King Hussein bin Talal

Address at the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement Signing Ceremony

delivered 28 September 1995, Washington, D.C.

Audio mp3 of Address

President Clinton  Foreign Minister Peres  Mr. Abbas  Secretary of State Christopher

President Mubarak  Chairman Arafat  Prime Minister Rabin

[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio]

President Clinton; Prime Minister Rabin; my brother, President Mubarak; President Arafat; and dear friends:

What we are meeting here today to witness is all about responsibility, moral courage, physical courage, maturity; for the interests of people is the driving, motivating force behind leaders and fulfilling their duties to future generations.

It is, indeed, the result of a commitment to peace unwavering. And you have, indeed, witnessed and seen the hours spent and the efforts made and the obstacles surmounted because there is goodwill. And there is total commitment to peace by all those who played their part so far in shaping the comprehensive peace that we all seek in our part of the world.

In addition to all that, I believe for our Palestinian brethren -- and they are the closest to us in the Arab world, and we are the closest to them -- it is also the fulfillment of a dream they have struggled for for years: a chance to contribute their share in shaping their future and to have their word regarding that future and destiny.

I am proud to be a part of this occasion -- on behalf of the government and the people of Jordan -- to congratulate you on what you have achieved and to wish you every future success in the times ahead; and to assure you all, President Clinton, all my colleagues, brother and friends starting with President Mubarak, for Egypt was a pioneer on the path of peace ; President Arafat; Prime Minister Rabin, with his farsightedness and unquestionable moral and physical courage; and all the other wonderful people who have helped; [the] Secretary of State; and the vision of Shimon Peres; and everyone who has -- Dennis Ross -- so many: We will do everything we can.

And hopefully, we will meet again. And if we don’t, hopefully, the process will continue beyond this point towards establishment of the comprehensive peace we seek, giving people the dignity that is their right, the security, the tearing down the barriers of suspicion and hatred and confusion.

And I believe that I issue a challenge to any leader in our part of the world or anywhere else in the world to demonstrate courage -- moral and physical courage -- to show what responsibility really means by joining the peace camp for the better future of all the peoples of our region.

I hope they won’t be wanting. I hope they will be there. And I hope that we will have fulfilled -- after all these years of struggle -- our responsibilities towards our people and the generations to come, the children of Abraham and their descendants forever.

Thank you very, very much, indeed. And I hope that we will next month see another major step in our part of the world when the economic summit¹ is convened in Amman -- with the presence of all who belong to the peace camp -- to present our area in the context of peace and all our friends from throughout the world. For now, we need to build on what we have achieved -- a better future for our people so they can see and enjoy what they have been denied for so long.

Mr. President, thank you once again for the kind invitation. And on behalf of all those here from Jordan -- my wife, [the] Prime Minister, my colleagues -- we are deeply grateful.

And Mrs. Clinton, at least Prime Minister Rabin and I...do not smoke² when we are here with you, sir.

Thank you so much for your great influence in that regard.

Thank you so much. Goodbye.