Hebrew/Eng/Nat

XFA

In the final run up to Tuesday's Israeli election, all the indicators point to a resounding victory for Ariel Sharon, the right wing candidate who has captured the hopes of many disillusioned Israelis.

An influential Likud member of the Knesset, Tsahi Hanegbi, speaking at party headquarters, was upbeat about Mr Sharon's chances.

He said Sharon has always been a staunch supporter of the Israeli state and pointed to his involvement in peace treaties with both Jordan and Egypt as proof of his ability as a peacemaker.

Despite new opinion polls released on Monday showing Sharon with an 18 per cent lead amongst voters, sitting premier Ehud Barak said he remained confident.

He was backed up by prominent Israeli writer Amos Oz, who addressed a press conference of left wing professors and academics, both Jewish and Arab, calling on the people of Israel to continue Yitzhak Rabin's legacy and vote for Barak and peace.

Oz said that the opinion polls were inaccurate and did not take into account undecided voters, who he said numbered thousands.

He warned Israelis to be wary of Tuesday's ballot, saying they would be making a critical choice between peace and war.

If Barak is to stand any chance, he will have to win over Israeli Arabs.

They represent one sixth of Israel's population, but plan to boycott the election in protest at the 13 Arab Israelis shot dead by Israeli security forces since the latest intifada began last October.

At the Knesset, Israeli Arab member Ahmed Tibi confirmed that Israeli Arabs would not cast their support for either candidate.

That will cost Barak dear - over 90 per cent of Israeli Arab votes went to him in the last election.

Speaking for the Palestinians, Ziad Abu Ziad, Minister in charge of Jerusalem Affairs, said they considered the election an internal Israeli matter but, he said that they would like to see someone who is committed to the peace process elected leader.

Israeli soldiers based near Beit El, adjoining the flash point West Bank city of Ramallah, have already cast their votes, a day ahead of the rest of the electorate.

Soldiers on active duty always vote in advance, leaving them free to carry out security and other duties on election day.

This year, Israeli security forces are under high alert for possible attempts by Palestinian militants wishing to carry out terror attacks on election day.

Meanwhile, many Israelis rushed to register to vote on Monday after a municipal strike left the Jerusalem registration office closed for more than a week.

Now, with less than a day to go before the vote, there were long queues and even longer delays.

SOUNDBITE: (English)

"I am optimistic and believe I will win. My way towards peace is the only way forward, that means setting clear borders between Palestinians and Israelis."

SUPER CAPTION: Ehud Barak, Israeli Prime Minister

SOUNDBITE: (English)

"Ignore public opinion polls, there are hundreds of thousands of Israelis who are not yet decided. And I say that he or she will have to live with the fact, very much like the Gore/Bush elections in America, very much the Florida syndrome, who will have to live with the fact that his or her vote sentenced Israel and Palestine to another war. I don't envy him or her."

SUPER CAPTION: Amos Oz, Israeli writer

SOUNDBITE: (English)

"We cannot give our confidence and our trust to Barak after we gave him at least 96 percent in the last election in 1999 and he neglected all our demands. It started in mistakes in the civil issue and finishing with very great mistakes shutting his police, his police shutting 13 of us."

SUPER CAPTION: Ahmed Tibi, Israeli Knesset member

SOUNDBITE: (English)

"We consider the Israeli elections an internal Israeli affair and we don't want to intervene in the internal affairs of Israel. At the same time we are concerned to see in the office of Israel a Prime Minister who will respect the peace process, who will be committed to the peace process and who will do something in order to save the peace process from the problem which is facing it."

SUPER CAPTION: Ziad Abu Ziad, Jerusalem Minister, Palestinian Authority

Beit El, West Bank, Tel Aviv, Israel and Gai Gate, near Jerusalem 5 February 2001

Beit El, West Bank - 5 February

1. Soldiers arriving at polling station

2. Soldiers inside casting their votes

3. Close up of ballots being placed in ballot boxes

Gai Gate, near Jerusalem

4. Barak arriving at campaign stop

5. Handshakes with supporters

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ehud Barak, Israeli Prime Minister

7. Barak gets into car in convoy

8. Convoy departs

Tel Aviv - 5 February

9. Setup of press conference

10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Amos Oz, Israeli writer

Tel Aviv

11. Exterior shot of Likud Party headquarters, pan to police tape

12. Sharon arrives and waves

13. Setup shot of Tsahi Hanegbi, Likud MK

14. SOUNDBITE: (English) Tsahi Hanegbi, Likud MK

15. Rear view of Sharon's car

Jerusalem - 5 February

16. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ahmed Tibi, Israeli Arab Knesset member

17. Setup Ziad Abu Ziad

18. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ziad Abu Ziad, Jerusalem Minister, Palestinian Authority

19. Exterior of Interior Ministry office

20. Close up of sign on wall

21. Wide shot of people waiting to be registered

Natural Sound

In the birthplace of Jesus Christ - Palestinian-run Bethlehem - the coming of the new millennium was heralded with the release of 2,000 doves.

Over 160 (m) million U-S dollars have been spent on Bethlehem for the year 2000.

Organisers had hoped that the celebrations would attract millions of visitors.

But fears of attack against American tourists forced them to scale down expectations.

The year two thousand was heralded with fireworks and music in what is according to the Gospels, the birth place of Jesus Christ in the Palestinian West Bank.

The much sanctified town of Bethlehem saw great celebrations on Friday night when the clock struck midnight.

Manger Square in Bethlehem was the focus of Millennium festivities.

At the stroke of midnight, 2000 doves were released into the sky.

The city has spent over 160 (m) million U-S dollars on Bethlehem 2000.

Organisers had hoped the celebrations would attract millions of visitors, but scaled down expectations after US warnings of expected attacks against American tourists.

Local officials have also been on the lookout for Millennium cults who might seek to disrupt events.

Palestinian authorities are handling security on the ground and Israeli forces will keep an eye on the skies over Bethlehem.

For hundreds of years, Bethlehem has been the focus of a bitter religious tug-of-war.

In the second century, St Justin Martyr, a 2nd-century Christian, identified the birthplace of Christ as a manger in ' a cave close to the village'.

That cave is now under the nave of the Church of the Nativity in the heart of the town, one of the oldest churches in existence.

Several religious faiths have fought to gain control of the sacred site.

Now, the church is divided between the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian Orthodox faiths.

The international crisis over the holy places in 1847 ultimately led to the Crimean war the following decade.

This century, in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Bethlehem was part of the Palestine Mandate from 1923-1948 and was then annexed by Jordan in 1950 following the 1948-49 war.

Bethlehem - and the West Bank in its entirety - was then occupied by Israel after the six day war in 1967.

Right-wing Messianic Zionists have claimed the area as Judaea and Samaria, part of the Greater Israel they sought.

However, the Oslo peace accord, signed by the then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on the White House lawn in 1993, made provisions for the return of certain tranches of Palestinian territory to self-rule, including Bethlehem.

In 1995, the town celebrated its first Christmas free of Israeli occupation for 28 years.

Moroccan soloist Amina Alaoui performed along with a children's choir.

Bethlehem, West Bank - December 31, 1999/ January 1, 2000 MX

1. Zoom out from large "2000" sign onto Manger Square

2. Medium shot of audience cheering

3. Wide shot of Square with doves being set free

4. Various of fireworks and celebration

5. Various of Palestinian children's choir

6. Various of Moroccan soloist Amina Alaoui

GS CAS ISRAEL WEST BANK troubles & US Secretary of State,

21108702 George Shultz, chides Israelis over peace initiatives,

1"VT+BVU or lack of them: Shows West Bank student riots: reaction

from Defence Minister, Yitzhak Rabin. Shultz arrival &

meets FM, Shimon Peres: Arab demo against American aid

to Israel.

--------------------------------------------------------

SHOWS:

ABC-WTN POOL

13.10.87, West Bank, ISRAEL

Palestinian student demonstrators carrying PLO flag and mock coffin:

chanting:

Rabin talking about law and order: )

WTN

14.10.87

Anabta:

troops don gas masks:

on the run:

firing cannisters:

detainees frisked against wall:

troops arrest youths: )

WTN

16.10.87, Ben Gurion Airport

Shultz arrival at Ben Gurior international airport sot: )

WTN

18.10.87

Shultz meets FM Peres:

receives honorary Doctorate from Tel Aviv university:

Palestinian demo:

placards:

Shultz with Premier Yitzhak Shamir

ABC-WTN POOL/WTN(Engl comm & sp) 4.44mins

T/I: 14:07mins

SHOTLIST

1. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, delegation at table, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell walking in

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State

"For our part, the United States has pledged its full support for these talks, and we will be an active and sustained partner. We believe - Prime Minister and President - that you can succeed and we understand that this is in the national security interest of the United States that you do so. But we cannot and we will not impose a solution. Only you can make the decisions necessary to reach an agreement and secure a peaceful future for the Israeli and Palestinian people."

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State

"By being here today, you each have taken an important step toward freeing your peoples from the shackles of a history we cannot change, and moving toward a future of peace and dignity that only you can create. So thank you, thank you for your courage and your commitment."

