Clinton: I’d Get In a Ditch, Grab A Rifle And Die For Israel
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“Israelis believe that America is the only big country that cares if they live or die." |
TORONTO,
August 3 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Speaking to a Jewish
gathering in Toronto, former U.S. president Bill Clinton said that he
is willing to “die for Israel”, a Canadian newspaper reported.
Speaking
at a Hadassah-WIZO, a children’s charity fundraising dinner, Clinton
drew applause for his commitment to Israel when he stated that should
the Iraqis ever cross over the Israeli border for aggression, "I
would personally get in a ditch, grab a rifle, and fight and
die," reported the Toronto Star.
He
said that it was important the U.S. remains involved in attempting to
solve the Middle East crisis because: “Israelis believe that America
is the only big country that cares if they live or die."
According
to the Canadian newspaper, the National Post, Clinton said that should
Israel give Palestinians control of the West Bank, they would be
vulnerable to Arab attack.
Clinton
added that the best solution to the Middle East conflict is an interim
settlement "to establish a Palestinian state now,” adding that
before doing that, there must be “security assurances for Israel and
a timetable to resolve other issues.”
He
tried but failed to make resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict the legacy of his two-term presidency, said the paper adding
that he disagreed with President George Bush's belief that this can
only be achieved when Palestinian President Yasser Arafat is gone from
power.
He
stressed on the fact that Arafat made "a disastrous mistake"
turning down the peace offers of December, 2000 and January, 2001 at
Taba, Egypt — peace proposals that included control of 97 per cent
of the West Bank.
"When
the history of this region is written, the failure of the Palestinians
to accept former (Israeli) prime minister (Ehud) Barak's acceptance of
the peace proposal I put on the table will be viewed as the most
colossal error in their history," he said.
Clinton’s
wife, Hillary, a U.S. senator heavily courted Jewish voters during her
successful Senate bid in New York in 2000.
In
November, 2001, Hillary, along with 88 other senators sent a letter to
President Bush commending his policy of refusing to meet with
Arafat until "violence is halted", and urged him not to
restrain Israel from "defending itself against terrorism".
"The
American people would never excuse us for not going after the
terrorists with all our strength and might," the letter said.
"Yet that is what some have demanded of the Israeli government
after every terrorist incident they suffer.
"No
matter what the provocation, they urge restraint. We would never
accept that response for ourselves."
"We
cannot understand how some can urge such a course upon Israel, our one
reliable and democratic ally in the entire Middle East," the
letter said.
"We
applaud the firm stand you have taken in urging Chairman Arafat to do
all he can to rein in terrorist groups operating in Palestinian
territories, and pointing out that he has not done enough to stop the
violence," the senators said.
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