THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
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For Immediate Release
November 7, 2000
STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY
President Clinton announced today the membership of the Sharm
el-Sheikh Fact Finding Committee that will examine the current crisis
between Israelis and Palestinians. The committee, to which Prime Minister
Barak and Chairman Arafat agreed at the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit, October
16-17, was developed with them as well as in consultation with United
Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. The President has asked five
outstanding individuals, who represent the best tradition of public service
both at home and abroad, to serve on the committee. The Committee, which
will be chaired by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, also will include
former U.S. Senator Warren Rudman, former Turkish President Suleyman
Demirel, European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and
Security Policy Javier Solana, and Norwegian Foreign Minister Thorbjorn
Jagland. The committee, working with Israel and the Palestinian Authority,
will provide an independent and objective review of the current crisis with
the goal of preventing its recurrence. In order for the committee to carry
out its mission, the two sides must be making a serious and good faith
effort to implement the commitments they undertook at Sharm el-Sheikh to
assure that the violence subsides.
In keeping with the understandings reached at Sharm el-Sheikh, the
President also has invited Chairman Arafat and Prime Minister Barak to
Washington for separate consultations on November 9 and 12, respectively.
The immediate priority must be to implement all of the provisions of the
Sharm el-Sheikh agreement, particularly those aimed at stopping the
violence and the bloodshed. Beyond that, President Clinton will discuss
with the two leaders how best to move forward and resume a political
dialogue.
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