4. Wide of Clinton, Abbas, Netanyahu, Mitchell

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister

"President Abbas, as I said at our meeting at the White House with the President of the United States, the President of Egypt and the King of Jordan, I see in you a partner for peace. Together we can lead our people to a historic future that can put an end to claims and to conflicts. Now, this will not be easy. A true peace, a lasting peace will be achieved only with mutual and painful concessions on both sides, from the Israeli side and from the Palestinian side, from my side and from your side."

6. Mid of Clinton, Abbas, Netanyahu, Mitchell

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister

"President Abbas, history has given us a rare opportunity is given us to end the conflict between our peoples, a conflict that has been lasting for almost a century. It's an unprecedented opportunity to end a century conflict. Well, there have been some examples in history but not many, but we face such a task to end a bloodshed and to secure a future of promise and hope for our children and grandchildren."

8. Mid of Clinton, Abbas, Netanyahu, Mitchell

9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President

++CLIENTS PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS NOT AN AP TRANSLATION++

"Ladies and gentlemen, now that you are launching these negotiations today, we do know how hard are the hurdles and obstacles we're facing and we will face during these negotiations, negotiations that should, within a year, lead to an agreement that will bring the peace, the just peace of international law, international legality between our two people, the Israelis and the Palestinians."

10. Mid of Clinton, Abbas, Netanyahu, Mitchell

11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President

++CLIENTS PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS NOT AN AP TRANSLATION++

"We will work on all the final status issues - Jerusalem, the settlements, the borders, security, water, and also releasing the detainees in order to end the occupation that started in 1967, the occupation of the Palestinian territories and in order to create the state of Palestine that lives side by side with the state of Israel, and in order to end the conflict and end historic demands in the Middle East and to bring peace and security for the two peoples and all the peoples in the region."

12. Wide of Abbas and Netanyahu shaking hands, Clinton between them

STORYLINE

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton formally opened the first direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in nearly two years on Thursday, imploring the parties to ignore the long history of failed negotiations and make needed compromises to forge an agreement.

At a ceremony in the State Department's ornate Benjamin Franklin room, Clinton said the Obama administration was committed to forging a settlement in a year's time.

But, she stressed that the heavy lifting must be done by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"We will be an active and sustained partner," she said. "but we cannot and we will not impose a solution. Only you can make the decisions necessary to reach an agreement and secure a peaceful future for the Israeli and Palestinian people."

Netanyahu and Abbas pledged their seriousness to securing an agreement and overcoming decades of mutual hostility and suspicion.

"This will not be easy," Netanyahu said. "True peace, a lasting peace, will be achieved only with mutual and painful concessions from both sides."

"We do know how hard are the hurdles and obstacles we face during these negotiations - negotiations that within a year should result in an agreement that will bring peace," Abbas said.

Abbas called on Israel to end Jewish settlements in the West Bank and other areas that the Palestinians want to be part off their own state.

Netanyahu insisted that any agreement must assure Israel's security.

Thursday's negotiations are the first since the last effort broke down in December 2008 and are fraught with complications, including recent violence in the West Bank and Israeli settlement activity.

Expectations are low and US officials have said success may be only an agreement to hold a second round of negotiations.

Officials say they are hoping to arrange that meeting for September 15 in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik and top aides to the leaders are expected to meet later on Thursday to iron out final details of the next step.

Sitting at the top of a U-shaped table between Netanyahu and Abbas, Clinton congratulated the two for agreeing to resume negotiations, but warned of difficult days to come in the effort to create an independent Palestinian state.

She noted that two recent attacks on Israelis in the West Bank claimed by the militant Hamas movement underscored the difficulties facing the two leaders.

"But, by being here today, you each have taken an important step toward freeing your peoples from the shackles of a history we cannot change and moving toward a future of peace and dignity that only you can create," she said.

Hamas gunmen killed four Israeli residents of a West Bank settlement on Tuesday as Netanyahu, Abbas and the leaders of Egypt and Jordan convened in Washington.

And on Wednesday, hours before the leaders ate dinner at the White House, Hamas gunmen wounded two Israelis as they drove in their car in another part of the West Bank.

The talks will face their first test within weeks, at the end of September, when the Israeli government's declared slowdown in settlement construction is slated to end.

The Israeli government is divided over the future of the slowdown, and a decision to extend it could split Netanyahu's hawkish coalition.

Netanyahu has given no indication so far that it will continue beyond the deadline.

Direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations broke off nearly two years ago, in December 2008, and the Obama administration spent its first 20 months in office coaxing the two sides back to the bargaining table.

Despite the success in launching the talks, gaps between the sides are wide, distrust remains after years of violence and deadlock.

After listening to the MidEast leaders brought together on Wednesday night, US President Barack Obama pronounced himself carefully optimistic.

Complete rushes of this story can be found at Tape GEN2028

45 minute version of Story No. 656428

Arrivals, Comments ahead of direct talks on Middle East process

TAPE NUMBER: OA 266

SOURCE:DOS TV

RESTRICTIONS: none

DATELINE:September 2, 2010 Washington, DC

Remarks With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

SECRETARY CLINTON: Good morning and welcome to the State Department here in the Benjamin Franklin Room. I want to thank all of you for joining us today to re-launch negotiations to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I know the decision to sit at this table was not easy. We understand the suspicion and skepticism that so many feel, born out of years of conflict and frustrated hopes. The tragic act of terror on Tuesday and the terrorist shooting yesterday are yet additional reminders of the human costs of this conflict. But by being here today, you each have taken an important step toward freeing your peoples from the shackles of a history we cannot change, and moving toward a future of peace and dignity that only you can create. So, thank you. Thank you for your courage and your commitment.

I also want to recognize the support of Egypt and Jordan, which have long been crucial partners for peace. And we appreciate the support of the Arab League for the vision of a comprehensive peace embodied in these talks.

I also wish to thank former Prime Minister Tony Blair, the special representative of the Quartet, for his leadership and efforts. Mr. Blair's work in support of the institutional and economic development of the Palestinian people is critical to the success of these peace efforts. As we've said all along, progress on this track must go hand-in-hand with progress in negotiations.

And let me also, as represented by this overwhelming turnout of representatives of the press from across the world, express our gratitude to many friends and allies who have worked so hard for progress toward our shared goals. To those who criticize this process, who stand on the sidelines and say no, I ask you to join us in this effort. As President Obama said yesterday, we hear often from those voices in the region who insist that this is a top priority and yet do very little to support the work that would actually bring about a Palestinian state. Now is the opportunity to start contributing to progress.

For our part, the United States has pledged its full support for these talks, and we will be an active and sustained partner. We believe, Prime Minister and President, that you can succeed, and we understand that this is in the national security interests of the United States that you do so. But we cannot and we will not impose a solution. Only you can make the decisions necessary to reach an agreement and secure a peaceful future for the Israeli and Palestinian people.

Now, for many of us in this room, this is not the first trip to the negotiating table. I look around and I see veterans from all three of us. We've been here before and we know how difficult the road ahead will be. There undoubtedly will be obstacles and setbacks. Those who oppose the cause of peace will try in every way possible to sabotage this process, as we have already seen this week.

But those of you here today, especially the veterans who are here today, you have returned because you have seen the cost of continued conflict. You know that your people deserve the benefits of peace. The core issues at the center of these negotiations - territory, security, Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, and others - will get no easier if we wait. Nor will they resolve themselves.

Success will take patience, persistence, and leadership. The true test of these negotiations will not be their first day and it will not be their last day. It will be all those long days in the middle, when the path toward peace seems hidden, and the enemies of peace work to keep it obscured. But we are convinced that if you move forward in good faith and do not waver in your commitment to succeed on behalf of your people, we can resolve all of the core issues within one year.

You have taken the first steps. You have both embraced the idea of a two-state solution, which is the only path toward a just, lasting peace that ensures security and dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians. I fervently believe that the two men sitting on either side of me, that you are the leaders who can make this long, cherished dream a reality. And we will do everything possible to help you. This is a time for bold leadership and a time for statesmen who have the courage to make difficult decisions.

Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. President, you have the opportunity to end this conflict and the decades of enmity between your peoples once and for all.

And I want to conclude by just saying a few words directly to the people of the region. Your leaders may be sitting at the negotiating table, but you are the ones who will ultimately decide the future. You hold the future of your families, your communities, your people, this region, in your hands. For the efforts here to succeed, we need your support and your patience. Today, as ever, people have to rally to the cause of peace, and peace needs champions on every street corner and around every kitchen table. I understand very well the disappointments of the past. I share them. But I also know we have it within our power today to move forward into a different kind of future, and we cannot do this without you.

So now let me turn to the prime minister, who will make his remarks, followed by the president.

PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Thank you, Madam Secretary. I want to thank you and President Obama for the many efforts that you have invested to bring us to this moment. My friend, Senator Mitchell, thank you for your consistent effort, for you and your staff's efforts to bring a lasting and durable peace to our region.

President Abbas, as I said yesterday in our meeting at the White House with the President of the United States, the President of Egypt and the King of Jordan, I see in you a partner for peace. Together, we can lead our people to a historic future that can put an end to claims and to conflict.

