It gives me great pleasure on behalf of the Palestinian people, the Palestine Liberation Orgnization and the Palestinian National Authority, to welcome today a great friend of the Palestinian people, an exceptional statesman, a distinguished leader in peace making in our world, a President whom we respect and love.

Mr. President, I welcome you, as you are on your historical visit to the land of Palestine, you are welcomed here as a dear guest by the Palestinian people.

Our great Guest:

We salute your tireless and continuos efforts, to preserve the peace process in our region, our people express their deep appreciation for your understanding and sympathy for their right to live free on their land as you expressed in various Caucasians.

As we welcome you today, we express our people’s genuine commitment to peace, and this is what this popular conference which includes the Palestine National Council, Palestine Central Council, Legislative Council as well as various representatives of our executive and popular National Palestinian Institutions.

Once again, I welcome our great guest Mr. Hilary Clinton and the members of Congress and accompanying delegation, as dear guests of the Palestinian people.

Sisters, Brothers, Participants:

As we receive today the President of the USA, we remember that almost ten yours ago, the first official meeting between representatives of the American Administration and the PLO was convened. That meeting constituted the launching of the official dialogue between the US and the PLO, we welcome you today, on your very highly appreciated visit, which we believe can provide the peace process with a new movement needed, to strengthen it. We see the visit as a historic indication of the development of relations between our two peoples, a development which at the final result will serve peace.

Our peoples commitment to the choice of peace is a deeply rooted and genuine commitment, the quest for freedom is a quest for peace, this is why we were always the pioneers of ideas and initiatives, in the hope to advance the cause of peace throughout the past decades, here we remember our fallen martyrs who gave their lives for freedom and peace.

Ten years ago, the PNC, in its conference convened in Algeria adopted the “Palestinian peace Initiative”, which constituted an attempt for historic reconciliation between Palestinians and Israelis on the basis of “a two states solution”.

We were reaffirming with this Initiative consistency with the new realities of our age, which recorded at the late part of this century the growth of the tremendous peoples peaceful movements.

It also recorded the decisive turning point towards confirming the negotiations as the instrument to conflict resolution in our world, and the introduction of a just order to enable the people to live in peace, freedom and justice in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy.

Then came the Palestinian participation in the Madrid Conference and the Washington Talks as a reaffirmation of our commitment to peace. After that we signed the Oslo Accords in the White House, under your Excellency’s auspices five years ago. The Government of Israel was represented by the late Prime Minister my partner in the peace of the brave Itzhaq Rabin and then the Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. The most important issues specified for the permanent status negotiations included: Holy Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, borders, water and military locations.

With that signing, we knocked on the doors a new era not only in our region but in the world at large. We walked this road empowered by the massive support of our people for the peace process. We were determined very early on to confront the enemies of peace, and we asked the others to act with the same decisiveness.

I reiterate our commitment to implement our obligations, including those in the Wye River Memorandum. That Agreement saved the peace process, Mr. President: it would not have been possible to conclude this Memorandum without your direct involvement and continuos efforts and active participation History will record this achievement for you as one of the distinguished peace makers of our times, your efforts for peace in Northern Ireland will be equally recorded.

Mr. President: I would like, to state that the continuation of Israeli settlements activities in Holy Jerusalem and in other parts of the Palestinian land and the encirclement of the city of Bethlehem, constitute not only a violation of the signed agreements and the United Nations Charter and its Resolutions, but also it constitute a direct attempt to deprive our people of hope and confidence in the future and the peace process.

To keep our sons in Israeli jails means keeping open the bleeding wound in the heart of every Palestinian family. Those who struggled for freedom must be the first to enjoy the warmth of peace. Our heroes in prisons who struggled for freedom pledged their full support for the peace process since its inception.

Therefor, we reiterate the necessity to stop all settlement activities confiscation of land and the release of Palestinian prisoners as essential vital needs for the support of the peace process and to create the environment conducive for peace, we want our boys to come home.

We are nearing the end of the Interim-Period on May 4^th, 1999 as specified in the D.O.P. and subsequent agreements, we also nearing the end of a century that witnessed a tremendous suffering of our people, this requires from all parties to master the courage to take the difficult and right decisions and to possess the ability to have a vision for the future its realities and necessities.

The basic requirements for a permanent, just lasting and comprehensive peace is the termination of Israeli occupation of all the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967, including Holy Jerusalem, in accordance with principles of the Madrid Peace Conference “Land for Peace” along with solving the refugee problem, the removal of settlements, and the guarantee that the Palestinian people will live in freedom and tranquillity within the Independent Palestinian State with its capital Holy Jerusalem.

This achievement will pave the way for the conclusion of agreements based on the resolutions of International legitimacy on both the Lebanese and Syrian tracks, in accordance with the implementation of Security Council Resolution “242”, “338” and “425”.

I know we can achieve our objectives and shape a better future for both the Palestinian and Israeli People. The future must be based on mutual respect, dignity, and tolerance where both sides’ needs are fulfilled and both sides treat one another as equal partners. In this way we can create a new future:

8. A future where Palestinian and Israeli mothers and fathers no longer grieve for their children whose lives have been cut short.
9. A future where Palestinian and Israeli children can study and work together to claimant berries of hatred.
10. A future where Palestinian and Israeli scientists, engineers, and doctors can harness their experience for the benefit of both people, and the benefit of all people of the region.
11. And a future where together our two peoples, with your support Mr. President, can move into the next century with the hope of achieving peace and prosperity in the region.

