The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Tag: Palestine

  • Mr Major’s Doorstep Interview in Seoul – 5 March 1996

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s doorstep interview in Seoul on Tuesday 5th March 1996.

    QUESTION:

    Prime Minister, a third and very serious bomb, you of course condemn it?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think it is an evil act. What has been happening in Israel has been a determination to try and find a settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. A huge amount of work has gone into that, a huge amount of goodwill. And now some evil acts are seeking to drive that whole process off course. This is the third such atrocity in the last few days and there is no conceivable way in which it can be explained, it is quite literally evil. We have had some experience of acts of sheer terror like this, acts simply to murder, to destroy and to make a political point. I think they are absolutely unforgivable and my heart goes out to the Israeli people.

    QUESTION:

    The real worry must be that such serious acts – suicide bombings like this – will cut off the peace process?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Well I think that is what they are intended to do. I think they are intended to break up any chance of a rapprochement between the Palestinians and the Israelis and it will be very difficult to keep the process in being. I very much hope, though clearly it will make life very difficult, I very much hope after a while it will be possible to continue.

  • Mr Major’s Doorstep Interview Following Meeting with Shimon Peres – 31 January 1996

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s doorstep statement in London following a meeting with Shimon Peres, the Israeli Prime Minister, on Wednesday 31st January 1996.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Can I just firstly say what a very welcome guest the Prime Minister is here this afternoon. We have met on many occasions in recent years and I am delighted that we were able to have a fairly wide ranging discussion this afternoon.

    Amongst the matters we talked about, I think there are two that I would particularly wish to mention before I invite the Prime Minister to say a few words. The first is to extend my unqualified congratulations at the success of the way in which the Palestinian elections took place and the way in which they turned out. I think the way in which that has been handled, and the courageous decisions that were taken over the last year or so, are material to the success of those elections and I believe the Prime Minister deserves every congratulation for the way in which he has handled that.

    The second thing I would just wish to say is a word about the bilateral relationship that exists between the United Kingdom and Israel. I cannot remember a time when the bilateral relationships were as close over a whole range of issues as they are at the present time. And I think the great deal of the credit for that goes to Prime Minister Rabin and Prime Minister Peres. We have had the opportunity of talking and meeting on many occasions in recent years and some of the old issues, where we rubbed up uneasily against one another, have been put very firmly behind us in the bilateral relationship and I am delighted to have the opportunity of saying that to you this afternoon.

    The Prime Minister will wish to say a few words. Finally, I simply wish to say that I very much look forward to the dinner at which we are both speaking tomorrow evening and I will have the pleasure of introducing the principal guest – the Prime Minister – as indeed I do now.

    MR PERES:

    Thank you. Well I wanted to thank the Prime Minister for really enabling us to enjoy an extremely well and close relationship between Great Britain and Israel, particularly after the visit of the Prime Minister to our country. It was enriched economically, it was extended to many other fields of mutual interest and I really agree with the Prime Minister that they are at their very best.

    I think that Great Britain has contributed greatly to the peace process by encouraging the parties to go ahead, by supporting the Palestinians in building their own autonomy and their own administration, which we favour very much. I share his view that the elections serve as the crown for a revolutionary approach to one of the most complicated issues of our time and today became a new reality.

    I have had the opportunity to inform the Prime Minister that we are continuing our peace efforts now with the Syrians and the Lebanese, we are very [indistinct] and we intend to go ahead.

    QUESTION:

    Is there any British and European initiative to speed up the process, especially the talks, between Israel and the Syrians because it looks like the Americans have not achieved much so far? Mr Peres, we have heard today that Syria has expressed some reservation and a note of pessimism about the talks in Maryland which will finish tonight. Are you optimistic that the talks will resume in Israel?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    We are happy to play whatever role we can to facilitate the talks, but we cannot reach agreements there. The best that we can do is to encourage the parties to talk and to take whatever action we may that will ensure that those talks, when they take place, are successful. That we are happy to do. But beyond being a facilitator, there is nothing that I can say to you today about that. Whatever we are asked to do, and can credibly do, you have my assurance that we will do and we will advise our European partners to join us in that. But I think the principal responsibility is going to lie in the direct negotiations between President Assad and the Prime Minister, that is where the decisions will be taken.

    MR PERES:

    I think in the right [indistinct] the two of them were successful meetings. A great deal of progress was done. The agenda is a very rich and complicated one, but I am rather satisfied with the results of the meetings and I do not see any reason to become pessimistic. But one of the main things is the optimism which is necessary for the negotiations.

  • Mr Major’s Comments on Gaza Visit – 14 March 1995

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s comments on his March 1995 Gaza visit, made in his auto-biography, page 520.

    SIR JOHN MAJOR:

    Not to go to the UN ‘Social Summit’ in Copenhagen in March 1995 was one of my easiest decisions. The Foreign Office pleaded with me to change my mind, as did the Danes. I was told that sixty or seventy other leaders would be at this jamboree, including all the Europeans (though not President Clinton). If I didn’t drop in to deliver the British speech, I was assured, it would look as if we didn’t care about world poverty; and our relations with the host nation, Denmark, would suffer.

    Instead I fulfilled a long-standing commitment to go to Israel, Jordan and Palestine. I cemented strong personal relationships with Israel’s Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein of Jordan, and was the first Western leader to visit Yasser Arafat in Gaza, in the newly-established Palestinian entity. I was able to give some modest help to the faltering Middle East peace process by brokering an agreement between Rabin and Arafat for monitors from the European Union to oversee the elections in Gaza. I like to think that I also did some practical good for world poverty, both by announcing a new aid package for impoverished Gaza and by encouraging my travelling party of senior British businessmen to think of investing and purchasing in Jordan and Palestine. Because of the Arab boycott of Israel they had never previously been able to fly from Israel to Jordan, and many of them had concentrated on the more profitable Israeli market.

  • Mr Major’s Press Conference with Chairman Arafat – 14 March 1995

    Below is the transcript of Mr Major’s press conference with Chairman Arafat, held in Gaza on Tuesday 14th March 1995.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    When the Chairman and I met in London 15 months ago, I hoped on that occasion to visit Gaza, and I am very pleased now to have been able to do so. Let me say straight away where Britain stands on some of the issues, and make it clear immediately that we stand four-square behind the peace process that is continuing at the present moment.

    Not only do we stand four-square behind it in principle, insofar as we are able to do so, we are taking practical action to help. We have so far pledged something over 120 million dollars to the Palestinian autonomy, some of it comes via our contribution with the European Union, some from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, and some of it bilaterally. We are seeking to ensure that the money goes where it will help most – to the police for their running costs, and I don’t think anyone will doubt the importance of the police service; the training, we have got a very large training programme and that is going to be supplemented by a new management training initiative to the Palestinian Autonomy; and of course to infrastructure for areas such as water supply, public health, without which firstly no decent society can prosper, and secondly other investment will not appear without that basic infrastructure.

    I had the opportunity this morning of handing over 50 Land Rovers and mini-buses to the civil police, and beyond that there will be further contributions in bilateral aid for a Know-How programme to be spent on public administration, health, water, education and private sector development, and of course the peace implementation programme for infrastructure projects.

    Let me just say a brief word about the Know-How programme. One of the features of that programme, not just here but elsewhere, but certainly here, is in its multiplier effect. It is there to encourage collaboration between British and Palestinian private sector firms. We strongly believe the private sector has a role to play and I have brought with me on this occasion a very powerful team of British businessmen who have had a very useful Round Table discussion this morning with Palestinian businessmen and Palestinian Ministers. This afternoon they will be pursuing individual contacts and I very much hope that this will lead to an acceleration in the levels of trade and the levels of investment.

    I know that the Chairman proposes to pursue free market policies and to welcome investors into the area. And the private sector is a very important engine of long-term growth and a very important engine of long-term employment and prosperity which is so necessary to underpin the peace process.

    Let me say a word about that process itself. The pursuit of peace in the Middle East is neither straightforward, nor is it simple. It has been a difficult year, it has been difficult to make the advances that have been made, and I believe it is very much to the credit of Chairman Arafat and the Israeli leaders that so much has already been achieved. I think it is important to acknowledge the successes there have been, whilst also acknowledging the things that still need to be overcome.