Now, this will not be easy. A true peace, a lasting peace, would be achieved only with mutual and painful concessions from both sides - from the Israeli side, from the Palestinian side, from my side, and from your side. But the people of Israel, and I as their prime minister, are prepared to walk this road and to go a long way, a long way in a short time, to achieve a genuine peace that will bring our people security, prosperity, and good neighbors - good neighbors, to shape a different reality between us. That's going to involve serious negotiations, because there are many issues in contention. The core issues that you outlined, Madam Secretary, are things that we have disagreements on, but we have to get from disagreement to agreement - a big task.

Now, two years ago, or rather, a year ago, in a speech I gave in Bar-Ilan University in Israel, I tried to outline the two pillars of peace that I think will enable us to resolve all the outstanding issues. And these are legitimacy and security. Just as you expect us to be ready to recognize a Palestinian state as the nation-state of the Palestinian people, we expect you to be prepared to recognize Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. There are more than a million non-Jews living in Israel, the nation-state of the Jewish people, who have full civil rights. There is no contradiction between a nation-state that guarantees the national rights of the majority and guaranteeing the civil rights, the full civil equality, of the minority.

I think this mutual recognition between us is indispensible to clarifying to our two people - our two peoples that the conflict between us is over. I said, too, yesterday that a real peace must take into account the genuine security needs of Israel that have changed. They have changed since I was last here. You spoke about the veterans who are gathered here at this table. We've been here before. We fashioned the Hebron agreement and the Wye agreement. This was 12 years ago. In these 12 years, new forces have risen in our region, and we've had the rise of Iran and its proxies and the rise of missile warfare. And so a peace agreement must take into account a security arrangement against these real threats that have been directed against my country, threats that have been realized with 12,000 rockets that have been fired on our territory, and terrorist attacks that go unabated.

President Abbas, I am fully aware and I respect your people's desire for sovereignty. I am convinced that it's possible to reconcile that desire with Israel's need for security. We anticipate difficult days before we achieve the much-desired peace. The last two days have been difficult. They were exceedingly difficult for my people and for me. Blood has been shed, the blood of innocents: four innocent Israelis gunned down brutally, two people wounded, seven new orphans. President Abbas, you condemned this killing. That's important. No less important is to find the killers, and equally to make sure that we can stop other killers. They seek to kill our people, kill our state, kill our peace. And so achieving security is a must. Security is the foundation of peace. Without it, peace will unravel. With it, peace can be stable and enduring.

President Abbas, history has given us a rare opportunity to end the conflict between our peoples, a conflict that has been lasting for almost a century. It's an unprecedented opportunity to end a century conflict. Well, there have been some examples in history, but not many. But we face such a task to end the bloodshed and to secure a future of promise and hope for our children and grandchildren.

In the first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis, there is a story of how two brothers in conflict - brothers, Isaac and Ishmael - joined together to bury their father Abraham, our father, the father of our two peoples. Isaac, the father of the Hebrew nation, Ishmael, the father of the Arab nation, joined together at a moment of pain and mutual respect to bury Abraham in Hebron.

I can only pray, and I know that millions around the world, millions of Israelis and millions of Palestinians and many other millions around the world, pray that the pain that we have experienced - you and us - in the last hundred years of conflict will unite us not only in a moment of peace around a table of peace here in Washington, but will enable us to leave from here and to forge a durable, lasting peace for generations. Shalom. Salaam. Peace.

PRESIDENT ABBAS: (Via interpreter) In the name of God, Madam Secretary Hillary Clinton, Mr. Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, ladies and gentlemen, let me, in the first place, once again, extend my thanks to President Barack Obama and to Secretary Clinton and Senator George Mitchell and their teams for the unrelenting effort they exerted during the last month in order to re-launch the negotiation on the final status between the PLO and the Israeli Government.

Ladies and gentlemen, now that you are launching these negotiations today, we do know how hard are the hurdles and obstacles we are facing and we will face during these negotiations, negotiations that should, within a year, lead to an agreement that will bring the peace - the just peace of international law - international legality between our two people, the Israelis and the Palestinians. What's encouraging as well and what's giving us confidence is that the road is clear in front of us in order to reach peace. The road of international law is represented by the National Security Council and the General Assembly of United Nations, the Quartet, and the positions of the European Union, of the Arab Follow-up Committee. And all these position clearly for us represent international unanimity on the references, the bases, and the goals of the negotiations.

Ladies and gentlemen, also we're not starting from scratch, because we had many rounds of negotiations between the PLO and the Israeli Government, and we studied all horizons and we also defined and determined all the pending issues. We will work on all the final status issues - Jerusalem, the settlements, the borders, security, water, and also releasing the detainees - in order to end the occupation that started 1967, the occupation of the Palestinian territories, and in order to create the state of Palestine that lives side by side with the state of Israel, in order to end the conflict and end the historic demands in the Middle East, and to bring peace and security for the two people and all the peoples of the region.

Once again, we want to state our commitment to follow on all our engagement, including security and ending incitement. And we call on the Israeli Government to move forward with its commitment to end all settlement activities and completely lift the embargo over the Gaza Strip and end all form of incitement.

Also, with respect to security, you do know, ladies and gentlemen, that we have security apparatuses that are still being built, that are still young, but that are doing everything that is expected from them. Yesterday, we condemned the operations that were carried. We did not only condemn them, but we also followed on the perpetrators and we were able to find the car that was used and to arrest those who sold and bought the car. And we will continue all our effort to take security measures in order to find the perpetrators. We consider that security is of essence, is vital for both of us, and we cannot allow for anyone to do anything that would undermine your security and our security. And we therefore do not only condemn, but we keep on working seriously. Security is fundamental and very sensitive.

Ladies and gentlemen, once again, I want to state today what I said at the White House meeting yesterday in front of President Obama, President Mubarak, and King Abdullah. And we do believe that their participation was of essence and was very strong and represented the belief of Jordan and Egypt in peace. These two states alongside with other Arab states do believe that peace is a vital interest not only for the Palestinians and the Israelis, but also for all the peoples in the region and for the United States, as President Obama said when he said that the creation of a Palestinian state, or the two-state vision, is a vital national American interest.

The PLO participates in these negotiations with good intentions and seriousness and is adamant about bringing just peace that guarantees freedom and independence for the Palestinian people who is attached to his land and his rights, the fair solution of the problem of the refugees according to international resolutions. We are attached to the international resolutions. We do not want anything above and we do not want anything under. We want to have a new era in our region, an era that brings peace, justice, security, and prosperity for all.

And let me say here that in 1993, on the 9th of September of this year, we signed, Mr. Prime Minister, what is called a document of mutual recognition between us and Israel, between former President Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin, and this document was signed. And in this document, we give enough so - to show that our intentions are good, our intentions with respect to recognizing the state of Israel. And you do know, sir, that in Camp David, also commitments were required from us. And when we came back with President Clinton, we carried on with all our commitments because we respect our commitments and our agreements.

Therefore, we stand from here to reach a peace that will end the conflict, that will meet all the demands, and start a new era between the Israeli and the Palestinian people.

Thank you, and peace be among you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: I want to thank both leaders for their statements. And I also want to thank the members of their respective teams who are here in both delegations. The people sitting here have worked very hard, some for many years, and they certainly have traveled a long way to be here and we're grateful for their commitment as well.

Today, President Obama and I, Senator Mitchell and our entire team, are prepared to do whatever we can to help you succeed. And we believe in you and we support you. So again, let me thank you for being here, and now it's time to get to work.

Thank you all very much.

Hebrew/Eng/Nat

With opinion polls showing his Labour party would lose if an election were called today, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin went on a tour of Jerusalem in a bid to boost his popularity.

Rabin's walkabout came a day after the burial of four Palestinian militants killed by Israeli troops in the West Bank.

Rabin's tour of the Holy City was marred by placard-waving rightwingers protesting at what they see as his weakness with the Palestinians.

Rabin defended his government and the steps it has taken to bring forward the peace process.

SOUNDBITE: (Hebrew)

"Our activities include a number of different kinds of activities. In the most part only defensive activities but we will not allow Hezbollah terrorists to have freedom of activity."

SUPER CAPTION: Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli Prime Minister

The Israeli premier added that his administration intended to remain firm to its electoral pledges, despite its dip in its popularity.

SOUNDBITE: (English)

"I'm fully aware of the polls and I'm not going to change the policy because of these polls and I believe that within the coming two years we will try to show that we are going to carry on whatever we were committed to prior to the last elections."

SUPER CAPTION: Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli Prime Minister

Tight security surrounded yesterday's funeral of four members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). They were killed six days ago in a gunfight with Israeli troops.

The Israeli civil administration allowed the burial of the four militants last night. At least two of the four were members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - a group opposing the Israel-PLO peace process.

All four were killed in the West Bank village of Beit Liqya on January 4th by Israeli undercover troops.

Witnesses have thrown doubt on claims by the Israeli army that the men died in an exchange of fire after opening fire on the troops.

Only last night did the civil administration return the bodies to the families, allowing only about 30 men to attend the funeral, to avoid clashes.

But in Jerusalem today Rabin was more concerned with bolstering his flagging popularity with Israeli voters than claims of human rights violations in the West Bank.

