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THE
COUNCIL PETER F. VALLONE
SPEAKER January 8, 2001 Hon. William J. Clinton Dear Mr. President: I write to express my concern
about the continuing initiative by your administration to achieve a
Middle East settlement, given the circumstances that currently exist.
As you know, the City of New York is home to the largest Jewish
population outside of Israel, and I believe many new Yorkers share my
concern. Firstly,
let me say without equivocation that I commend all of your very
substantial efforts during the past eight years to bring a lasting peace
to this troubled part of the world which is so sacred to so many.
I have supported those efforts throughout and they have fostered
considerable progress over the years. However,
since the Oslo accords, Israel has made major territorial concessions in
the hope that they would bring a cessation of Palestinian terrorism and
violence. Unfortunately, these hopes have yet to be realized. Indeed,
it has become increasingly clear over the past three months that the
Palestinian leadership has begun to employ organized violence as an
important component of their negotiating strategy.
I know you believe with me that such tactics must never be
allowed to succeed. It is
my view that negotiations should not continue unless and until the
Palestinian leadership rejects the violence and causes it to stop.
Israel must not be pressured to negotiate and compromise with an
adversary that is pointing a gun at her head.
Only when the gun is holstered will negotiations again be
appropriate. Peace
at any price by the Israeli government is Chamberlain revisited.
Of course, it is in the interest of both parties to achieve a
fair peace through compromise. That
cannot be done while Chairman Arafat seeks to impose his will through
violence and terrorism. My
congratulations to Hillary on her wonderful victory; I look forward to
meeting with you as my fellow New Yorkers. Sincerely, Peter F. Vallone |