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Prime Minister of Israel Addresses U.S. Congress

(Foreign Ministry) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert - On Wednesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress: Over the past six years more than 20,000 attempted terrorist attacks have been initiated against the people of Israel. Most, thankfully, have been foiled by our security forces. But those which have succeeded have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians and the injury of thousands. These are real people with beautiful souls that have left this earth far too soon. Only last week, Daniel Cantor Wultz, a 16-year-old high school student from Weston, Florida, who came to spend the Passover holiday with his parents in Israel, succumbed to his severe injuries, incurred in Israel's most recent suicide attack. Daniel was a relative of Congressman Eric Cantor of Virginia. Our countries do not just share the experience and pain of terrorism. We share the commitment and resolve to confront the brutal terrorists that took these innocent people from us. We will not yield to terror, we will not surrender to terror, and we will win the war on terror and restore peace to our societies. Israel commends this Congress for initiating the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, which sends a firm, clear message that the United States of America will not tolerate terrorism in any form. Israel must still meet the momentous challenge of guaranteeing the future of Israel as a democratic state with a Jewish majority, within permanent and defensible borders and a united Jerusalem as its capital - that is open and accessible for the worship of all religions. If there is to be a just, fair, and lasting peace, we need a partner who rejects violence and who values life more than death. We need a partner that affirms in action, not just in words, the rejection, prevention, and elimination of terror. I ask of the Palestinians: How can a child growing up in a culture of hate dream of the possibility of peace? The key to a true lasting peace in the Middle East is in the education of the next generation. Should the Palestinians ignore our outstretched hand for peace, Israel will seek other alternatives to promote our future and the prospects of hope in the Middle East. At that juncture, the time for realignment will occur. Realignment would be a process to allow Israel to build its future without being held hostage to Palestinian terrorist activities. Realignment would significantly reduce the friction between Israelis and Palestinians and prevent much of the conflict between our two battered nations. Iran, the world's leading sponsor of terror, and a notorious violator of fundamental human rights, stands on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons. With these weapons, the security of the entire world is put in jeopardy. We deeply appreciate America's leadership on this issue and the strong bipartisan conviction that a nuclear-armed Iran is an intolerable threat to the peace and security of the world. It cannot be permitted to materialize.
2006-05-25 00:00:00
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