"The Road to a Secure Peace" by Ambassador Ben-Elissar September 29, 1996

                         THE ROAD TO A SECURE PEACE
                      By Ambassador Eliahu Ben-Elissar
              ("The New York Times," Op-Ed, September 29, 1996)

This week was to have been a time of joy and festivities for Israelis. Many 
pilgrims will visit Jerusalem, our capital, in the same way that our 
ancestors did for millenniums. But this year there was to be something 
special: an ancient aqueduct, today a tunnel, built by the Hasmonean Kings 
and rediscovered by archeologists some 150 years ago, was recently opened 
along the Temple Mount. This tunnel was intended not only to connect Jews 
with their glorious past but to allow four times as many international 
visitors to visit the area, bringing a much-needed influx of revenue to 
merchants in the old city's Muslim and Christian sectors. But instead of 
festivities, a series of tragic confrontations swept Israel and the 
Palestinian autonomous areas.

It is difficult to fathom the connection between the opening of an 
archeological site and the loss of so many lives this week. The tunnel is 
only several hundred yards long and does not pass beneath the Temple Mount; 
nor does it pass beneath the foundations of any mosque. In fact, it runs 
adjacent to the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest shrine and the only 
continuous remnant of ancient Jewish sovereignty. No private property was 
confiscated or expropriated to open the tunnel, and to avoid any public 
commotion it was not opened in the regular business hours. In short, the 
municipality of Jerusalem acted within its rights and its obligations to 
promote commerce and tourism. Those who object to the opening of this 
archeological site in fact challenge the right of the State of Israel and 
municipality of Jerusalem to perform their most basic duties to their 
citizens, a right which other countries take for granted.

The real reasons for the outbreak of violence last week lie not in an 
archeological tunnel, but in the depths of a modern political pit. Israel 
and her Arab neighbors have been negotiating peace for a number of years. 
The new Israeli Government has repeatedly emphasized its commitment to 
honor agreements signed by previous governments, including accords with the 
Palestinians.

Since the new Government took office some 100 days ago, it has maintained a 
very active outreach, on all levels, with the Palestinian Authority. It 
would appear, however, that some of our partners in the peace process look 
upon the change of government as an opportunity to exert pressure on and 
extract concessions from Israel for political gain at the negotiating 
table.

This is evident by negative characterizations of Prime Minister Benjamin 
Netanyahu in the Arab press and by Arab officials, by the movement of 
troops along our northern borders and the continued terrorist attacks from 
Lebanon. These tactics will neither bring about Israeli submission in the 
negotiations nor will they dissuade us from our deep commitment to 
continuing the peace 
process.

Today Jewish and Arab families are in mourning for the many lives, Arab and 
Jewish, that have been lost. The orchestrated campaign of demonstrations 
triggered a potentially dangerous threat to the cause of peace. As called 
for in the Interim Agreement, Israel and the Palestinians have jointly 
undertaken to maintain law and order, provide security and negotiate in 
good faith.

Negotiating in good faith means that both parties have vowed to forsake 
violence in favor of dialogue. It also means that both parties have agreed 
to relinquish the threat of violence even when they fail to achieve all of 
their goals in the talks. Hence, Yasser Arafat's threats to release the 
jinn of violence from the bottle whenever the negotiating process becomes 
too frustrating for him are unacceptable. Likewise, the use of Israeli-
approved weapons against Israeli soldiers is intolerable. Palestinian 
policemen were admitted into the territories to maintain law and order and 
provide security, not to participate in violent demonstrations.

Mr. Arafat may indeed be in a difficult position, but it is up to him, and 
him alone, to choose the path for the Palestinian people. The road of 
violence and bloodshed will lead nowhere and it will endanger all that has 
already been achieved. The road to peace may be steep and at times 
frustrating and weary, but it is a journey that all of us in the Mideast 
embarked on in Madrid five years ago. Israel has already chosen the road to 
a secure peace. The Palestinian Authority is likewise bound to choose 
stability, dialogue and peace.

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