Statement by Prime Minister Peres at the Conference at Sharm el-Sheikh

On 3 March 1996 another suicide bombing attack occurred in Jerusalem. A bus was blown up in the heart of Jerusalem, killing 20 people and wounding ten more. On 4 March, another Palestinian human bomb exploded near a major shopping mall in the heart of Tel Aviv, killing 14 and wounding 130. The attack took place during the Purim holiday in a street full of children and adults. In order to rescue the peace process, a conference was organized, hosted by Egypt and held in Sharm el-Sheikh, to emphasize the need for an international struggle against terror. The conference was called the summit of the peacemakers. Heads of state from twenty-nine nations participated, led by Presidents Clinton, Chirac, Mubarak, King Hussein, Chancellor Kohl, Premiers Chernomyrdin, Major and Peres and others. Thirteen Arab nations were represented. Syria declined to attend. Following is the address of Prime Minister Peres:

Your Majesties, Royal Highnesses, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wanted to speak in the name of our people who desire peace. But today and here, I must first speak in pain and sorrow in the name of children, women and old people and innocent civilians who were the victims of cruel terror. Since the murder of Yitzhak Rabin, I have not known such great sorrow. And my heart prays: "He will destroy death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears off all faces."

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Nine days ago, on the eve of the festival of Purim, two twelve year old boys went to celebrate at the Tel Aviv Mall. Yovav Levy and Kobi Zaharon were best friends. They had the innocence and the freshness of youth. Kobi studied in a class for gifted children. Yovav excelled at football. Their whole future was before them. Yet, in a split second, it came to an end at the hands of a crazed terrorist, a living bomb.

Is there a God who permits a man to perform such a horrendous act? Is there a religion which allows one to commit suicide, to murder children? Wars in the Middle East have claimed the lives of tens of thousands of young people. With every casualty, a whole world was lost. Yet most of the victims fell during wars. Kobi and Yovav were murdered by the ultimate evil - in a war against ending wars.

They were among the youngest victims of the recent terrorist attacks, but they were not alone. In Jerusalem, in Ashkelon and in Tel Aviv, other children and ordinary people, young and old, Israelis and foreigners, were killed.

Grief struck many homes and scores are still in pain. May the Lord comfort their sorrow and heal their pain.

Yes, we suffered pain, but not despair. We shall do all that it takes to defeat terrorism, just as we shall mobilize all resources to further peace. Peace and security are indivisible. This gathering signifies the civilized world's rejection of the evil of terrorism and its support for the peace process.

Momentous and practical decisions must emerge here today. This conference must formulate a strategy and create an enduring coalition to respond to the moral call and to answer the practical needs through international cooperation. Terrorism knows no borders; so borders must not restrain action to smash the terrorist snake.

This terrorism is not anonymous. It has a name, it has an address. It has bank accounts, it has an infrastructure, it has networks camouflaged as charity organizations. It is spearheaded by a country - Iran. The Iranian people are not our enemy. Religion is not our foe. It is the regime which initiates, promotes and exports violence and fanaticism - Teheran has become the capital of terror. A conclusion must be drawn on how to contain it.

From the Palestinians, with whom we wish to complete the historic conciliation, we demand the unequivocal fulfillment of the Oslo Accords.

We do not ask the Palestinian Authority to defend our lives. Only we shall defend ourselves. It is solely our responsibility. But the Palestinians must fulfill the obligations of an elected authority. They must fight to prevent terror, which is causing the hardship in their midst. They must not tolerate murderous command centers. They must not permit illegal guns to aim at legal peace agreements.

Terror threatens peace and stability in the whole world. Suicide methods and modern weapons are an immediate danger. It will escalate once terrorists may obtain non-conventional weapons.

We are at a watershed. Our region is going through a period of transition. The dark days are at an end. The shadows of its past are lengthening. The twilight of wars is still red with blood, yet its sunset is inevitable and imminent, as we will not yield to the enemies of peace.

The Middle East is on the verge of a new day - better and more promising. Many barriers which separated Israel from its neighbors are gone. Yesterday's enemies are gathered here today as partners in the battle for a different tomorrow. The hunting grounds of cynics and skeptics are diminishing. There is news in the Middle East: It will be a new Middle East.

I would like to thank all those present. First and foremost to a great American President, Bill Clinton, for his vital initiative. He proved not only his leadership of the free world, but he has also shown himself as a great facilitator of peace as an agenda of our time. I thank the co-sponsor, President Yeltsin, whose presence here expresses his commitment to the new era.

My gratitude goes to our host, President Mubarak of Egypt, first to make peace, who offered the beauty of Sharm el-Sheikh as an invitation to a new political landscape. My appreciation is extended to the leaders of Europe and Asia, who helped to realize peace in the Middle East and continue to do so, today and tomorrow.

I also greet the leaders of the Arab countries present here and would like to say that Israel, as it has proved in its negotiations with the Palestinians, is resolved not to dominate others. Israel does not seek to gain territory. Israel has proved that science is more important than territory. We can attain more at schools today than what we could conquer previously on the battlefield.

We are not here out of fatigue or weakness. We are here out of a moral preference and a sense of strength.

Let your children and our children know a future of peace. Let them march, safe and sound, through the gates of the next century, free of fear, equipped with knowledge and wisdom, into a new era for mankind.

In the words of the Bible, "See, I have set before you today, life and good and death and evil... I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing - therefore choose life!"

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have chosen life! Let us all unite to wipe out the curse of terror and to receive the blessing of peace.

Source: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs