Rabin's Final Defense of Oslo II
Settlement Report | Vol. 5 No. 6 | November-December 1995
The following is an extended excerpt
of a October 5, 1995, speech by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to the
Knesset in support of the ratification of the Israeli-Palestinian
interim agreement.
We view the permanent solution in the framework of the State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority. The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six-Day War. We will not return to the June 4, 1967, lines.
And these are the main changes, not all of them, which we envision and want in the permanent solution:
[In] Area A, or the "brown" area, the redeployment of IDF forces will be carried out in three areas--will include the municipal areas of the six cities: Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarem, Kalkilyah, Ramallah, and Bethlehem. Responsibility for civilian security in this area will be transferred to the Palestinian Authority.
Area B, or the "yellow" area, includes almost all of the 450 towns and villages in which the Palestinians of the West Bank live. In this area, there will be a separation of responsibilities. The Palestinians will be responsible for managing their own lives, and Israel will have overall responsibility for the security of Israelis and the war against the terrorist threat. That is, IDF forces and the security services will be able to enter any place in Area B at any time.
The third area, Area C, or the "white" area, is everywhere that is not included in the areas that have been mentioned until now. In this area are the Jewish settlements, all IDF installations and the border areas with Jordan. This area will remain under IDF control.
Areas A and B constitute less than 30% of the area of the West Bank. Area C, which is under our control, constitutes more than 70% of the area of the West Bank. . . .
I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth. . . . An examination of the maps and of the paragraphs of the agreement regarding the additional stages of the redeployment shows that Israel retains complete freedom of action, in order to implement its security and political objectives relating to the permanent solution, and that the division of the areas gives the IDF and the security branches complete security control in Areas B and C, except for the urban areas.
A difficult problem arose in Hebron, and with both sides in agreement it was determined that, prior to the completion of the Halhoul bypass road, there would not be a complete redeployment in the city of Hebron, and this will take another half a year from the signing of the agreement, that is, until March 28, 1996. In our assessment, six months are required in order to build this bypass road. When the Halhoul bypass road and the Hebron bypass road (in the Beit Hagai-Har Manoah-Kiryat Arba section) are built, this will enable the movement of Israelis without their passing through those sections of Hebron which do not have a Jewish presence. . . .
I should further emphasize that activity for providing security measures for the Israeli communities--fences, peripheral roads, lighting, gates--will continue on a wide scale. Bypass roads will be built, whose purpose will be to enable Israeli residents to move about without having to pass through Palestinian population centers in places which will be transferred to the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority. In any case, the IDF will not carry out a redeployment from the first seven cities, before the bypass roads are completed. In all, investment in the bypass roads will be about NIS 500 million [$166 million].
From the depths of our heart, we call upon all citizens of the State of Israel, certainly those who live in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, as well as the Palestinian residents to give the establishment of peace a chance, to give the end of acts of hostility a chance, to give another life a chance, a new life. We appeal to Jews and Palestinians alike to act with restraint, to preserve human dignity, to behave in a fitting manner--and, to live in peace and security.
We view the permanent solution in the framework of the State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority. The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six-Day War. We will not return to the June 4, 1967, lines.
And these are the main changes, not all of them, which we envision and want in the permanent solution:
- First and foremost, united Jerusalem, which will include both Ma'ale Adumim and Givat Ze'ev--as the capital of Israel, under Israeli sovereignty, while preserving the rights of the members of the others faiths, Christianity and Islam, to freedom of access and freedom of worship in their holy places, according to the customs of their faiths.
- The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.
- Changes which will include the addition of Gush Etzion, Efrat, Betar and other communities, most of which are in the area east of what was the "Green Line," prior to the Six-Day War.
- The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif. . . .
[In] Area A, or the "brown" area, the redeployment of IDF forces will be carried out in three areas--will include the municipal areas of the six cities: Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarem, Kalkilyah, Ramallah, and Bethlehem. Responsibility for civilian security in this area will be transferred to the Palestinian Authority.
Area B, or the "yellow" area, includes almost all of the 450 towns and villages in which the Palestinians of the West Bank live. In this area, there will be a separation of responsibilities. The Palestinians will be responsible for managing their own lives, and Israel will have overall responsibility for the security of Israelis and the war against the terrorist threat. That is, IDF forces and the security services will be able to enter any place in Area B at any time.
The third area, Area C, or the "white" area, is everywhere that is not included in the areas that have been mentioned until now. In this area are the Jewish settlements, all IDF installations and the border areas with Jordan. This area will remain under IDF control.
Areas A and B constitute less than 30% of the area of the West Bank. Area C, which is under our control, constitutes more than 70% of the area of the West Bank. . . .
I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth. . . . An examination of the maps and of the paragraphs of the agreement regarding the additional stages of the redeployment shows that Israel retains complete freedom of action, in order to implement its security and political objectives relating to the permanent solution, and that the division of the areas gives the IDF and the security branches complete security control in Areas B and C, except for the urban areas.
A difficult problem arose in Hebron, and with both sides in agreement it was determined that, prior to the completion of the Halhoul bypass road, there would not be a complete redeployment in the city of Hebron, and this will take another half a year from the signing of the agreement, that is, until March 28, 1996. In our assessment, six months are required in order to build this bypass road. When the Halhoul bypass road and the Hebron bypass road (in the Beit Hagai-Har Manoah-Kiryat Arba section) are built, this will enable the movement of Israelis without their passing through those sections of Hebron which do not have a Jewish presence. . . .
I should further emphasize that activity for providing security measures for the Israeli communities--fences, peripheral roads, lighting, gates--will continue on a wide scale. Bypass roads will be built, whose purpose will be to enable Israeli residents to move about without having to pass through Palestinian population centers in places which will be transferred to the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority. In any case, the IDF will not carry out a redeployment from the first seven cities, before the bypass roads are completed. In all, investment in the bypass roads will be about NIS 500 million [$166 million].
From the depths of our heart, we call upon all citizens of the State of Israel, certainly those who live in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, as well as the Palestinian residents to give the establishment of peace a chance, to give the end of acts of hostility a chance, to give another life a chance, a new life. We appeal to Jews and Palestinians alike to act with restraint, to preserve human dignity, to behave in a fitting manner--and, to live in peace and security.