1. Anti-Rabin demonstrators.

2. Rabin arrives.

3. Wide shot of press conference.

4. SOUNDBITE: Rabin.

5. Press attending conference.

6. SOUNDBITE: Rabin.

7. Four bodies wrapped in cloth.

8. Close-ups of corpses.

9. Bodies being carries out to graves.

10. Bodies being lowered into graves.

11. Mourners.

12. People burying the bodies.

13. Scene of last week's shooting.

14. Rabbis by the West Wall.

15. Rabin approaches wall.

16. Prayers in wall.

17. Rabin walks away.

English/Nat

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat departed for Egypt, Monday, to try to persuade President Hosni Mubarak to attend the Washington summit in a last ditch attempt to salvage the peace process.

Tuesday's summit will be attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Arafat and King Hussein of Jordan.

But in a development which may spark further violence, right wing Jews vowed to enter an Islamic compound, Tuesday, to mark the religious holy festival of Sukkot.

Meanwhile, criticism of Netanyahu is growing both outside and within Israel. And the kindergarten of the mother of Yigal Amir, the man who assassinated President Yitzhak Rabin, was firebombed early Monday.

Amid tight security, Palestinian authority leader Yasser Arafat left Gaza for Egypt.

Arafat will attempt to persuade Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak to take part in the Washington summit being held to help repair the peace process.

On Monday, Israelis gathered by the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem to pray on the third day of the Jewish religious holiday Sukkot.

The eight-day holiday commemorates the Biblical story of the Jews wandering for 40 days in the desert.

And in a development which may spark further violence, Jews have said they will try to enter the main Islamic compound in the Old City to mark the festival.

The extremists describe the plan as a step towards the liberation of the Temple Mount from the hands of foreign occupation.

Jews have only limited access to the Temple Mount site which contains a mosque considered to be one of the Islamic world's most important places.

But extremists also claim it as the site of a holy temple dating back to Biblical times, and would like to rebuild the ancient temple.

The 500-metre tunnel near the site was reopened Sunday after being closed for two days following last week's violence.

The passageway is regarded by Israelis as a harmless archaeological excavation, but Palestinians consider it a set back to their claims to East Jerusalem.

While the violence has been condemned by many in Israel and around the world, there are many extremists within the country who don't want peace.

SOUNDBITE:

"This is a conference of evil. Nothing will go out of this conference. Netanyahu must to stay here in Jerusalem and to fulfil what God and history committed him to do."

SUPER CAPTION: Gershon Solomon, Head of Temple Mount Faithful

Although the streets of Jerusalem remained quiet, Monday, there was still a heightened Israeli police presence.

Following the deaths of more than 60 people last week, Israel isn't taking any chances.

This is the home of the mother of Yigal Amir who is serving a prison sentence for the death of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Early this morning a molotov cocktail firebomb was thrown through the window of the part of the house used as a kindergarten.

Although there was no apparent damage from the outside, the interior was said to have been badly burnt.

The attack is believed to have been carried out by Israelis, not Palestinians.

Such is the hatred against the assassin held ultimately responsible for the ending of the peace process.

The failure of Netanyahu to withdraw Israeli troops from the West Bank town of Hebron in accordance with the Oslo peace accords has contributed to Palestinian fury these last few days.

While violence has subsided in other areas of the West Bank in recent days, Palestinian frustration in Hebron has led to daily clashes with police.

Youths threw stones at Israeli police, and the Israelis gave chase - a familiar scene from the days of the Palestinian uprising.

But the Mayor of Hebron is hoping the peace process will be restored and that Israeli soldiers will leave Hebron.

SOUNDBITE:

"We hope that this summit will make a real progress in the peace process and to convince the Israeli government to implement the agreement which was held between the Palestinian authorities and the Israeli government - especially regarding Hebron, the most suffering city, which is still under occupation and under continuous curfew since five days."

SUPER CAPTION: Mustafa Natche, Mayor of Hebron

If the Oslo agreements hadn't been put on hold following the Hamas suicide bomb attacks against Jerusalem, this area would be an autonomous Palestinian zone by now. Instead it is heavily occupied by armed Israeli troops.

A town under threat of war with a curfew preventing shops and businesses being opened.

Unless the doors remain open to peace, this armed presence is set to be a familiar sight once more.

Various locations, Israel, Jerusalem, Gaza and West Bank, September 30th, 1996

Gaza

1. WS Yasser getting into car amid tight security

2. Yasser's car leaving

Jerusalem

3. Pull out from Omar Ibin Khatab (part of the compound of the Temple Mount) to Jews praying at the Wailing wall

4. WS Jews celebrating at Wailing wall

6. MS Jews praying

7. MS Jews praying

8. WS opening of tunnel

9. MS tunnel

10. WS set up shot of Solomon

11. SOUNDBITE: Gershon Solomon, Head of Temple Mount Faithful

12. WS police in Jerusalem

13. MS police

Hertzeliyah, near Tel Aviv

14. WS Yigal Amir's house

15. CU of damaged window

Hebron

16. Various youths throwing stones

17. Youths running away from Israelis

18. Israelis chasing

19. SOUNDBITE: Mayor of Hebron, Mustafah Natche

20. Israeli armed vehicles

21. Various of shuttered shops

22. Israeli soldiers

English/Nat

Settler rabbis from across the West Bank have been holding an urgent meeting to discuss allegations that the assassin of Yitzhak Rabin had been authorised by religious leaders.

Two radical rabbis have been accused of issuing a death warrant against the slain prime minister.

The Wailing Wall -- for Jews one of the holiest places in the whole of Israel.

But the murder of Yitzhak Rabin at the hand of an Israeli extremist threatens to shatter the unity of those who come here to pray.

The death has set one rabbi against another in a community unaccustomed to divisions.

On Monday a settler rabbi accused two of his fellows of issuing a death warrant against the slain prime minister.

The accusation prompted an emergency meeting of rabbis from the settler communities of the West Bank.

At the meeting were both of the men accused of encouraging their parishioners to carry out the political killing.

Rabbi Nachum Rabinovic, originally from Canada and now settled in the West Bank community of Maale Edunim, said he would fight to clear his name.

SOUNDBITE:

Some irresponsible people issued libelous statements about us, which are totally unfounded and completely untrue and for which we will seek appropriate legal redress. "

SUPER CAPTION: Rabbi Nachum Rabinovic, one of accused rabbis

Rabinovic insisted that he and other rabbis were agents of unity and would never involve themselves in inciting acts of violence.

SOUNDBITE:

You can't make accusations about people without any evidence at all. All the evidence is in the opposite direction. we always acted to try to bridge divisions among our people.

SUPER CAPTION: Rabbi Nachum Rabinovic, one of accused rabbis

Rabin's assassination has revealed how far the government's policy of seeking peace with the Palestinians and surrounding Arab nations has left the country divided.

Radical settlers, convinced Israel has a divine right to territory seized after the Six Day War, had branded Rabin a traitor and oppressor for trading land for peace.

East Jerusalem, November 13, 1995

1. long shot Wailing Wall

2. exterior of Ohel Bentzion synagogue where rabbis met

3. door of the synagogue

4. rabbis seated around table

5. various close-ups of faces

6. shot of torah cupboard

7. more of rabbis around table

8. long shot of journalists around rabbis

9. SOUNDBITE: Rabbi Rabinovic

10. cutaway

11. SOUNDBITE: Rabinovic

12. shot of journalist

11. exterior street

Eng/Arabic/Nat

Israel has rushed troops to the West Bank and Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip where Islamic fundamentalists have vowed to redirect violence against Jewish targets.

The threat comes as PLO leader Yasser Arafat on Sunday released more than 30 Islamic militants from jail in a bid to reduce tensions between rival Palestinian factions that triggered three days of unrest.

Hundreds of P-L-O loyalists turned out to show their support for Yasser Arafat when he emerged from the Palestinian Authority headquarters in Gaza and spoke to his people for the first time since the bloodletting on Friday.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic):

We will not allow any force receiving orders from the outside to harm the Palestinian dream.

SUPER CAPTION: Yasser Arafat, PLO Chairman

While civil war between the PLO and the Islamic fundamentalists seems to have been averted so far, attacks on Jewish targets by Hamas continue.

At the Jewish settlement of Netzarim, located within the Gaza Strip, an Israeli soldier was killed a drive-by shooting. Hamas claimed responsibility.

The Islamic fundamentalist group has vowed to make Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip its next target.

The 26 year-old soldier, Gil Dadon was buried today.

Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin ordered more Israeli troops to be added to the already one-and-a-half thousand soldiers deployed in the Gaza Strip to protect some 5 thousand settlers.

Israeli cabinet members discussed rushing 13 (m) million dollars to the P-L-O, as members of the Palestinian authority blamed economic woes for the violence in Gaza.

SOUNDBITE (English):

It's a Palestinian internal affair and we have no intention to be involved to interfere. It's up to the Palestinian Authority to deal with its problems and we wish the Palestinian Authority success.

SUPER CAPTION: Yossi Sarid, Environment Minister

SOUNDBITE (English):

We are transferring exactly the amount of money that we should transfer according to the Cairo Accord and the agreement between us and the Palestinians.

SUPER CAPTION: Avraham Shochat, Finance Minister

Further insight into the situation was provided by Professor Moshe Maoz, an expert on Arab/Israeli relations.