    Further political and economic progress is going to be absolutely indispensable if the ordinary Palestinian is going to have faith in the promise of a better future as a result of the peace process. As I made clear yesterday, the border closures sadly had the opposite effect.

    The next step, I hope, will be to arrange elections that will underpin the legitimacy and the authority of the Palestinian leadership. When I was in Israel I pressed Mr Rabin to press ahead with arrangements so that elections and redeployment can take place.

    This morning I have reiterated to Chairman Arafat the European Union’s willingness to consider coordinating the international observation of Palestinian elections, and the Chairman has indicated that this would be welcome to him. I think this is very good news, I will take that message back to our partners in the European Union and I am sure that they in turn will welcome that statement. There will be many practical arrangements of course still to be worked out. But involvement by the European Union in implementing the Declaration of Principles represents an entirely new departure for European involvement in assisting the peace process, and it does reflect, I believe, Europe’s desire to take a more active part in promoting peace across the region.

    I found my discussions this morning very worthwhile. I hope that the discussions between the businessmen, which we will hear more of a little later today, have been equally successful and I would like to thank the Chairman and his colleagues for their hospitality. We admire the determination with which the peace process is being pursued despite the difficulties inherent in any such process. We will continue to help it both politically and practically and we wish it every success in the future.

    CHAIRMAN ARAFAT:

    We are very happy to have this visit from His Excellency here in Gaza and we had the privilege to meet together and to make a tour all around and we can say that we are very grateful to His Excellency for what he has done for our people and for the peace process from the beginning for the support of his government and his people, great support for the peace process. We had a very successful and very positive discussion this morning and I am sure that he will continue in pushing the peace process, especially as you know we are facing some problems and we are facing the delaying of the implementation of what had been agreed upon. But I am sure that with the continuing support from His Excellency, from the European Union, from the co-sponsors from the others, we will be able to have the stability to carry on the peace process, especially on the Palestinian track.

    We discussed also the European role for the elections. As you know, we have a permanent mission and a permanent committee, a European Committee, a European Mission, to help us in preparing for the peace process, for the election, and at the same time we have sent many groups to Europe for training. And we are very grateful for His Excellency to accept what we had discussed with His Excellency this morning about the very important role for Europe in supervising the next election which we hope will be able to take place very soon and without any delay. As you know, this has been delayed for more than nine months and we hope that we will be able to have the election very soon, including the redeployment from the rest of the West Bank. And I have to thank His Excellency for his efforts in pushing forward the peace process and the implementation of what has been agreed upon.

    At the same time, we are proud that we have these strong bilateral contacts at all levels and we cannot forget this very important discussion which I had in London and which we had today in Gaza, and we have to thank His Excellency and his government for the permanent support which we are receiving at all levels, by all means, financial effort, training effort and other support, so that we can have the ability to build and reconstruct the infrastructure which had been destroyed during the Israeli occupation.

    Many thanks for coming, Your Excellency, and many thanks for your efforts and many thanks for what you are doing to help us in pushing forward the peace process. At the same time we cannot forget this big and very important delegation which accompanied Your Excellency, I mean the British businessmen, and now they are discussing with Palestinian businessmen many important issues and coordination at all levels so that we can have more financial support, more economic support and more experience from them to follow-up the very difficult mission to re-build and reconstruct what had been destroyed during the occupation. I have to thank you, Your Excellency, from my heart, for this visit and for you support which we cannot forget. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

     

    QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

    QUESTION:

    Prime Minister, what is your impression on the situation here; and how do you see the role of England in pushing the peace process forward, there was news during the British occupation of Palestine that they took the money… [inaudible]

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Let me take those points in the order that you presented them to me. As far as the impression is concerned, it is very difficult to form an impression in the very brief period that I have been here and I think it would be unwise of me to generalise about that. What is self-evident is the tremendous task that lies ahead. A start has been made, as you go round you can begin to see hotels, tower blocks, housing beginning to be built. One can see as you drove in some superb beaches which in due course might be a very remarkable local asset for bringing in a substantial amount of tourism. All these things lie in the future so one can see many of the things that need to be done, the nursing training college I have just been to see where they were talking about the plans to build a new hospital. So there is a great deal that is beginning to happen. But the immediate impression is firstly that things are beginning to happen; but secondly that there is an enormous task that lies ahead to carry that beginning forward to provide the right infrastructure and the right well-being for the people who live here.

    As far as what the United Kingdom can do, I think there are two things really essentially the United Kingdom can do. It can play its role politically and diplomatically in assisting the only people who can reach a peace, and that is the representatives of the Palestinians and the Israelis, they are going to reach the peace, we can contribute to that, and we should contribute to that, but it is essentially going to be for them to do. The other area where I think there is a role is in the area of practical assistance, and that was what I was talking about a few moments ago. I don’t think I need elaborate upon it.

    On the Barclays Bank point, that is a wholly novel point to me, I will reflect upon it.

    QUESTION:

    [Not interpreted]

    CHAIRMAN ARAFAT:

    [Not interpreted]

    SIMON WALTERS (THE TIMES):

    Mr Arafat, some people have compared the IRA’s armed struggle in Britain to the PLO use of violence in the past. The British Government now wants the IRA to renounce violence and to commit itself to peace. Would you advise Mr. Gerry Adams, the leader of the IRA’s political wing Sinn Fein, to do that?

    Mr. Major, there are reports at the White House from Downing Street that the US President tried to reach you by phone to discuss the Adams issue and couldn’t get through and that you couldn’t get through to him. What is happening, Sir?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think it was yesterday, Simon, you asked me to unveil my correspondence with the President and I declined to unveil my correspondence with the President. We write and we speak regularly. I have no doubt we will speak over the course of the next few days. As you have been with me, you will know I have been fairly mobile over the last couple of days but the President and I speak often and if he wishes to speak to me, we will speak. That is equally true the other way round, if I wish to speak to him we do so. If he has been pursuing me I am sure he will find me soon and since you told me that is the case, we will make sure that he does.

    CHAIRMAN ARAFAT:

    This is an old question I heard during my visit to Britain and during my visit to Ireland and no doubt we are appreciating too much the line and the peace process everywhere and I am encouraging all the partners everywhere not only here, not only in Ireland but everywhere throughout the peace process.

    SIMON WALTERS:

    Should Mr. Adams renounce violence as you did?

    CHAIRMAN ARAFAT:

    I am not giving lessons to anybody but I am supporting this initiative taken by Prime Minister Major and the Prime Minister of Ireland.

    JOHN CRAIG (LONDON DAILY EXPRESS):

    On that same theme, the Prime Minister was making the point yesterday that the next stage of the peace process in Northern Ireland is for the IRA to hand in their weapons; he was saying to us that the ball is very much in the IRA’s court. Would you say now that the IRA must be going to decommission their weapons, lay down their arms?

    CHAIRMAN ARAFAT:

    What I have mentioned is clear to the audience.

    QUESTION:

    Mr. Major, if the position of a solution is very well known why have the plans of Mr. Douglas Hogg to come to the country been changed?

    Secondly, is it likely that the latest position may change under the pressure of the Jewish community in Britain?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    The British position on Jerusalem has been clear for a very long time and in the Declaration of Principles that was signed by the Chairman and by the Prime Minister of Israel that is a matter to be determined in the final status negotiations and it can only be determined by them, it can’t be determined by Britain, by the United States, by anybody else, it has to be determined by the people who are part of the negotiations. Our position is well known and our position is consistent, has been for very many years and has not changed but that is a matter that will have to be determined between the representatives of the Palestinians and the Israeli government.

    The British position on Jerusalem is that we acknowledge the de facto position. We understand and we have acknowledged that for a very long time but we believe it is a matter that is going to have to be determined between the Palestinians and by the Israelis. In the meantime, neither side should take unilateral advantage of the present situation until that matter is determined in the final status negotiations.

    I would add a further point, if I may. I don’t actually think it is terribly helpful when there are negotiations like that for third parties to express views publicly. I don’t think it actually is helpful so our view has been perfectly clear, it isn’t going to change under pressure of any sort.

    QUESTION (ASSOCIATED PRESS):

    Mr. Major, you referred earlier to supporting the running costs of the Palestinian government but in the past the Western powers have been hesitant to pay for the running costs and Mr. Arafat’s official recently have expressed a desire that this is continued for an extended period in which running costs are covered. Does your country still support that donor countries should pay for Palestinian running costs and various other government expenditures?

    Also, how do you respond to criticism that for all the pledges and promises have been made, the Western powers and donor countries have been exceedingly slow in actually providing direct aid?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    On the second point, a substantial amount has been disbursed in the last year, rather more I think will be disbursed this year. I made the point earlier when I met the businessmen that that is going to be necessary and I think that is going to be necessary in the future. There is a genuine problem with running costs. We have been able to help in some ways in the past with police salaries for example where there was a substantial contribution last year. Running costs are going to be a partnership and I think on that partnership basis it can be helped by the collection of taxes by the Palestinian authorities and contributions by donors. I suspect both of those things will be necessary and I think we will be very happy to look at that.

    QUESTION:

    [in Arabic, not translated]

    CHAIRMAN ARAFAT:

    [in Arabic, not translated]

    QUESTION:

    Prime Minister Major and Chairman Arafat, at what stage are the talks on the deployment of observers for the elections and have you got any idea of what it would cost, how many people and is this part of the overall plan for assistance to the Palestinians?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    The details of those discussions lie ahead. We have discussed the matter this morning and I will take back the position I described to the conference earlier to my partners in the European Union but the detail points you raised are important detail points but they yet have to be discussed with my colleagues in Europe and with others.

    QUESTION:

    Mr. John Major, what is your position concerning the increasing settlement activity in Jerusalem and in……..?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Under the Declaration of Principles, it is perfectly clear that there shouldn’t be more settlement activity and that is our position and had been known for some time.

    CHAIRMAN ARAFAT:

    [in Arabic, not translated]

    QUESTION:

    [indistinct, but relating to whether the Prime Minister expected more peace negotiations and whether that would make the peace process more successful]

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I certainly look forward to that. I think the way in which one gets from the beginning of the process to the end of the process is by taking each of the hurdles in front of the negotiators one at a time. That has operated very successfully between the Chairman and the Israeli government in the past. I think that is the only way they can continue in future. I think the 1st July target that has been set is very welcome, I hope it is met.

  • Mr Major’s Speech in Presence of Chairman Arafat – 14 March 1995

    Below is the transcript of Mr Major’s speech made on 14th March 1995 in the presence of Chairman Arafat.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Chairman Arafat, distinguished guests.

    We have a saying in Britain that a week is a long time in politics. I have no doubt that that is as true here as it is in London. But if a week is a long time, then how to measure thirteen years? For that is the time since my last visit to the Occupied Territories.

    Little could I foresee, back in 1982, the huge changes in your circumstances – and in mine – before I returned to these lands. The Palestinian Autonomy is still at an early and formative stage. It is vital for the stability of this region and the future of its peoples that the Autonomy – and the peace process as a whole – should succeed. I have come to offer our support and our help. I have also come to look ahead.

    The future is uncertain, and the path ahead strewn with potential pitfalls. But the goal of a lasting and peaceful settlement continues to provide hope to all the peoples of the region. Its single-minded pursuit retains a compelling logic. The search for peace, after decades of violence and hatred on both sides, was never going to be easy. It is bound to be a gradual and sometimes frustrating process, as you try to build a new future for your people.

    But I am sure that in choosing to seek a permanent peace, you have chosen well. Britain will fully support your efforts in that direction. We want to see peace established on the basis of Security Council Resolutions. We believe that it can only be achieved by direct negotiations between the parties, with the support of the international community. We especially value, as I know you do, the active encouragement of President Mubarak.

    The first requirement is to implement the Declaration of Principles: to press on with re-deploying Israel’s armed forces on the West Bank and so clear the way to free elections as soon as possible. I have been encouraged to hear from both Mr. Rabin and Mr. Peres yesterday and from you today, Mr. Chairman, of some recent progress. Elections are essential to strengthen the Autonomy and to weaken the opponents to peace.

    Indeed, it remains crucial to intensify efforts against those resorting to violence. A lasting peace requires security – for both sides. This security will need to be vigorously sustained if progress is to be achieved.

    The Declaration of Principles also stipulates that a number of crucial issues, including settlements and the status of Jerusalem, should be reversed for the final status negotiations. Meanwhile, the status quo should be respected, and nothing be done by either party to seek unilateral advantage. It is most important that that principle should be upheld.

    But it is essential that while the negotiations continue, people should see improvements in their daily life. This will be very important in sustaining popular support for the peace process without which it is far less likely to succeed. I hope that the recent progress in your talks with the Israelis will, for example, lead to easier movement from Gaza to the West Bank.

    Beyond these political issues, however, it is perhaps in the economic field that the international community can contribute most. The Norwegian Government have worked especially hard to co-ordinate international assistance. So has the World Bank. And I saw for myself this morning the effectiveness of UNRWA.

    But the European Union remains by some way the major donor. The Union is providing 580 million dollars of new aid. We are establishing a Know-How Programme for the Occupied Territories worth some 7.5 million dollars to help your managers and your businessmen, your water engineers and your health administrators, to build up their own institutions. It will also encourage involvement by the private sector.

    One such example involves co-operation between Palestinian and British companies, in particular Marks and Spencer, in a project with the Palestinian Autonomy and the British Government to help develop Palestinian skill in making garments for export, and so increase employment in wealth-creating ways.

    This morning I handed over fifty vehicles to the Palestinian police, who, as you know Mr. Chairman, have been a particular focus for Britain’s bilateral aid. This follows our substantial contribution last year towards police salaries, and our provision of management and other training for you officers.

    As I have said, the maintenance of security is an essential pre-condition for the successful pursuit of peace. Without it, neither Palestinians nor Israelis will be prepared to make the commitments necessary to achieve a lasting settlement. By enabling your police force to improve security within the Palestinian Autonomy, I believe that these vehicles, and the other help that Britain has provided, will make an important contribution to furthering the peace process.

    Aid can never be the whole story though. Britain’s experience is that prosperity springs from private enterprise. That is why I welcome the policies for a free market which your Administration have adopted. What Palestinian businessmen need now is opportunity.

    So I am especially glad to have with me today a very powerful trade delegation. They stand ready to help in developing your private sector. I am sure that the discussions with their Palestinian counterparts this morning have thrown up some really useful pointers; and I am glad that there will be opportunities to pursue these individually this afternoon.

    Mr. Chairman, the Palestinian people have suffered much for too many years. I recognise the scale of the problems that still confront you. But you have taken a decisive and courageous step. We in the United Kingdom offer full support to the peaceful search for a lasting settlement for your people.

  • Mr Major’s Speech at Chairman Arafat’s Lunch – 14 March 1995

    Below is the transcript of Mr Major’s speech at a luncheon hosted by Chairman Arafat at the Palestine Hotel in Gaza on Tuesday 14th March 1995.  [Small parts of the original text are inaudible, marked with ….]

    PRIME MINISTER:

    …. still remains to be determined, some of them are very crucial issues, settlements and the status of Jerusalem, they are to be referred to the final status negotiations, and in the meantime the status quo should be respected and nothing done to seek unilateral advantage, and I think it is important that that principle is upheld.

    And I think it is equally important to ensure that the negotiations continue and that people see an improvements in their daily lives whilst those negotiations, which may be protracted, continue to go on, and I believe that will be very important in sustaining the popular support for the process that is so necessary for its success.

    Beyond these fields perhaps it is in the economic area that the international community can contribute most, and a number of people have done so, and I saw for myself the effectiveness of some of the work that has been done, and some of the help that has been provided. The European Union remains by far the major donor thus far, providing something approaching 600 million dollars over five years, of which approximately one-fifth comes from the United Kingdom. We will also help in a number of other bilateral ways, but I need not on this occasion. We shall sustain our bilateral aid and I have been able to make a further improvement to it today.

    What we equally seek to do is to encourage, as far as it is practicable, the involvement of the private sector. There are a number of areas of cooperation and some of the key British Chairmen who are part of that cooperation are sitting around this table this morning. I was delighted to hand over 50 vehicles to the civil police this morning as part of our bilateral aid. That and other areas of help have been provided in the past and I am confident will be provided in the future.

    But the maintenance of security is going to be the essential pre-requisite for the successful pursuit of the peace negotiations. Without it, I suspect neither the Palestinians, nor the Israelis, will be able to make the commitments necessary to achieve a lasting settlement. By enabling your police force to improve security within the Palestinian Autonomy, I hope that those 50 vehicles, and the other help that my country has been able to provide, will make a further contribution to helping that peace process by offering reassurance both here and elsewhere as for the maintenance of peace.

    Aid cannot be the whole story. Private enterprise has its own role to play and I need not …. to this particular audience of all audiences, except to say that it is very necessary that private enterprise has the confidence to play its role in the future, and I very much hope that it will.

    Mr Chairman, I have only had a very brief opportunity of having a look at the difficulties faced by the Palestinian people who are present here …. they have suffered a very great deal for a very long time. There are problems on the most enormous scale that face you, I recognise the scale of those problems. But what I believe is beyond doubt is that you and the Israeli government have taken a very courageous and a very exciting step in advancing the process against many difficulties on both sides in advancing the process as far as you have got. I believe that you deserve the support of the international community as you try to advance that process even further and I believe the international community owes it to you as well, to help facilitate the circumstances in which private enterprise itself can …. standards right across the Middle East, and I believe that is the only way forward for all of us.

    Let me simply conclude by thanking you for your hospitality on this occasion, and …. yesterday, and say that we and the United Kingdom will continue to offer all the support we can for the peace process in the hope that it will provide a lasting settlement not just for the Palestinians, but for the Palestinians, for the Israelis and for the wider Middle East. That is the goal that is in front of people and I think it is one that is very worthwhile seeking.

  • Mr Major’s Speech to Business Round Table Meeting – 14 March 1995

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s speech at the Business Round Table meeting in Gaza on 14th March 1995.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Let me just say a word or two before we get to questions in a few moments, following which there are other meetings to go to, and I hope we will all see one another later today.

    I am very pleased to be here today with the Chairman for the first British/Palestinian Business to Business Round Table. The Chairman mentioned the European Union, and I think from wherever one stands, from whatever direction one comes, whether political or geographic, there is a communal interest in playing a role to try and find a satisfactory and lasting solution to the problems that have existed across the Middle East. They are not problems that can just be solved by politicians talking, they cannot just be solved by businessmen investing, they cannot just be solved by goodwill, they cannot be solved sometimes without perhaps an act of faith and risk or two. But it is in everyone’s interest, whether in this room or beyond this room, that one is able to move towards a general solution.

    I believe my colleagues in the European Union will be sensitive to some of the points that we have been discussing this morning, and I will certainly take those back and discuss them with my colleagues, both the political and the economic points that we have been discussing.

    This morning we have a very large collection of businessmen, and I think the business community does have a role that it may be able to play in contributing to the reconstruction, the enormous challenge of reconstruction, which clearly is faced here at the moment. I have with me perhaps undoubtedly the strongest team of British businessmen ever collectively to leave British shores together. They represent some of Britain’s largest companies, and the representatives who are here today are at the top of those particular companies, and all of those companies in different ways have demonstrated the ability of their enterprises to succeed, often in very difficult economic climates. A number of them are already big players in the Middle East, others are not, some have rightly been encouraged by the future prospects if the peace process were to be carried through to a satisfactory conclusion, to have a look for themselves and to see what new opportunities may exist. And I am very pleased of course that several who are with us are already extensively involved here in Gaza, including Mithan [phon] one of Northern Ireland’s most successful companies.

    Upon one thing I don’t have any doubt at all, and that is the potential vibrancy of Palestinian entrepreneurs. A large number of Palestinian companies have taken a leading role already in developing the infrastructure of the Gulf, and clearly that infrastructural development is critical to the investment that may then follow it, but is unlikely in significant sums to precede it. There are a very large number of Palestinian businessmen who operate from the United Kingdom, so we are familiar with their potential abilities. And one of the aims, I hope, of this particular Round Table this morning will be to encourage new partnerships between British and Palestinian firms so that those abilities might be used for both economic, and through economic, for political benefit as well.

    Later on today I will be announcing the establishment for this region of a Know-How programme, it is a system that we have used elsewhere in the world to very great effect. The purpose of the programme is to deliver Know-How, as the title itself suggests.

    The programme is designed to transfer expertise to the Palestinian authority in fundamental areas that they will need to deal with in the future – health, water resources, sewerage and public sector management – all of those are vital areas of infrastructure for general well-being and in turn will help the private sector to invest and trade as those skills and as that infrastructure begins to get put in place.

    One very remarkable tribute to the people of this area is the fact that the Palestinian community has the reputation for being the best educated across the Arab world, and I think that is a very impressive achievement when one considers the difficulties against which that has actually been achieved.

    What I would like to see is that British education and training, and I am delighted that Pauline Perry is with us this morning, will help further to develop the human resources of business and industry in the area, and in this too the Know How Fund is going to help.

    Let me also say that the Minister of State will be talking later about the provision of increased export credit to support trade between ourselves and the area. Richard will deal with those details a little later on this morning.

    You have a very ambitious agenda, it is an ambitious agenda both in scope and ambition in terms of seeking to achieve something for the future from the difficulties that exist today. I am immensely encouraged at the people who are here today, not just the numbers of them but who they are, the people who are here today. I think there is a contribution they can play. Businessmen are hard-headed, they have to be hard-headed, they also have to be long-sighted, they have to look not just at the immediate return but at the long-term future of their enterprises, and one thing I can say to you, amongst those businessmen with us today that I know and in many cases have known for very many years, they are where they are because they are prepared to take a long-term view and their companies have shown that in their own activities time and time again.

    The principal discussions today will not be, Mr Chairman, what you and I say to colleagues here today, but what they say one to another. So I will say no more at this moment, though of course you and I will be happy to answer any questions that colleagues may have before we leave them to their deliberations, So let me simply say it is immensely encouraging to see you all here today and I for one am deeply grateful that you are.

     

    QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:

    QUESTION:

    [Inaudible].

    PRIME MINISTER:

    They are saying we would like to know where the aid is going and where is the visible expression of what the aid has done to enable us to put our money into this area.

    QUESTION:

    Precisely this was the point.

    [Small section indistinct].

    States, via the European Union who I think have a bigger role to play than they have played yet, in order to deal with precisely the problems that you have raised, and I suspect others will raise after we have gone.

    So you may be, if I am right in my judgement of what you will say, seeking a message that I fully understand, expected to hear, have heard even in this brief visit, and will certainly take back to where it needs to be. But I will not elaborate on that just now because the Chairman and I should have been elsewhere sometime ago.

  • Mr Major’s Press Conference in Jerusalem – 13 March 1995

    Below is the transcript of Mr Major’s press conference in Jerusalem on Monday 13th March 1995.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Let me just say a few words about the trip so far which to date has certainly exceeded my expectations. We have been met with a great deal of friendship and kindness, a great deal of hospitality, and I would like to express my gratitude to our host for that at the outset.

    There has also been a substantial personal dimension to much of what we have seen and done. This morning at Yad Vashem, the first time I have had the opportunity to visit there, showed two things I think very clearly, it reminded one of the depths of depravity of human behaviour, but also the extent to which the human spirit can overcome it, and I found it a very remarkable experience to go there.

    What has struck me very forcibly in the meetings thus far is the extent to which the ties that exist between the United Kingdom and Israel are so numerous, so personal, so widespread, that in many aspects of them the role of governments in many ways seems superfluous. Over the years official relationships have had their ups and downs, but despite that, the personal relationships have continued to improve right across the board. And those relationships, I discover, have their own momentum.

    But if I can just return to the role of government, I think that properly is to pave the way for the enterprise and resourcefulness of individuals, and that was very much the initiatives I have announced thus far during my visit: the UK/Israel Arts Fund; a doubling of the science and technology research fund; and the new award scheme for excellence in the English language.

    Beyond that, I have brought with me more than 20 top captains of British industry to open new doors in what is already a rapidly growing commercial relationship. And to put the size and potential interest of those companies into a proper perspective, perhaps I should mention that collectively they represent companies whose turnover is in excess of 100 billion dollars each and every year. They were meeting with their Israeli counterparts this morning and I had the privilege of opening the UK/Israeli Round Table. That went on long after I had left the meeting to go on elsewhere, but both sides have continued their meeting and I believe it has been extremely successful.

    They have agreed to establish more regular links, they have agreed to set up, as I had hoped they would, an Israel/Britain Business to Business Council, precisely the sort of result which can ensure that the business relationship continues to improve.

    I have just returned in the last few minutes from the Tefen High Technology Industrial Park which, apart from the remarkable opportunities offered, provided a glimpse of the future. I have seen robotics factories before, but I think the robotics factory I saw there was as good as any I have seen anywhere in the world, robots undertaking each and every function. No doubt at some stage in the future we would not need a press conference like this, robots could accurately report everything that had been said, and you can imagine the surge of optimism that passed through me when I thought of that possibility.

    I have no doubt, on the basis of what I have seen already in this visit, that there are remarkable prospects for new and improved trade and investment between the United Kingdom and Israel, and that British industry, if I may speak for them, is ready, willing and able to seize those opportunities.

    On a political front I had the opportunity yesterday and this morning of some very substantive discussions with the Prime Minister, and with the Foreign Minister, and they both gave me an account of Israel’s negotiations with the European Union for a cooperation agreement. I made very clear to them that Britain very strongly supports the liberalisation of trade and very strongly supports free trade. We welcome without equivocation the prospect of a cooperation agreement between the European Union and Israel, and we are pressing for early conclusion of that agreement. I know there have been some difficulties in that and I have invited the Israeli government to let me have the details of the particular problems that have arisen in the negotiations and, where that seems appropriate, I agreed to take them up and discuss them with our European Union partners.

    Discussion of a range of economic matters led to a wider point upon which the Prime Minister and I were very firmly agreed, and that is the development of economic activity, and the increasing prosperity and employment that follows that growing economic activity, is the best and surest antidote to terrorism. I took the opportunity of repeating Britain’s unswerving support for the peace process here in the Middle East, I very strongly welcome the agreements reached recently between the Foreign Minister and Chairman Arafat. Elections in the Palestinian autonomy, which now seem likely to take place this year, would be a huge boost to the peace process.

    The European Union I believe has its own role to play in that and underpins its support for that process with very substantial aid, it is the main provider of assistance to the Palestinians, it has pledged thus far nearly 600 million dollars, of which the United Kingdom’s share is around 100 million dollars. I will myself be announcing some further assistance to the Palestinians and Jordan in the next couple of days.

    Of course in our discussions there is one thing that remains key for Israel, and understandably so, and that is the question of security and I think no-one would contest the importance of that. At the same time I think the Palestinians need to see real improvement in their lives, both politically and economically, if their support for the peace process is to be sustained, and that is why we are concerned about the effects of repeated closures of the border. We hope that security conditions will permit them to be re-opened and then kept open.

    As you may imagine, our discussions were informed by a common revulsion for terrorism and I was able to confirm to the Prime Minister that we will continue to give appropriate protection to Israeli and Jewish premises in the United Kingdom.

    This visit is very far from over. This afternoon I look forward, after our brief press conference, to meetings with President Weizman, with the Speaker of the Knesset, the Leader of the Opposition and the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee. Tomorrow morning I will visit the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery at Mount Scopus. And I suppose that this, the 50th year since the end of the Second World War, reminds us more vividly perhaps than on previous occasions of the debt we owe to the people who lie there.

    One overriding impression of the visit, I think that is the extent that Britain and Israel have to offer each other. A number of opportunities and new openings have presented themselves in the last couple of days. I daresay there are many others that exist that have not presented themselves on this occasion but will, I hope, as the relationship develops. I intend to see that these opportunities are exploited to the full because I believe that will be to the benefit of Britain, to the benefit of Israel and to the benefit of relations between us. There will be lots of gainers and no losers.

     

    QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

    QUESTION (Channel 2 News):

    My question is about the Carlucci Point, while standing at the Carlucci Point and watching the region and the sensitivity of the region of the Eamun Mountain, taking into account that this mountain will be given back to Syria in our negotiations, what is your impression concerning the security of Israel which you just mentioned?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think it is essential that we make progress, that Israel and Syria make progress down the Syrian track. The concept of land for peace – land for security, to put it more aptly I think – is one that has been around in the negotiations for some time. I doubt that there are many people who believe that we will be able to carry this process to a conclusion unless there is progress down the Syrian track. I hope that the meetings that Warren Christopher has had in the last couple of days will help provide a key that will move it forward. But what is clear is that the Golan will be handed back providing there is an agreement that satisfies Israel’s security. Israel will need to be satisfied on that and I was reassured about that point this morning.

    QUESTION (Steve Edwards, IBA News, Israel TV):

    What role do you foresee for the UK to play in the current peace process?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think we can assist. We cannot make the peace and we cannot negotiate the peace. The peace will only be reached if an agreement can be reached between the Palestinians and the Israeli government, that is the only way peace can be reached. But I think there is a role for large nations around the world and I think the role perhaps can best be expressed in two ways. Firstly, to give an unqualified support to those people who are seeking to progress the peace process. It is not easy, whenever one moves down a particular path like this there are domestic difficulties, domestic fears, old worries, old problems to overcome, it takes a great deal of courage both for the Palestinian leaders and for the Israeli leaders to march down that particular road. So firstly I think the diplomatic support that the international community can give is very valuable, it is more than ephemeral. The second point of course is the practical aspect of aid and practical assistance. There is no doubt, as I indicated a moment or so ago in what I had to say by way of opening remarks, that if you can remove many of the causes that feed people into a terrorist background, the very low quality of life, the very low standard of living, to raise some hope and opportunities where none existed before, then you have made a significant contribution towards it being possible for a settlement to be reached. And that I think is a legitimate role for the rest of the G7 and the rest of the world, hence the financial support I mentioned, and that was something I spent some time discussing with the Foreign Minister this morning and also the Prime Minister yesterday.

    QUESTION (ISRAEL INSIGHT MAGAZINE):

    A century ago, Queen Victoria said that the Bible was the greatness of the British Empire and a few years later Britain fulfilled a Bible verse “I will bless them that bless Israel and I will curse him that curses it!” by uttering the Balfour Declaration and she was blessed a month later with the liberation of Jerusalem and a year later with victory in World War I. Only 25 years later, in this hotel, because of her betrayal of that Declaration, the British Empire reached a climax of being dissolved.

    Has Britain learned her lesson yet of Genesis 12.3 and the power, truth and certainty of the Bible?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I am not sure I would see cause and effect in quite the way you describe it. I think there are many aspects to the historical events you refer to. What concerns me is not to look back at different interpretations of past historical events; what concerns me here today is what we can do in practice to remove a sore that has plagued the Middle East for far too long.

    If you look at what is happening around the world, unless the Middle East is able to reach a settlement – I speak of it in its generality, not just in the specificity of Israel – then many people who live in the Middle East will find their relative standard of living falling increasingly behind people in other parts of the world; that is dangerous politically and it is wrong morally so what concerns me is to see what can be done here and now today, not looking back historically, to try and assist those who are seeking an accommodation, seeking a peace, so that the advantages of inward investment can appear and the advantages of cooperation across the Middle East can become more evident. I think that is more fruitful for a modern political figure to deal with.

    QUESTION (VOICE OF ISRAEL RADIO):

    Mr. Major, I would like to ask you about another peace process, not the one in our region. Gerry Adams in the United States challenged you and said you should follow President Clinton’s and the government of Dublin’s example and accept Sinn Fein’s democratic mandate and he also said six months of the cessation of hostilities of the IRA. What is going to be your response and Britain’s next step in that domain?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    The road is open to Mr. Adams to progress this. If Mr Adams is concerned about peace and wishes to see it move forward, then he has no need of weapons. He has no reason not to enter into discussions on the modalities of decommissioning weapons, no reason at all and what we are saying to the political representatives of Sinn Fein in our discussion is let us discuss not just broad waffly views about what one actually needs to do about arms, let us actually discuss the practical modalities of disposing of the arms that no peaceful body needs.

    That is what I wish Sinn Fein to enter into. I wish them to enter into it with a clear commitment that they are entering into discussions on the decommissioning of arms with the intention of reaching a conclusion to those discussions. I don’t want to hear, as I heard from Mr. McGuinness on the radio the other morning, that the new statement meant nothing new, that it was exactly where Sinn Fein had been before.

    We need progress. There have been six months of peace and it has been a blessed boon, that is certainly true; it has revolutionised the way of life in Northern Ireland. That everybody in Northern Ireland wants to ensure is that it isn’t just six months, that it is going to go on and that nobody is going to return to violence and that the fear that is excited on both sides by paramilitaries on both sides having weapons can go away because the paramilitaries will remove their weapons and that is what I am talking to you about today, that is what I wish to see Sinn Fein do, it is what I wish to see the Protestant paramilitaries do.

    In order to achieve that, let them discuss properly the practical modalities of decommissioning weapons so that those weapons can be taken out of service and then the other political parties will be in a position to sit down and talk to Sinn Fein to hammer out a permanent agreement that will remove the horrors Northern Ireland has seen for the last quarter of a century from the scene for good. That is what I wish to see.

    CHRISTOPHER WALKER (THE TIMES):

    Mr. Prime Minister, as a result of your experiences here, when you return to London have you in mind to suggest that Her Majesty the Queen should reinforce and cement the improvement of Anglo-Israeli relations by taking up an invitation that has been made to her fairly repeatedly over the 48 years since the state was founded?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Prince Philip had a very successful visit here and I can’t anticipate what decisions Buckingham Palace will take but I have no doubt that in due course the Queen will visit.

    JEREMY BOWEN (BBC):

    We heard you yesterday dismiss any suggestion of any similarity between your meeting with Mr. Arafat and President Clinton’s invitation to Mr. Adams but do you have any sympathy with people who see certain parallels in the peace process here and the peace process in Northern Ireland?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Not on those grounds. I don’t think the similarities are there when one actually looks at where we are in the process. We are at a different stage in the process in the two sets of negotiations.

    If one takes the Middle East process, the Israelis and the Palestinians have been meeting at senior level for a long time; Chairman Arafat and the Prime Minister of Israel have met on a significant number of occasions; Chairman Arafat has also met other significant Israelis, that has been happening regularly for some time so there is certainly no reason why I shouldn’t meet Chairman Arafat as indeed I did at Downing Street last year; some people seem to have forgotten that that meeting took place and that it was actually December 1993.

    As far as the relationship with the Irish peace process is concerned, as you will have heard from the answer I gave a few moments ago, we are rather earlier in the process and I think I made those points last evening and there is no point in me reiterating them now.

    COLIN BROWN (THE INDEPENDENT):

    Prime Minister, we understand that you have sent a letter to President Clinton. I wondered if you could perhaps give us something of the flavour of the contents of the letter and perhaps characterise your feelings towards the President at the moment. Also could you say how soon it will be before ministers actually start meeting Sinn Fein representatives?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I am in touch with Bill Clinton on many occasions over many subjects and I haven’t yet reached the stage where I need to express my views to him using your good offices, Colin, and I don’t intend to on this particular occasion.

    We are in touch on this issue and on a range of other issues because we have got a very large number of interests in common with the United States I have no intention of elaborating upon the exchanges we have had on this or indeed on any other subject.

    We have got a huge degree of common interests with the United States and a huge degree of areas where there is very close cooperation; peace and stability in Europe, there could scarcely be closer cooperation than there is between the United States and Britain in NATO; in the Middle East and I think this trip indicates that particular point; in the G7, in the G8. I could extend that list for some time, The relationship of mutual interests between two of the great English-speaking democracies is very close and I don’t intend to delve into the details of my exchanges, tempting though your offer may be.

    QUESTION:

    The Foreign Minister this morning said he had asked Great Britain to help support an industrial park, one of the eight that is planned for the borders of West Bank and Gaza. Is Great Britain interested in supporting such a park and if so, could you discuss what type of financial commitment that would involve?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    We don’t know the answer to that yet. We discussed the idea and a number of other ideas in the generality, we haven’t yet got down to the specifics. We will examine the specifics, we will look at it with an open mind and see whether it is practical. The idea is not just that Britain should do this but that a number of other countries should as well and I can see some attractions in it but as yet it hasn’t been costed, it hasn’t been considered, it hasn’t been prepared. There are many things that we need to examine and we will certainly examine them.

    JOHN CRAIG (DAILY EXPRESS):

    But your reluctance to disclose the contents of your letter to President Clinton does rather suggest the tone was somewhat frosty and it does appear that his feting of Mr. Adams has rather soured the relationship between Britain and the United States at a time when you are due to go there in three weeks’ time. Have relations been damaged and are you still going?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    John, I don’t tell you what my private letters are to a whole range of people and I have no intention of starting with Bill Clinton, that doesn’t seem to be the right place to start publishing my correspondence so I don’t think you should draw those particular conclusions. I just indicated a moment ago a whole series of areas where Britain and the United States have very close interests and will continue to have very close interests. I don’t suppose we are always going to agree on each and every subject on each and every occasion and there is nothing new about that, that has always been the case but it isn’t going to affect the overwhelming degree of mutual interest that exists between the United Kingdom and the United States and the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Great Britain,

    SIMON WALTERS (THE SUN):

    But Prime Minister, be honest! As you have said yourself, this is a matter which affects life and death in Britain and Bill Clinton has stabbed us in the back by the way he has treated Gerry Adams, hasn’t he? It might wreck the whole peace process.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I am not going to add to what I have said already, Simon. I am concerned to make sure that we are able to carry forward as far as we can, as safely as we can, a process that I believe if successful will change for good the whole way of life in Northern Ireland. Sometimes, that means you don’t say all the things you may be doing in public, it is necessarily the case. I think it is important to keep this process on track, I think it is important that pressure is put on Sinn Fein so that they will agree to examine the modalities of decommissioning their weapons and then proceed beyond the modalities to actually decommission those weapons. There is no doubt that that is going to be necessary and for anyone who is talking about peace, it ought to be a step, it seems to me, that they would be prepared to take and I very much hope Mr. Adams will be prepared to take it and I hope that course is urged upon him.

    JIM COOPER:

    Mr. Major, can you tell us what the British role is going to be in promoting trade, economic development and cooperation on employment between the autonomoustic regions and Israel?

    PRIME MINISTER:

    I think that is a matter that is still going to be the subject of a great deal of discussion between the Israelis and the embryo Palestinian authority. I think this is classically an area – to go back to one of the earlier questions that I was asked – where there can be a good deal of external assistance both in terms of resources and perhaps more practical assistance as well.

    It is certainly going to be necessary, as you imply, that a great deal is done to improve employment and other prospects within the Palestinian autonomy; that, I think, is true beyond doubt. That is self-evidently in the Palestinians’ interests. I believe and so does the Israeli government that it is very much in their interests as well to see the quality of life and employment prospects improve there and for any external government who wishes to see peace in the Middle East, they too have a direct interest in it but the mechanics of how that will be brought about are still to be the subject of a great deal of discussion both between the Palestinians no doubt and external donors – very probably I will discuss some of these issues tomorrow – and also of course between the Israeli government and the Palestinians.

  • Mr Major’s Joint Statement in Jerusalem with Mr Rabin – 12 March 1995

    Below is the transcript of Mr Major’s speech at the arrival ceremony held in Jerusalem on Sunday 12th March 1995.

    MR RABIN:

    Prime Minister and Mrs Major, members of the British delegation, dear friends, welcome to Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel and the heart of the Jewish people. The history of the relations between Britain and Israel has known pleasant hours as well as painful ones. This is a very pleasant hour. We choose to remember today the pleasant moments between us, the Balfour Declaration which established a national homeland for the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael, Britain’s courageous stand during World War in fighting the Nazi [Inaudible] and all that we have absorbed of the British culture and during the British mandate. These will forever bind us together. You have come back to us today, 47 years after you left Israel, and this time Israel extending its hand to you and embracing you warmly with open arms.

    Mr Prime Minister, we are witnessing today close and very friendly relations between Jerusalem and London. Even if in the past, and maybe in the future, there have been differences of opinion between our two countries, we know that you have always been concerned about the problems and peace and security of Israel and the Middle East, the strong and friendly ties between our countries today are largely due to your efforts, Mr Prime Minister, and we thank you for that.

    Mr Prime Minister, this is also a wonderful opportunity to congratulate you personally, the members of your government and your people, on the steps you have taken towards reconciliation and peace with Northern Ireland. From first hand experience in making peace I understand the challenges and the difficulties and I wish you every success. In the short time we have together you will get to know the Israelis as a people who pursue peace, who are building a new country with tremendous determination and with great sacrifice, while combating the difficult battle against terror and enemies who rise to murder us, a people who daily fight hardship and who are making history these days in their efforts to achieve peace.

