Below is a sampling of quotes from world leaders and experts on the value of direct negotiations with responsible partners and other relevant issues.
President Barack Obama (September 21, 2011)
“And I am convinced that there is no short cut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades. Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the UN – if it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now. Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians who must live side by side. Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians – not us – who must reach agreement on the issues that divide them: on borders and security; on refugees and Jerusalem. Peace depends upon compromise among peoples who must live together long after our speeches are over, and our votes have been counted.”
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (September 13, 2011)
“The only way of getting a lasting solution is through direct negotiations through the parties and the route to that lies in Jerusalem and Ramallah not in New York.”
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Jose Maria Aznar, Former Prime Minister of Spain
“This is not the time for destructive gestures: it is time to encourage everyone to sit down and negotiate, face to face, with no pre-conditions other than mutual and unequivocal recognition… We all have a sincere desire to see a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, living in a lasting and stable peace. We therefore call on all leaders of the European Union and the Western world to reject unequivocally the current position of the Palestinian Authority. We urge the Palestinians to see that the only way they can have their own State is through an agreement with the Israelis. No other options should be supported by the international community.”
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Dore Gold, a former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, is President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
“Europeans are sensitive to the dangers of premature recognition of states in unresolved conflicts, because of their own experiences. The Yugoslav Wars (1991-1995) were ignited when Germany recognized Croatia and Slovenia, prior to solving the problems created by the dissolution of Yugoslavia.”
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (December 10, 2010)
“[Both sides] should avoid actions that prejudge the outcome of negotiations or undermine good faith efforts to resolve final status issues. Unilateral efforts at the United Nations are not helpful and undermine trust. Provocative announcements on East Jerusalem are counterproductive. And the United States will not shy away from saying so.”
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Speech to a Joint Meeting of the U.S. Congress, Washington DC, (May 24, 2011)
“So now here is the question: if the benefits of peace with the Palestinians are so clear, why has peace eluded us? All six Israeli Prime Ministers since the signing of the Oslo accords agreed to establish a Palestinian state, myself included. So why has peace not been achieved? Because so far, the Palestinians have been unwilling to accept a Palestinian state if it meant accepting a Jewish state alongside it. You see, our conflict has never been about the establishment of a Palestinian state. It has always been about the existence of the Jewish state. This is what this conflict is about…. In recent years, the Palestinians twice refused generous offers by Israeli Prime Ministers to establish a Palestinian state on virtually all the territory won by Israel in the Six Day War. They were simply unwilling to end the conflict.”
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German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Joint press conference with Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, Jerusalem (June 15, 2011)
“But I’d also like to make one thing very clear here: we oppose unilateral steps. We are convinced that unilateral steps – even against the backdrop of the upcoming UN General Assembly meeting in September – would be counterproductive. Unilateral steps would only exacerbate the problems, would not bring us closer to peace, and would probably have the exact opposite effect. And thus I once again told my Israeli partners that the German government’s position on this matter is unambiguous. We want to see full fledged negotiations, not unilateral steps. We are in favor of a two-state solution – but one that is reached through negotiations and mutual understanding. Anything else would jeopardize the cause of peace; and in the final analysis we want to expand the scope of peace and security for Israel and all other States in the region.”
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Statements by World Leaders
Click the link below to view quotes from world leaders on a unilateral declaration/premature recognition of a Palestinian state.
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Statements by Israeli Leaders
Click the link below to view quotes from Israeli leaders on Israeli support for a negotiated Palestinian state.
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