SOUNDBITE (English):

It's not yet a civil war, but if Arafat doesn't control it, it might become something more serious, it might deteriorate. The situation could deteriorate. As far as I know Arafat, he will try to manoeuvre between Hamas and Islamic Jihad and his own organisation and he will try to appease his opposition. In the meantime he will also attempt to assert his own authority, increasing his armed forces, in order to have full control.

SUPER CAPTION :Professor Moshe Maoz ,Hebrew University

Meanwhile violence continues beyond the Gaza strip.

Light clashes broke out in the West Bank town of Hebron as Palestinian residents vented frustration and anger on Israeli troops deployed in the area.

And in Israel's self-declared security zone in Southern Lebanon, an Israeli soldier was wounded by Hezbollah guerrillas who ambushed an Israeli patrol early Sunday.

Gaza City 20/11/94

1. Crowds marching with PLO flags/shouting slogans in support of

Arafat

2. Arafat addressing crowd briefly. SOT in Arabic as noted above

Netzarim 19/11/94

4. The site of the attack

5. Israeli soldiers in the area

6. Helicopters searching for clues

Near Tel-Aviv 20/11/94

7. Mourners at soldiers funeral

8. Family and friends weeping/embracing

9. Lowering coffin

Netzarim 20/11/94

10. Israeli soldiers in the area

11. Long Shot of the settlement

Jerusalem 20/11/94

12. General shots of Cabinet

13. SOUNDBITE - Finance Minister Shochat

14. SOUNDBITE - Environment Minister Sarid

15. Moshe Maoz of Hebrew University sot

Hebron, West Bank 20/11/94

16. Burning tyres in street

17. Israeli soldiers in the area

18. Residents throwing stones

Northern Israel 20/11/94

19. Helicopter bringing in wounded soldier

Arabic/Eng/Nat

XFA

Palestinians throughout the West Bank and Gaza strip on Wednesday marked the 12th anniversary of the Palestinian symbolic declaration of independence.

All sides declared again that the killing must stop.

But it did not stop the violence.

Wednesday's funeral for Leah Rabin, the widow of the former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, provided the backdrop to a number of meetings between various international figures who travelled to Israel for the ceremony.

Hillary Clinton, attending the funeral in her capacity as First Lady and not as senator elect for New York, was received by Israeli President Moshe Katsav at his official residence in Jerusalem.

Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov held talks with his Israeli counterpart Shlomo Ben Ami at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv.

After the meeting, Ivanov described the current Mideast situation as 'very worrying'.

SOUNDBITE (Russian)

"The current Mideast situation is very worrying. The aim of the two parties should be to implement those agreements which have already been signed, and only then sit down for more talks."

SUPER CAPTION: Igor Ivanov, Russian foreign minister

Ben Ami said that Israel's policy is to bring an end to the violence.

SOUNDBITE (English)

"I conveyed to him the essence of our policy which is to bring to end the violence and in order to create appropriate conditions from the resumption of the peace process."

SUPER CAPTION: Shlomo Ben Ami, Israeli foreign minister

In a meeting unrelated to the funeral, Chairman Yasser Arafat received U-N High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson at his office in Gaza.

He thanked her for her commitment for the peace process and apologized to her for being shot at in Hebron.

A shot hit a car in Robinson's convoy as her motorcade travelled through Hebron this week.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic)

"I want to thank her for her visit, what she is trying do to for the Palestinian people."

SUPER CAPTION: Yasser Arafat, P-L-O chairman

Arafat's meeting with Mrs. Robinson was his only public engagement on this day.

The chairman had also received an invitation to the Rabin funeral but declined to attend.

The U-N High Commissioner for Human Rights met with children and listened to their worries about the violence around them.

The children handed over a petition to Robinson to consider their case.

Robinson later addressed the fear of the people.

SOUNDBITE: (English)

"It has been brought home to me very clearly the sense of the need for protection, the need for international protection because people feel very vulnerable, very afraid, very frightened by the shooting and shelling, very worried about the situation for their children. Children themselves have directly made representations of the need of protection, the issues is in fact before the Security Council - I discussed briefly with president Arafat this morning his understanding of the current situation - and if there is to be step it will either be Security Council or an initiative such as France proposed and that is decided. But certainly I have been made very aware of the strong need for protection."

SUPER CAPTION: Mary Robinson, U-N High Commissioner for Human Rights

Meanwhile, in Gaza City, hundreds of Palestinians took part in the funerals of two Palestinians killed on Tuesday during clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers.

The two bodies were wrapped with Palestinian flags as mourners chanted death to Israel.

More Palestinians died on Wednesday.

Labourers trying to skirt an Israeli checkpoint were shot and wounded by undercover police.

One was killed and another critically wounded - although Israeli police say the shooting was an accident.

In Gaza marchers took to the streets waving Hamas and Palestinian flags to mark the 12th anniversary of Yasser Arafat's declaration in Algiers of Palestinian independence.

At the Karni crossing clashes broke out between stone-throwing youths and Israeli soldiers.

The anniversary came as Israel enforced a tight blockade of Palestinian towns and villages for a second day, paralyzing life in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

SOUNDBITE: (English)

"What we need is not further political declarations or political statements but an enactment of the will to freedom and independence - the building of the substance of statehood and the exercise of sovereignty on the ground. The political rhetoric has been replaced by field rhetoric, so to speak. By the action of people, by the act of expression of the will to resist. And the drive to freedom and independence, by the Intifada, by this mass protest movement."

SUPER CAPTION: Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian spokeswoman

P-L-O leader Yasser Arafat made the symbolic declaration of Palestinian independence at a conference in Algiers on November 15th 1988.

There had been some expectations that Arafat would proclaim a state Wednesday.

The division is clearly visible in Jerusalem where Israelis and Palestinians live side by side.

Newspaper were full of the anniversary and eagerly read.

Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Gaza City, Ramallah, Algiers - November 15, 2000 + FILE

Jerusalem

1. Various shots of Hillary Clinton, Dennis Ross and others arrive and are met by press

Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion airport

2. Ivanov and Ben Ami arrive

3. Ivanov and Ben Ami shaking hands

4. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Igor Ivanov, Russian foreign minister

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Shlomo Ben Ami, Israeli foreign minister

Gaza City

6. Arafat and Robinson enter

7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Yasser Arafat, P-L-O chairman

8. Mary Robinson leaving and Yasser Arafat waving

9. Various shots of Robinson with children

10. Robinson receives petition from children

11. Wide shot presser

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Mary Robinson, U-N High Commissioner for Human Rights

Gaza City

13. Body being carried along ahead of crowd

14. Close-up of picture of young man killed

15. Crowd and body carried past honour guard

16. Man firing into the air as body is carried

Ramallah

17. Various funeral procession through streets

18. Various masked men with guns walking with funeral

19. Men firing guns in the air

Ramallah

20. Various masked men at funeral of 15 year old boy

21. Various masked men with guns walking with funeral

22. Various shots of funeral

23. Men firing guns in the air

Gaza City

24. Exterior Al-Shifa Hospital

25. Body in morgue of Palestinian shot at Karni

26. Various of Independence Day march through city

27. Marchers carrying flags and banners

28. Marchers chanting

Ramallah

29. Set-up of Hanan Ashrawi

30. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian spokeswoman

Algiers - 1988

31. Wide view of large crowd of people clapping

32. Yasser Arafat giving victory sign during his declaration of independence

33. Wide view of scene with crowd in foreground

Jerusalem

34. People entering the Old City through Damascus gate

35. Street - pans to newspaper stand

36. Close-up of man reading newspaper - pulls out

37. Various of newspapers and people reading

Hebrew/Eng/Nat

Israel's new Prime Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday presented his 18-member cabinet to the Knesset with a mixture of pessimism from his main opposition Likud party and some optimism from his Palestinian peace partners.

He stressed that Israel was a country made up of many different types of people, not just Jews and said that his coalition government would work for them all.

Members of Barak's coalition said that they will try their best to push the peace process forward in all tracks.

Already the new Israeli government says it will halt the building on the controversial Jewish settlement building in Ras as Amud claiming it's unnecessary and was a mistake.

Arriving for the session of the Knesset which would see the end of his reign as Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu appeared happy to be handing over responsibility to the incoming Prime Minister, Ehud Barak.

Aware of the diverse political and religious make-up of Israel, Barak has taken time to chose his cabinet and had drawn members from seven parties with a wide range of ideologies.

Thus with a coalition of 75 legislators, Barak is assured of approval in the 120-member parliament, or Knesset.

He took no time in telling the Knesset that his government would aim to bring peace and security to the region, likening the neighbouring countries of Syria, Egypt, Palestine and Jordan as four corners upon which peace could be achieved.

SOUNDBITE: Ehud Barak (Hebrew)

"The Arab countries should know that only a strong and self confident Israel would be able to bring peace. From this place, today, I call all the leaders of this region to reach out for our hand, the hand that is reaching out for peace, and to achieve a peace of the brave; a peace of the brave in an region that has known so many wars and suffering."

SUPER CAPTION: Ehud Barak, Israeli Prime Minister

But Barak's main opposition Likud party is worried the new government will give in to the demands of the Arabs and lead to an insecure Israel.

This was denied by the newly installed foreign minister, David Levy.

SOUNDBITE: (French)

"We'll do everything in order to give a push to the peace process. Of course it does not only depend on us but on our neighbors too"

SUPERCAPTION: David Levy, Israeli Foreign Minister

The widow of Yitzak Rabin, the man who brought Israel to the edge of peace and into a new understanding with the Palestinians backed the new government.

Although for her any visit to the Knesset is tinged with sadness.

SOUNDBITE: (English)

"I am here in a feeling of elation, of festivity . At the same time, of course, I am also sad to be here when I know that my husband is not here and will never be here again."

SUPER CAPTION: Leah Rabin, Widow of Yitzak Rabin

But Silvan Shalom a member of the Likud Party put a shadow on events and said that Barak's promises for a better Israel were all lies and Barak's policies will only lead to Israel giving up more land to the Arabs.

SOUNDBITE: (English)

"I think Israel is getting here today a government that won't implement its promises to its voters. I think that what we have seen in the last 50 days with the negotiations of the coalition, that the prime minister elect, Barak, did not do even one thing that he promised to the Israelis."

SUPERCAPTION: Silvan Shalom, Likud member

But others were more optimistic.

The Palestinians said they hope Barak will put the Middle East peace at the top of his government's agenda and will implement the agreements already signed.

Ziad Abu Zayyad a minister in Yasser Arafat's self-rule cabinet said he hoped Barak will move quickly and prove to the Palestinians that Israel is serious about achieving peace .

SOUNDBITE: (English)

"I won't say a peace government, but I will say that this government, I expect it to continue the peace process. I expect it to implement the Wye Valley agreement, to go ahead, to intensify talks about the final status issues"

SUPER CAPTION: Ziad abu-Zayyad, Palestinian council member

It appears that the new Israeli Prime Minister intends to carry out that pledge.

Jerusalem and Ramallah, West Bank. 6 July, 1999

Jerusalem

1. Benjamin Netanyahu arriving

2. Ehud Barak arriving

3. Wide shot of interior of Knesset

4. Ehud Barak going up on stage

5. SOUNDBITE: Ehud Barak, (Hebrew), Israeli Prime Minister

6. David Levy, new foreign minister

7. SOUNDBITE: David Levy, (French), Israeli Foreign Minister

8. Leah Rabin, widow of Yitzhak Rabin being kissed by man

9. SOUNDBITE: Leah Rabin (English), Widow of Yitzhak Rabin

10. Likud member Silvan Shalom

11. SOUNDBITE: Silvan Shalom (English), Likud member

12. Benjamin Netanyahu greeting Knesset members

Ramallah, West Bank:

13. Exterior of the Palestinian Council

14. Palestinian flag

15. Various of council members at session

16. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ziad abu-Zayyad, Palestinian council member

17. Cutaway Ziad

English/Nat

Israelis on Friday were getting used to the idea that Likud leader, Bibi Netanyahu will be their new prime minister.

For those Israelis in settlements on the West Bank, its' the result they wanted but for others including a group of young Peres supporters in Tel Aviv it was the worst possible outcome.

Immanu'el settlement is just south of the Arab city of Nablus on the West Bank.

Amongst these Orthodox Jews, 99 percent of them voted for Bibi Netanyahu, the right wing leader of the Likud party.

Immanu'el is a religious settlement established in 1984 with a population of five thousand. Many of the inhabitants study the Torah.

Sara Givon lives here with her husband Shlomo.

She is adamant that she voted for the right man.

SOUNDBITE: (English)

We didn't like what we saw for last three and a half years so we have to give a chance to somebody else. Somebody who we believe is going in the direction that we think we should go.

SUPER CAPTION: Sara Givon, Netanyahu Supporter

She said it was no use bargaining with the Arabs the way Peres did.

SOUNDBITE: (English)

I've learnt from haggling with Arabs over prices. He starts off with a much higher price than he expects to get and the buyer has to say a much lower price than he expects to give. And in the end they reach something in between. Shimon Peres gave right away, what for him was the ultimate of what he was going to give.

SUPER CAPTION: Sara Givon, Netanyahu Supporter

In Tel Aviv the suburb of Shenken was in a subdued mood.

It is a left leaning, trendy area with lots of students, many of whom are Peres supporters.

They are understandably unhappy, after the apparent rejection of the peace process and what many see as a betrayal of the memory of the assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Orna Weitz is worried about what the future holds for her son.

SOUNDBITE: (English)

I can tell you that I'm very disappointed, that I'm very unhappy , that I thought that we were on the track of peace and I really doubt that we are going anywhere now.

SUPER CAPTION: Orna Weitz, Peres Supporter

SOUNDBITE: (English)

A lot of people thinking of, you know, leaving country, going to live for maybe for the next four years, maybe for the entire life.

SUPER CAPTION: Meidad Gendler, Peres Supporter

His comments were an echo of Leah Rabin - widow of the Yitzhak Rabin - who said she was now looking at her bags and thinking of leaving the Jewish homeland.

Immanu'el, near Nablus and Tel Aviv Israel. May 31st 1996

1. Various Orthodox Jews

2. Orthodox Jew praying

3. Settlement house

4. Sara Givon cutting sweet peas and vegetables

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Sara Givon, Netanyahu Supporter

6. Picking flowers

7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Sara Givon, Netanyahu Supporter

8. WS area around settlement

Shenken , Tel Aviv

9. Peres supporters in square

10. Young Peres supporters

11. Various park where children and parents play

12. CU Orna Weitz's son

13. SOUNDBITE: (Eng) Orna Weitz

14. SOUNDBITE: (Eng) Meidad Gendler

15. Gendler walks away with his dog

Hebrew/Nat

A West Bank Rabbi is under the protective custody of the Israeli security forces after threatening to name Rabbis who sanctioned the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Rabbi Yoel Bin Nun from Ofra has received death threats, but insists he'll name the conspirators unless they reveal themselves and resign.

The development comes as Israeli police continue their investigation of the assassination. Hagai Amir, the elder brother of the self-confessed killer Yigal Amir has appeared in court.

Rabbi Yoel Bin Nun has been forced into hiding after saying he would reveal the names of rabbis who sanctioned Rabin's assassination.

Bin Nun gave these yet unknown rabbis a dramatic ultimatum: either reveal yourselves and resign your posts, or I will do it for you.

His ultimatum ends tomorrow.

Anonymous callers have threatened Bin Nun's life, and he's now wearing a bullet proof vest and surrounded at all times by bodyguards.

Israel's security service may have known in advance of the plot to kill Prime Minister Rabin.

Israeli radio reports an informant linked to an extremist Jewish group gave a description of the assassin and told them he was a 25 year old student at Bar Ilan University.

Yigal Amir, the self confessed killer was a third-year law student at the university.

Today Amir's brother Hagai appeared in court.

He told a magistrate's court in Tel Aviv he had received weapons from an Israeli army sergeant, identified as Eric Schwartz.

Dressed in jeans, wearing a black skullcap, and with his hands cuffed in front of him, Hagai said he did not believe his brother really planned to kill Rabin even though he had mentioned the assassination plans to other people.

SOUNDBITE:(Hebrew)

"If I would have known, I wouldn't have given him such lethal weapons."

SUPER CAPTION: Hagai Amir, Suspect in Rabin murder

Amir was remanded in custody by the court.

Ofra, West Bank and Tel Aviv, Israel 12th November 1995

1. House of Rabbi Bin Nun in Ofra

2. Security personnel

3. Armed security guard outside home

4. Rabbi leaves home surrounded by bodyguards

5. Slow motion Rabbi leaves home.

6. Amir family members arriving

7. Hagai Amir being led in to courtroom

8. Sitting in bench with plainclothes policeman

9. Cameramen scuffle

10. Amir's parents

11. SOUNDBITE: Amir

12. Exterior of court

T/I 10:13:23 Tape 2 GS 10:19:27

The slaying of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at a peace rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night (4/11) by Jewish extremist Yigal Amir has sent shock waves throughout Israel--and, in marked contrast--sparked wild celebrations in Lebanon. The government reacted to the killing by suspending the military withdrawal from the West Bank and sealing the West Bank and Gaza for an indefinite period. Road blocks were erected in Gaza and extra Palestinian Police were delpoyed to check the identity papers of drivers. In Lebanon, Palestinians loyal to Islamic Jihad took to the streets to celebrate Rabin's death. In Jordan, while reaction on the streets was mixed, Jordanian Prime Minster Sharif Zeid Ben Shaker condemned the shooting.

SHOWS:

MIDDLE EAST 4-5/11

SIDON, SOUTHERN LEBANON 4/11

0.00 palestinains firing guns into air

BEIRUT, LEBABON 4/11

0.08 man on car beating drum; marchers passing; chanting

0.16 traffic in street tilt up to fireworks in sky

0.21 men in street cheering; cars beeping

0.25 packed car drives past

BEIRUT, LEBANON 5/11

0.29 people chanting at islamic jihad rally

GAZA, ISRAEL 5/11

0.47 ws Gush Katif checkpoint

0.51 ms checkpoint tower

0.55 soldier ushering cars through

0.59 plo leader yasser arafat and Portugese Prime Minister Soares

parading

1.05 they shake hands with palestinan general

1.10 sot spokesman for plo leader yasser arafat, marwan kanafani:

"The participation of the president in the funeral; 'though

it's very important is due to very complicated arrangements

on the security side and the political side, and this is

another burden that the israelis should not bear

now."

