Speaking at a ceremony marking the sale to private ownership of the Israel National Oil Company, the Prime Minister expressed the hope that the talks in Washington between Minister of Foreign Affairs Levy and Abu Mazen will yield results. By then the identity of the two suicide bombers who carried out the attack in the Jerusalem market on 30 July was made known. Both came from areas under PA control. Excerpts:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, 24.9.97, commented on the upcoming meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs David Levy and Abu Mazen, and the other talks held by government representatives in Washington:
Dialogue is one of the essential requirements for progress toward a solution, on both the political and security levels. This dialogue is ongoing, and it is still too early to summarize them. I have received an initial report from our people in Washington, and I will certainly be holding consultations after the Minister of Foreign Affairs meeting with Abu Mazen.
I consider that today, especially after revealing the identities of the suicide bombers, many in the world, including the U.S.A., and I allow myself to say even the Palestinian Authority, understand the inescapable need to fight against terrorism. This can no longer be blurred or covered up. In the end, terrorism comes back to harm all of us, and the facts regarding it are becoming increasingly clear. What is needed at this moment is for the Palestinian Authority and those who lead it, to join the fight against terrorism and thus make progress in the political process possible. This is our position, and I hope it will be realized in the coming period.
The Prime Minister spoke at the ceremony of the sale of the Israel National Oil Company.