    During your visit we will try to give you, and the delegation accompanying you on this journey, a true picture of the state of Israel, the challenges, the opportunities and the struggles. We want you to know, Mr Prime Minister, that we see you and your people as dedicated partners and sincere friends. The government and the State of Israel warmly shake your hand and thanks you in appreciation. From the bottom of our hearts we say to you, Shalom and welcome to Israel.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Mr Prime Minister, Mr Speaker, Mr Chief Justice, Ladies and Gentlemen. Norma and I have looked forward to this particular visit to Israel for a very long time. We are delighted to be here today, and to be here not only with colleagues from government, colleagues from Parliament, colleagues from industry, commerce and education, but bringing with us the very best wishes of millions of people in my country who look with admiration to what has been achieved by the State of Israel in the last few years.

    I hope to see in the brief period I am here on this occasion just a few of Israel’s remarkable achievements. Prime Minister, as you and I have discussed on previous occasions, the links between our two countries go back deep into history and they are reflected in very many ways. From time to time we have had our differences, we have had our periods of great friendship and I believe we are embarked upon that and I hope it will last perpetually in the future.

    We see great links at every level between our two societies. They are certainly reflected in very remarkable fashion in the huge contribution that the Jewish community make to British life day, after day, after day.

    You mentioned, Prime Minister, as I did, that there have been difficult times in the past. But in this year perhaps of all years, the year that marks the 50th anniversary of VE Day, we must never forget how we have fought together against common enemies. Today, 50 years on, let me say to you and all the people of Israel, we will continue to stand by your side as you build your nation and secure your peace for the future.

    We have made common cause on many occasions because we share common values. Standing here on this site as one looks around one can see the Knesset, the Supreme Court and the Prime Minister’s office. And perhaps of all the tangible and intangible symbols that bind our nations together, they are perhaps symbols of the greatest bond, that unshakeable belief in democratic principles and in the rule of law.

    I have brought a very unusual and remarkable team with me. I mentioned the range of interests that they cover a moment or so ago. Amongst the businessmen are not just businessmen from some of the largest and most efficient and effective companies in the United Kingdom, but the most senior businessmen from those companies. Many of them know Israel well, many of them do not, for some it will be their first visit here. But each and every one of them share my belief that even stronger economic and financial ties between Britain and Israel will strengthen the bonds that already unite us.

    And I believe also that they can make a contribution to the peace that you and your government have been seeking with such great courage in the Middle East. No-one ever imagined that seeking that peace would be easy, that it would not be without set-backs, that it would not face critics. But I do not believe any dispassionate or rational observer would doubt the enormous courage and commitment that you and your government have entered into, or the remarkable progress that has been made.

    One of the methods with which the international community can underline that progress is by encouraging the development of trade, the development of business links and the development of business interests to raise the living standards of all the people in the region, right across the whole of the Middle East.

    Above all perhaps, Prime Minister, the relationship between Britain and Israel is about people, about ties of family and the warmest possible friendship. So let me say to you at this moment at the outset of this visit we have looked forward to for so long, we come to Israel as friends to be among friends and we believe that we are. I am grateful for your very warm welcome and I look forward to the next couple of days with huge interest and very great delight.

  • Mr Major’s Speech in Jerusalem – 12 March 1995

    Below is the transcript of Mr Major’s speech which was made in Jerusalem on Sunday 12th March 1995.

    PRIME MINISTER:

    Prime Minister, Mrs Rabin, Mr Mayor of Jerusalem, Distinguished Guests. Over the years I have attended many formal occasions. I must tell you in the confidence of this private meeting that they don’t always seem to me to be like a family occasion. But I think tonight is different. Looking around this room I see a very large number of familiar faces, so many old friends that I feel very much at home here in Jerusalem, and for Norma and I it is a real pleasure to be with you here this evening.

    To come to Israel, to come to Jerusalem at any time is a very special event. Norma and I do so together for the first, but I hope and pray not for the last, time. It is a very rare moment for us and one that we will always treasure.

    I have often thought of Jerusalem, thought of it perhaps like millions of other people in the words of the song “Jerusalem the Golden”, a holy city, a place of pilgrimage, a place of devotion. It means many different things, some expressible, some perhaps to individuals inexpressible, to people who come from many different parts of the world. But whatever their background, for everyone they can agree that Jerusalem is unique. I share that feeling again this evening.

    In my country one of our great poets, William Blake, wanted to see the sanctity and the beauty of Jerusalem in our own green and pleasant land in England. His poem “Jerusalem”, familiar I think to everyone in this room, is sung each year at the end of the Promenade concerts in London, and many of you will know it as an enthusiastic and an inspirational event.

    But Jerusalem of course is a great deal more than that, it exerts a very powerful sense of history, a history stretching back through many thousands of years, a proud history but in many ways a tragic history, but above all a history of hope and this year above all years we look back particularly to the terrible period 50 years ago of the Second World War. We have recently commemorated the liberation of Auschwitz. In April we will commemorate the liberation of Belsen by British troops, British troops who were deeply affected by what they found when they arrived there. Many of the survivors of Belsen live in Israel today, many of them no doubt in Jerusalem, others live in Britain. The horrors of the past make for a shared understanding and remembrance for the future.

    In May we shall give thanks for the end of the war in Europe and four months later we shall commemorate the cessation of hostilities in the Far East. There are many people here in Israel, some of them beyond doubt here this evening, who participated in those battles. We remember the contribution of your pilots, one of whom is now your President. We remember the heroic contribution of your parachutists dropped behind enemy lines. And some of you of course fought in the British Army under the Star of David flag, marching together as Churchill memorably expressed it in that high comradeship for freedom and for the deliverance of mankind.

    Tomorrow I shall go to Yad Vashem, a place of special pilgrimage for all mankind, to remember six million Jews murdered in the holocaust. The struggle of the survivors to rebuild their lives, so many of them here in Israel, attest movingly to the capacity for hope, ultimately for hope to triumph against the most appalling despair. Very probably, in all history, there is no greater testament for hope than the fact that so many people from that terrible background, from those terrible memories, were able to look forward and build a new life for themselves, so many of them here in Israel where they felt perhaps for the first time in their lives at home and I hope safe.

    We owe it, I believe, to those who died or suffered to find ways to carry forward that hope, to promote mutual respect, toleration, peace and reconciliation. But as we plan for the future, unless we are prepared to remember what happened in the past and take action against it, we may find ourselves condemned to re-live that past again. So we are constantly tested. The scourge of terrorism, as you said Prime Minister, has afflicted both our countries. I believe there can be no place for violence in any democratic society. I know that you share this view. We agree that terrorism is the common enemy and whatever the cost it must be implacably opposed. We must persevere in the search for lasting solutions to long-standing divisions.

    I remember with affection our last meeting sometime ago in Downing Street. And yet only hours after that meeting on a particularly dark and dank October afternoon last year, another terrorist atrocity in the heart of Tel Aviv shocked the world. That tragedy was followed by others. Our hearts in the United Kingdom have gone out to the people of Israel. The bombers’ intention by their actions must be perfectly clear to anyone who thinks about it for about a second, it is to derail the peace process, to damage the people who seek peace, to end the prospect of trying to produce a future that is without violence and with hope. They seek to use terror for their own purposes.

    It is to your credit, Prime Minister, and that of your government and of the people of Israel that they have not succeeded in that aim. And in the future they must not be allowed to succeed, they cannot be allowed to succeed, and I have no doubt that that is a view that you and I share very deeply indeed.

    I stand today in Israel among a people for whom the yearning for peace is fundamental to their very instinct, it is symbolised in the olive branches that form part of your national emblem. In my country the people of Northern Ireland have the sane yearning. But we also know, both of us Prime Minister, that you cannot have peace without security, that you cannot make peace without patience, without tenacity, without courage and. without the will to seek it, to take it and to hold it. We know that and I believe that will is here in Israel and that it will prevail in the future.

    Relations between the United Kingdom and Israel go back of course, as you said, to the very foundation of the State of Israel and to the Balfour Declaration. You, Prime Minister, reminded me some time ago that your own father joined the British Army’s Jewish Legion as a result of that declaration, that he came here as a British soldier in 1918, which is why you yourself were born here.