AMMAN, JORDAN 5/11

1.28 sreet scene

1.33 person meandering through traffic

1.40 vision ends

Arabic/Nat

Tensions mounted in Jerusalem today as thousands of Palestinians converged on the Holy City for the second Friday of Ramadan.

Fearing more attacks, Israeli security was tight.

But there is some evidence that the security clampdown on the border is being eased.

It comes a critical stage in the Middle East peace process.

Yesterday talks between Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin broke down over the issues of the border clampdown and crackdown on Islamic extremists.

Thousands of Palestinians today (Friday) converged on the Holy City of Jerusalem to attend prayers for the festival of Ramadan at the Al-Aksa Mosque, Dome of the Rock in the Old City.

Israeli soldiers were posted at all entrances to Jerusalem and the gates of the Old City. They were checking identity cards and conducting body searches.

Security remains at an all-time high as Israeli's fear further suicide attacks.

Some of the restrictions on entering Jerusalem have been lifted- the elderly and women were allowed in, but the majority of Palestinians from the West Bank are still being refused entry.

The easing of restrictions, which have prevented thousands of Palestinians from going to work and pray in Jerusalem, could be due to the critical situation in the peace process.

Talks between Israel and the P-L-O broke down yesterday ( Thursday) - the sticking points being border security and the threat from Islamic extremists opposed to the peace process.

Ramadan is one of the holiest months in the Islamic calendar. It commemorates the day when the Angel Gabriel imparted the wisdom of the Koran to Mohammed, the prophet of Islam.

During the month Moslems fast from dawn to dusk.

Tensions also remain high in the West Bank.

Israeli soldiers posted in the town of Hebron, limited the number of Muslim worshippers at the Ibrahimi Mosque to 1000.

A crowd of about 250 worshippers gathered outside the Mosque, sacred to both Jews and Muslims alike, to perform the noon prayers for Ramadan.

Israeli security remained on full alert throughout the town and Israeli soldiers checked identity documents of a number of residents and arrested a young man.

Hebron has been particularly volatile since the infamous Mosque Massacre of February 1994 when a right-wing settler opened fire on a group of worshippers in the Ibrahimi Mosque, killing over 40.

Ramadan was mentioned in Gaza as well, where a large crowd attended the noon prayer in the Abbas mosque, together with the PLO chairman Yasser Arafat.

Israel 10 Feb, 1995

1. long shot of mosque

2. M/S people going to mosque

3. police blockade

4. various: Israeli police overseeing worshippers

5. Various: Worshippers being checked out by Israeli police

6. worshippers walking by gate

7. Medium shot Israeli soldiers

8. Worshippers

9. Various: Israeli soldiers 'directing' worshippers

10. Worshippers carrying box

11. Hebron ...Various: Israeli soldiers/worshippers

12. Various: Palestinians worshipping

13. Palestinians leaving mosque

14. soldiers checking out Palestinians - pushing two boys

15. Palestinian being led away by soldiers

16. Various: soldiers

17. Inside mosque

18. c.u chanting

19. Various: Yasser Arafat praying

20. Yasser leaving/ waving

24. Car w/ yasser leaving amongst crowds

LEADIN:

The funeral of Israeli journalist Uni Averny has taken place in Tel Aviv.

Israeli's and a group of Palestinian officials came together to remember a man who became a symbol of the Israeli peace movement.

STORYLINE:

Israelis and a group of Palestinian officials come to pay respect to the Israeli journalist Uri Avnery, who died earlier this week at the age of 94.

Avnery's coffin is placed at a centre that serves as a hub for journalists in Tel Aviv.

Israeli media said his body will be cremated, a practise that is forbidden under Jewish law.

Leading the Palestinian group is Nabil Shaath, an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"I share your grief for losing a great man. We share condolences and to remember a great man of peace, of freedom, of expressions, of courage, of commitment. That commitment to peace is still alive because there are people in Israel like Uri Avnery," he says.

For decades he was a symbol of the Israeli peace movement, easily recognised by his thick white beard and white hair. A member of Israel's founding generation, he fought in the pre-state Irgun underground militia. After independence he became a publisher, member of parliament, author and activist.

In the 1982 Lebanon War, Avnery famously sneaked into besieged Beirut to talk to Israel's then-nemesis, PLO chairman Yasser Arafat.

Avnery challenged successive Israeli governments in arguing that a Palestinian state was the only way to secure peace for a democratic Israel with a Jewish majority.

"Uri Avnery is one of the biggest icons of the Israeli peace camp, he was the first one not only to say but to do things that other people did not have the courage to do," says Yariv Oppenheimer of settlement watchdog group 'Peace Now'.

Born into a wealthy family in Germany, Avnery grew up poor in Tel Aviv after he and his parents fled following the rise of the Nazis in 1933. As a 10-year-old immigrant, he eagerly embraced Hebrew language and culture but remained fluent in German and acknowledged being shaped by the humanist traditions of pre-Nazi Germany.

As a journalist, he shook the establishment with his tabloid weekly, Haolam Hazeh, or "This World" - a mix of hard-hitting exposes, gossip and photos of nude women.

A generation of aggressive Israeli journalists trained under his tutelage, even as his politics mostly kept him on the fringes of Israeli society. His stances, far outside the mainstream, won him several international awards but plenty of scorn at home where he was relentlessly attacked, sometimes even physically.

Still, his unwavering convictions won him respect from political rivals, even those who advocated for Jewish settlement in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, lands captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a state.

After his newspaper folded following a 40-year run, Avnery founded Gush Shalom, or "Peace Bloc," a group of several hundred activists who stage street protests, often side by side with Palestinian activists. He remained a strong supporter of Arafat long after most of Israel gave up on him as a peace partner following the eruption of Palestinian violence in the early 2000s.

Israel's peace movement has increasingly fractured and become politically sidelined since the 1990s when the Labor Party under then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin led talks with the Palestinians on interim peace deals. Peace efforts were slowed by Rabin's 1995 assassination and Benjamin Netanyahu's first term as prime minister.

Tel Aviv, Israel - 22 August 2018

1. Close of framed picture of Uri Avnery on his coffin

2. Pan of people surrounding coffin

3. Close of picture of Avnery

4. Mid of candles and flowers

5. Zehava Galon former head of Meretz party talking to Nabil Shaath an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Nabil Shaath, adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas:

"I share your grief for losing a great man. And I lead a delegation of five senior Palestinians from Ramallah and about 18 cadres, in addition of course to Palestinian Israelis members of Knesset and others who are also with us here. We share condolences and to remember a great man of peace, of freedom, of expressions, of courage, of commitment. That commitment to peace is still alive because there are people in Israel like Uri Avnery. He had taught many people and he had reached us Palestinians very well, not only because of his visit to Yasser Arafat (late Palestinian President) in Beirut in 1982 or later visits to Yasser Arafat in Tunis, or in visits with Abu Mazen (Palestinian President), or in contacts with Palestinians here and there but because he represents to us that real courage."

7. Pan from people attending memorial to coffin

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Yariv Oppenheimer, from settlement watchdog group 'Peace Now':

"Uri Avnery is one of the biggest icons of the Israeli peace camp, he was the first one not only to say but to do things that other people did not have the courage to do. He was breaking the way for talking about the two State solution for talking about it with the PLO, things that today are almost for granted, he was the first one to say it and he was a leader, opening up the public to views and ideas that were totally unacceptable and the biggest thing about Uri Avnery that he was brave to speak about peace, to fight about peace, and to be the first one to do things that are totally politically incorrect suddenly it is become the main stream."

9. People attending memorial

10. Pan of people at entrance to building

TAPE NUMBER: OA 216

DATELINE: April 29, 2010 Washington, DC

Remarks At the American Jewish Committee Annual Gala Dinner

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you all. Well, it is wonderful to be back here at the American Jewish Committee and I thank David for that introduction. What he was really trying to say was that it was very dull in Chappaqua before we came to town. (Laughter.) David is an extraordinary leader. He inspires your confidence and your trust and your affection, and I thank him for his decades of service to this important work.

I also want to thank Richard Sideman, Bob Elman, all the leaders and staff and members who make the American Jewish Committee a force for peace and progress here at home and around the world. And I am delighted - (applause) - yes, give yourselves a round of applause. (Applause.)

I am delighted to be here with three of my colleagues and three of my friends. Many of you know one or more of them, but it is a pleasure to be appearing before you with Minister Verhagen from the Netherlands, someone whom I have worked closely with over the last 15 months; Miguel Angel Moratinos, the very experienced foreign minister of Spain and someone who is just absolutely tireless in his efforts on behalf of his country and now as the holder of the presidency of the European Union as well; and my longtime friend Ehud Barak, who has had nearly as many incarnations in public service as I have. (Laughter and applause.) Ehud and I had a wonderful meeting the other day here in Washington and covered a lot of ground. And as friends do, much was said and much didn't need to be said. So I'm delighted that he is here with us as well.

This organization for more than a century has been a voice for the aspirations of the Jewish people for a secure and democratic homeland. We saw the pictures flashing before us on the screen - the faces of those who have made Israel their home and those who have made America our home. You have fought for the core values that make this country great -equality and religious freedom, civil rights and women's rights, a freer, fairer nation in which every child has the opportunity to live up to his or her God-given potential.

