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Hebron Protocol
(Letter to be provided by U.S. Secretary of State
Christopher to Benjamin Netanyahu at the time of
signing of the Hebron Protocol)
Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
I wanted personally to congratulate you on the successful
conclusion of the "Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in
Hebron." It represents an important step forward in the Oslo peace
process and reaffirms my conviction that a just and lasting peace
will be established between Israelis and Palestinians in the very
near future.
In this connection, I can assure you that it remains the policy of
the United States to support and promote full implementation of
the Interim Agreement in all of its parts. We intend to continue
our efforts to help ensure that all outstanding commitments are
carried out by both parties in a cooperative spirit and on the basis
of reciprocity.
As part of this process, I have impressed upon Chairman Arafat the
imperative need for the Palestinian Authority to make every effort
to ensure public order and internal security within the West Bank
and Gaza Strip. I have stressed to him that effectively carrying out
this major responsibility will be a critical foundation for
completing implementation of the Interim Agreement, as well as
the peace process as a whole.
I wanted you to know that, in this context, I have advised
Chairman Arafat of U.S. views on Israel's process of redeploying
its forces, designating specified military locations and transferring
additional powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority.
In this regard, I have conveyed our belief, that the first phase of
further redeployments should take place as soon as possible, and
that all three phases of the further redeployments should be
completed within twelve months from the implementation of the
first phase of the further redeployments but not later than
mid-1998.
Mr. Prime Minister, you can be assured that the United States'
commitment to Israel's security is ironclad and constitutes the
fundamental cornerstone of our special relationship. The key
element in our approach to peace, including the negotiation and
implementation of agreements between Israel and its Arab
partners, has always been a recognition of Israel's security
requirements. Moreover, a hallmark of U.S. policy remains our
commitment to work cooperatively to seek to meet the security
needs that Israel identifies. Finally, I would like to reiterate our
position that Israel is entitled to secure and defensible borders,
which should be directly negotiated and agreed with its neighbors.
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