be welcome at the White HouseI said that it was up to the parties directly involved to decide who would represent them in the ceremonyIn fact, I badly wanted Rabin and Arafat to attend and urged them to do so; if they didnt, no one in the region would believe they were fully committed to implementing the principles, and, if they did, a billion people across the globe would see them on television and they would leave the White House even more committed to peace than when they arrivedWhen Arafat said he would be there, I again asked
j12 chanel diamond watch Rabin to comeHe accepted, though he was still a bit on edge about it
In retrospect, the leaders decision to come may look easyAt the time, it was a gamble for both Rabin and Arafat, who couldnt be sure how their people would reactEven if a majority of their constituents supported them, extremists on both sides were bound to be inflamed by the compromises on fundamental issues inherent in the Declaration of PrinciplesRabin and Arafat showed both vision and guts in consenting to come and speakThe agreement would be signed by Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas, better known as Abu Mazen, both of whom had been intimately involved in the Oslo negotiationsSecretary Christopher and Russian foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev would witness the accord
On the morning of the thirteenth, the atmosphere around the White House was alive with excitement as well as tensionWe had invited more than 2,500 people to the event, which George Stephanopoulos and Rahm Emanuel had labored overI was especially happy Rahm was working on this because he had served in the Israeli armyPresident Carter, who had negotiated the Camp
omega seamaster fake David Accords between Egypt and Israel, would be thereSo would President Bush, who, with Gorbachev, had co-sponsored talks in Madrid in 1991 involving Israel, the Palestinians, and the Arab statesPresident Ford was invited but couldnt get to Washington before the celebration dinner in the eveningAll former secretaries of state and national security advisors who had worked for peace over the past twenty years were also invitedChelsea was taking the morning off from school, as were the Gore childrenThis was something they didnt want to miss
The night before, I had gone to bed at ten, early for me, and awakened at three in the morningUnable to go back to sleep, I got my Bible and read the entire book of JoshuaIt inspired me to rewrite some of my remarks, and to wear a blue tie with golden horns, which reminded me of those Joshua had used to blow down the walls of JerichoNow the horns would herald the coming of a peace that would return Jericho to the Palestinians
We had two minor flaps early in the morningWhen I was told that Arafat intended to appear in his trademark garb, a kafyeh and an olive green uniform,
buy miu miu and that he might want to dress it up with the revolver he often wore on his hip, I balked and sent word that he couldnt bring the gunHe was here to make peace; the pistol would send the wrong message, and he certainly would be safe without itHe agreed to come unarmedWhen the Palestinians saw that they were identified in the agreement as the Palestinian delegation, not the PLO, they balkedIsrael agreed to the preferred designation
Then there was the question of whether Rabin and Arafat would shake handsI knew Arafat wanted to do itBefore arriving in Washington, Rabin had said he would do the handshake if it will be needed, but I could tell he didnt want toWhen he arrived at the White House, I raised the subjectHe avoided making a commitment, telling me how many young Israelis he had buried because of ArafatI told Yitzhak that if he was really committed to peace, hed have to shake Arafats hand to prove itThe whole world will be watching, and the handshake is what they will be looking forRabin sighed, and in his deep, world-weary voice, said, I suppose one does not make peace with ones friendsThen youll do it? I
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