    Let me speak for a moment about British/Israeli relations, the seven strands of our shared interests: in politics, defence, culture, education, science, trade and investment. Our countries have had their disagreements in the past, at times with painful and with tragic consequences. But Britain and Israel, despite those disagreements, whatever they may have been, however hard the hurt might have been at the time, Britain and Israel have always been bound together by a huge network of family ties and close personal friendships, and that is reflected in the large party of businessmen, parliamentarians, educationalists and academics who have come with me to Israel from the United Kingdom today.

    Those historic differences I believe are behind us and we are bound now by friendship, respect, cooperation and understanding. Our political relationship, as both of us have made clear again today, has never been as warm as it is tonight, we have never had so much content and so much common ground, and it is my wish, Prime Minister, and yours, that we keep that valued effect and build on it in the future.

    Since you took office, Prime Minister, there has been a marked and very welcome increase in high-level political contacts in both directions and I am delighted that you personally, Foreign Minister Perez and many of your Cabinet colleagues have been frequent and welcome visitors to London. Most recently, my friend and colleague, Malcolm Rifkind, made the first visit to Israel by a British Defence Secretary and in that context I remember with gratitude your cooperation with the Allies during the Gulf War and the resolution of your people under missile attacks.

    The fears and the uncertainties of that time, the gathering of every family in its sealed room, that made a very strong impression upon us in Britain. I vividly remember personally long nights in the Cabinet Room at Downing Street as reports arrived of further Iraqi Scud missile attacks on Israel. We waited anxiously as your people donned face masks in case the Scuds were chemically-tipped as we feared they well might be. We felt deeply for the innocent Israeli victims of violence. We rejoiced in the success of the Patriot batteries and I also authorised certain measures from London to cut off those attacks.

    In what developed into their largest and most significant operation since 1945, the United Kingdom Special Forces were charged specifically with countering the threat posed by the Iraqi Scud missiles. Those Special Forces achieved very remarkable success; significantly fewer Scuds took to the air as a direct result of their efforts. In carrying out their tasks, the Special Forces and the air crews supporting them showed a determination and a courage of the highest order. In little more than one month, Prime Minister, some forty gallantry awards were won by those involved in those operations on land and in the air and in this country of all countries in the world that so well understands the meaning of courage, the value of that contribution needs no further underlining.

    Since the Gulf war, the United Nations Special Commission has made great progress in detecting and destroying Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and this has been achieved by the firm and sustained pressure of the sanctions regime. Mr. Prime Minister, sanctions must continue until their objectives are met and met in full. Last year’s threat to Kuwait, to which the United Kingdom responded very firmly, was a timely reminder. Saddam Hussein continues policies of harsh repression to Iraq’s people, he continues to threaten the stability and the security of the whole region and there are still very serious questions to be answered about Iraq’s biological weapons capability. United Nations sanctions come up this week for renewal. The international community must not be gulled by Saddam’s tactics of evasion and deception. I can assure you that the United Kingdom will not be deceived. We shall continue with good reason to approach sanctions rigorously in the interests of Iraq’s people and of the Middle East as a whole. We are determined to ensure that the whole of Iraq’s biological capability is detected and once detected is then destroyed before there can be any question of adjustments to the sanctions regime.

    At the other end of the spectrum, Prime Minister, is our common cultural heritage. I was pleased to hear that the Royal National Theatre showed you their skills last year. Next year, the Royal Ballet will be with you and meanwhile the British Council will be bringing to Israel a host of other actors, actresses, dancers, writers, musicians and painters. There are also intense and longstanding links between us on the academic field, many of them assisted by remarkably generous private philanthropists and many of you have studied in Britain and I want similar opportunities to be available for future generations.

    With that in mind, we are providing ever more scholarships and study grants, we are training your teachers of English, we are encouraging university links. We shall be working with and helping your Ministry of Education in running English-language summer camps in Northern Israel this summer and tomorrow I shall be announcing a scheme of British awards for excellence in English.

    This evening, I can tell you that we are going to double the science and technology fund established last year for joint work on subjects where we are both pre-eminent. We are also establishing with you a new, special arts training programme which will build upon the Israeli love for British drama and British music.

    These links, Prime Minister, are underpinned by a fast-growing trading relationship that now amounts to over £1.5 billion a year. Israel is Britain’s third-largest market in the Middle East and among our top twenty five worldwide.

    I have brought with me on this occasion a team of businessmen and industrialists that I believe is beyond doubt the highest-powered business delegation ever to travel abroad with a British Prime Minister. Tomorrow, they sit down with their Israeli counterparts to discuss how the rapid development of our economies can best be tapped to our mutual advantage.

    Trade and investment go hand-in-hand. The United Kingdom now has one of the highest growth rates in Europe, rising employment and low inflation and that is recognised in every part of the world with possibly the single exception of the United Kingdom itself! [Laughter] But I live in hope!

    We are unencumbered by many of the high, non-wage labour costs that burden business in the rest of Europe. We have privatised and we have deregulated. The benefits, I believe, are self-evident. Britain welcomes investment from abroad and Britain likes to invest abroad. We have more external investment per head of population than any other nation anywhere in the world. I believe the chance to boost mutual interests is very great. Investment in the British economy of course is not only profitable in itself, it gives access to the largest single trading market in the world and I believe investment in Israel is a prudent investment for the future.

    Prime Minister, no British Prime Minister can come to Israel without being acutely conscious of the wider political changes that face you. The United Kingdom is not a party to the peace negotiations but we are determined supporters of those negotiations. The role of a friend is to support, to offer private advice and public help. We all recognise that in the longer term Israel and her neighbours must reach an accommodation and Israel must take her rightful place in the region. We welcome and we firmly support the peace process and we applaud the courage which Israel has shown in pursuing it. You have made great strides: first, in 1980, peace with Egypt; now, a peace treaty with Jordan. Difficult negotiations lie ahead with Syria and Lebanon but the goal of a lasting peace is unanswerable, it is surely right to keep on trying however difficult, however frustrating, however hard the road may be and however many setbacks you may encounter upon that road. Meanwhile, negotiations with the Palestinians will remain essential to Israel’s future and those negotiations are bound to be complex, they are bound to be difficult, they could scarcely be anything other, While you continue with that process of seeking peace, the terrorists will go on trying to destroy that process of seeking peace; that is the nature of terrorism but that violence and that extremism serve nobody’s end.

    I would say, if I may, as an external observer of what has happened, surely it can be in neither side’s long-term interest to turn back from the progress that has been made. Substantial progress has now been reached; Palestinian self-rule now includes control of their own agriculture, education, tourism and taxation and to all those like the United Kingdom who wish the peace process well, there is a great deal to be welcomed in what has already been achieved and I believe it is starting to bear a wider fruit. Israel’s contacts in the region are widening, the Arab boycott is visibly decaying, the international community widely supports your search for peace. Of course, difficulties will arise, setbacks will be inevitable and steady nerves will be needed as you carry the process forward. I have no doubt, Prime Minister, that you have the steady nerves that are necessary and the United Kingdom will stand shoulder to shoulder with those who continue that search for peace.

    Very soon, you will be celebrating the Festival of Purim. It is a happy time, a time of giving gifts, a time for charity, a time for joy, a time for revelry, a time to celebrate historically the defeat of evil, a time to remember that evil can be defeated, a time to recall that across the centuries people have arisen to destroy the Jewish people but they have failed to destroy the Jewish people. The celebration reminds us of your survival and your strength as a nation.

    If I have a wish as a visitor to your country, as a friend, I hope, of your country, it is that the spirit of happiness and rejoicing that is characteristic of that celebration will always be here in Israel, that the spirit of peace will flourish in the region, that the drive for peace – so hard to achieve but so hard-pushed for so long – will succeed. That, I think, is a prayer that all the friends of Israel and all friends of the Middle East can willingly subscribe to.

    Thank you for inviting Norma and I to join you at this dinner this evening. Thank you for inviting us to Israel for what is already turning, out to be a memorable visit. We looked forward to it before we came and I believe the reality is matching up to our expectations.

    May I, as your guest, ask you to rise for the toast that I would wish to propose: a toast to the Prime Minister of Israel, to the United Kingdom-Israeli relationship and to the future success of the peace process for all the people of Israel. [Applause]