The Israeli occupation left behind a devastated infrastructure throughout the Palestinian Home Land, which doubled our responsibilities in the reconstruction, and development, Mr. President, you have seen, some of economic and construction sites being established by us, these are the signs of the resurrection of Pales.

This process bed by the Palestinian National Authority is being made possible by the creative abilities of our people, and the contributions of the Palestinian business community here and in the diaspora.

This process received the support and the backing of the International Community, and from you, Mr. President, when you initiated in 1993, after the signing of the D.O.P. the donors conference for the Palestinian people, last month you initiated the second donors conference to help the Palestinian development and reconstruction for the coming years, your speech, Mr. President, at that conference was very much appreciated by our people, who’s hopes were revived.

I take this occasion to extend a special thanks to on behalf of our people to assistance provided by the U.S. to our development projects and programs for the coming years.

I would like also to thank the countries of the European Union, Russia, Japan, China, Norway, our brothers in the Arab countries and other friendly countries for their generous contributions to our development program.

The massive work for construction in our Home Land constitute an essential dimension in our National Program aimed to transfer Palestine to a Home Land where all citizen live under the rule of law, where freedom of expression, political pluralism and human rights are all preserved and guaranteed, along with democratization of our institutions, maintaining the independence of the judiciary system, the separation of powers to guarantee equality for all citizens, regardless of gender or religion, and to open a new horizons for Palestinian Women to continue their active participation in the construction of our Home Land on equal footing with men.

Tomorrow you will be the guest of our people in Bethlehem, the birth place of our Jesus Christ, very near to Jerusalem where Prophet Mohammad as ascended to heaven.

You will be in direct contact with the genius of the place, in this Holy Land, the land of the prophets, where the ancient stones speak of the eternal relations between the Palestinian people and the land.

There, you will see another dimension of Palestinian life conditions, you will feel how that Holy Place, the birth place of the Messenger of peace constituted for our people inextinguishable source of hope for a better future during the darkest hours.

You are visiting Holy Land, only days before Christmas, while you are carrying a message for peace.

The people of the land of the prophets welcome you and your Message and invite you and your family to be the guests on the occasion of celebrating Bethlehem “2000”, the universal, religious and blessed event.

Once again I thank you, Mr. President, for your historic visit, we believe it will be a major contribution to the momentum of peace.

This day will be preserved as a special day in Palestinian history, and will constitute a milestone in the development of ties and relations between the American and Palestinian peoples. A relation that will be extend to cover the political, economic, cultural aspects, and before all of this in the very active and huge Palestinian community in the United States which maintain very strong bridges with its Home Land Palestine.

The beginning of this century marked the major injustice inflicted on our people. Today we see a nearing shining light, we feel a renewed hope due to your support. We hope that the end of this Century will witness the correction of that injustice and the inauguration of a new era, the era of peace and freedom.

Mr. President, We reaffirm our people’s commitment to lasting just and comprehensive peace, the peace of the brave. Our people will not go back to the ways of the past, we will not allow to tolerate any violence or terror irrespective of its source, for we will continue to exert maximum efforts to ensure security for both sides.

Finally, I would like to remind all of you that the P.N.C. decided in 1996, to amend its Charter, by nullifying all the provisions that are contrary with our commitment to a peaceful solution, our renunciation of violence and terror, and what inconsistent with Security Council Resolutions “242” and “338”. On behalf of the PLO I sent a letter to President Clinton on January 22, 1998, in which I clarified the specific provisions of the charter that had been nullified as a result of the 1996 P.N.C. decision and in which I reiterated our commitment to live in peace side by side with Israel. I have received President Clinton’s positive reaction to both the 1996 P.N.C. decision and the letter which constituted our full compliance with our agreed commitment. It should be noted that the Israeli Government of Mr. Shimon Peres welcomed the decision, and the Israeli Labor party dropped its reservation of the establishment of a Palestinian State in response to the P.N.C. decision.

On November 6, 1998 and in compliance with the Wye River Memorandum the PLO Executive Committee reaffirmed my letter to President Clinton, four days ago, the Palestine Central Council reaffirmed the same letter.

Now, in the presence of the President of USA, and pursuant to the Wye River Memorandum, and on the basis of the P.N.C. decision of April 1996, I am calling on you the members of the P.N.C., the P.C.C., the Legislative Council, the Executive Committee, the Cabinet Ministers, and all the representatives of our National, Social and Popular institutions to reaffirm this letter and the aforementioned decisions of the PLO Executive Committee and the Central Council, in support of the peace process.

As you see, there is a strong support for our decision and my letter to you, and I hope that this will close this chapter for ever, for we have carried out our commitments and obligations, and we are determined to continue our quest for peace and coexists on the basis of justice, honoring of obligations as well as respect for rights and International legitimacy.

Mr. President, I reiterate what I have said to you at the White House, we will proceed on the road of peace, without violence and confrontation, the peace of the brave, the peace of righteousness and justice, the peace that will provide freedom, dignity for our people on their free land, so peace can benefit all peoples of the region.

Mr. President, Welcome, to the land of peace, the Holy Land, as you carry the message of peace.

Peace and the grace of God and His blessings be upon you all.