So let me first thank you, thank all of you, for everything you do on behalf of the United States of America and our ideals and values. Because at the core, our relationship with Israel is premised on those values. (Applause.)

There are so many ways that the American Jewish Committee has advanced and spoken to the enduring bond between the United States and Israel. AJC recognizes that we are two nations woven together with our stories, our stories of struggle and triumph, of hope and disappointment. We are beacons for pilgrims and people yearning to be free. We are lands built by immigrants and exiles, given life by democratic principles, and sustained by the service and sacrifice of generations of patriots. We have seen our cities and our citizens targeted by terrorists. And Americans and Israelis alike have met these threats with unyielding resolve.

For all of our similarities, though, we know that Israel faces unique challenges. A nation forced to defend itself at every turn, living under existential threat for decades. We Americans may never fully understand the implications of this history on the daily lives of Israelis - the worry that a mother feels watching a child board a school bus or a child watching a parent go off to work. But we know deep in our souls that we have an unshakable bond and we will always stand not just with the Government of Israel but with the people of Israel. (Applause.)

Since our first day in office, the Obama Administration has made the pursuit of peace and secure and recognized borders for Israel a priority because that is, we believe, the best way to safeguard Israel's long-term future as a democratic Jewish state. (Applause.) As President Obama has said, a strong and secure Israel - and an Israel at peace with its neighbors - is critical not only to the interests of Israelis and Palestinians, but vital to our own strategic interests.

That is why the United States is fighting against anti-Semitism in international institutions - our special envoy for anti-Semitism is traveling the world as we speak, raising the issue at the highest levels of countries from one end of the world to the next. It is why we led the boycott of the Durban Conference. (Applause.) It is why we repeatedly and vigorously voted against and spoke out against the Goldstone Report. (Applause.) And it is why we have worked to ensure Israel's qualitative military edge, providing nearly $3 billion in annual military assistance. When I became Secretary of State, I asked my longtime defense and foreign policy advisor from my years in the Senate, Andrew Shapiro, to personally manage our defense consultations with Israel. And today, I am proud to say our partnership is broader, deeper, and more intense than ever before. (Applause.)

So our commitment to, and our belief in and our interest in, a strong and secure Israel is also why the President and I asked Senator George Mitchell to serve as our Special Envoy for Middle East Peace. He is working toward the goal of restarting good-faith negotiations between the parties and moving toward an outcome of two states, living side by side in peace and security, with a comprehensive regional peace that brings an end to the conflict between Israel and Syria, and Israel and Lebanon, and normal relations between Israel and all the Arab states. (Applause.)

President Obama noted recently that there has been some of what he called "noise and distortion" about this Administration's approach in the Middle East. Over the past month, we have attempted to remove any ambiguity. The President and this Administration have repeatedly reaffirmed our commitment to Israel's security in word and in deed.

And last month at AIPAC's national conference, I spoke about the challenge that continuing conflict poses to Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state. How dynamics of ideology, technology, and demography make the status quo unsustainable for the long term and make the pursuit of peace a necessity. And two weeks ago at the Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, I highlighted the urgency of the struggle between those in the region, especially in the Palestinian territories, who seek peace and progress and those who seek to perpetuate conflict.

Well, tonight I want to focus on the regional threats to Israel's security and the imperative of reaching a comprehensive regional peace that will help defuse those threats. Because without a comprehensive regional peace, the Middle East will never unlock its full potential, and Israel will never be truly secure. Pursuing peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and Israel and its neighbors can be a mutually reinforcing process, and today it is more essential than ever to make progress on all tracks.

Israel is confronting some of the toughest challenges in her history, in a region where too many still reject Israel's right to exist.

Israelis have always guarded their borders vigilantly. But because of the ever-evolving technology of war, Israeli families now face dangers from far beyond their borders. Hamas and Hezbollah continue to trumpet the false and intolerable claim that a Palestinian state can somehow be achieved someday through violence. They have stockpiled tens of thousands of increasingly sophisticated rockets in Gaza and southern Lebanon - rockets they aim at Israeli homes and civilians. Now Hamas has circulated a hateful video mocking the family of Gilad Shalit. It is cruel and it is an outrage. And in the face of this inhumanity, we say again, as we have many times before: Gilad Shalit must be released immediately and returned to his family. (Applause.)

We have spoken out forcefully about the grave dangers of Syria's transfer of weapons to Hezbollah. We condemn this in the strongest possible terms and have expressed our concerns directly to the Syrian Government. Transferring weapons to these terrorists - especially longer-range missiles - would pose a serious threat to the security of Israel. It would have a profoundly destabilizing effect on the region. And it would absolutely violate UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which bans the unauthorized importation of any weapons into Lebanon.

We do not accept such provocative and destabilizing behavior - nor should the international community. President Assad is making decisions that could mean war or peace for the region. We know he's hearing from Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas. It is crucial that he also hear directly from us, so that the potential consequences of his actions are clear. That's why we are sending an ambassador back to Syria. There should be no mistake, either in Damascus or anywhere else: The United States is not reengaging with Syria as a reward or a concession. Engagement is a tool that can give us added leverage and insight, and a greater ability to convey strong and unmistakably clear messages aimed at Syria's leadership. (Applause.)

Iran, with its anti-Semitic president and hostile nuclear ambitions, also continues to threaten Israel, but it also threatens the region and it sponsors terrorism against many. The United States has worked with the international community to present the leaders in Tehran with a clear choice: Uphold your international obligations and reap the benefits of normal relations, or face increased isolation and painful consequences. At every turn, Iran has met our outstretched hand with a clenched fist. But our engagement has helped build a growing global consensus on the need to pressure Iran's leaders to change course. We are now working with our partners at the United Nations to craft tough new sanctions. The United States is committed to pursuing this diplomatic path. But we will not compromise our commitment to preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. (Applause.)

So these threats to Israel's security are real, they are growing, and they must be addressed. And we are working closely with our Israeli partners to do so.

The United States continues to support the development of Israeli air and missile defense systems, including the Arrow Weapon System for long-range ballistic missile threats and David's Sling for short-range ballistic missiles. We first deployed Patriots to Israel during the Gulf War. And today we are working with Israel to upgrade its Patriots. We have also deployed an advanced radar system to provide early warning of incoming missiles. The Obama Administration is committed to ensuring that Israel has all of the tools it needs to protect and defend itself.

I have spoken with families whose homes are threatened by rockets. People who live according to the wail of bomb alerts and sirens. I have met with the victims of terrorism. In their hospital rooms I've held their hands, I've listened to the doctors describe the shrapnel lodged in a leg, an arm, or a head. Guaranteeing Israel's security is more than a policy position for me; it is a personal commitment. (Applause.)

I know you share this commitment. You feel it at your core. And all of us who are dedicated to Israel's future must recognize that a comprehensive regional peace that isolates the terrorists, ends the conflicts with Israel's neighbors, brings normal relations with all the Arab states is far better than any missile shield or defensive battery.

Regional peace must begin with the recognition by every party that the United States will always stand behind Israel's security and, as President Obama put it recently, "no wedge will be driven between us. Now, we will have our differences, but when we do, we will work to resolve them as close allies." (Applause.) Israel's right to exist, and to defend itself, is not negotiable. (Applause.) And no lasting peace will be possible unless that fact is accepted.

But similarly, Palestinians must have a state of their own. They must be able to travel, conduct business, govern themselves, and enjoy the dignity of a sovereign people. (Applause.) There can be no equivocating on this either.

And the only way to achieve a two-state solution is through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. So we will do everything we can to support such negotiations. We are literally working around the clock to move forward with proximity talks, which we hope then will set the stage for a resumption of direct negotiations on all permanent status issues as soon as possible.

We believe that through good-faith negotiations the parties can agree to an outcome which ends the conflict and reconciles the Palestinian goal of an independent and viable state based on the '67 lines, with agreed swaps, and Israel's goal of a Jewish state with secure and recognized borders that reflect subsequent developments and meet Israel's security requirements. (Applause.)

The United States recognizes that Jerusalem is a deeply, profoundly, important issue for Israelis and Palestinians, for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. And we believe that through good-faith negotiations the parties can agree on an outcome that realizes the aspirations of both parties for Jerusalem and safeguards its status for people around the world.

Now, simultaneously moving toward a broader regional peace will help set the conditions for that outcome. As I've said, these are mutually reinforcing tracks.

But this will not be easy - and I recognize the frustration after years of false starts and failed hopes. But peace is possible. Think back. In 1978, after years of conflict, Egypt and Israel put away their guns and they made a peace that has stood the test of time. And in 1994, I watched as King Hussein of Jordan and Prime Minister Rabin of Israel signed a treaty in the desert that effectively ended decades of war.

These were clear-eyed, realistic, hard-headed leaders who recognized that war would not serve their nations' long-term interests and brought their people along. As Yitzhak Rabin said on that blistering hot afternoon, "Leaders should clear the path, should show the way, but the road itself must be paved by both peoples." The peace they made that day has held. As has the peace of Sadat and Begin. Israel, Egypt, and Jordan are all better off - and the goal of a comprehensive peace more likely as a result.

For the Arab states, pursuing peace with Israel is the best way to help achieve the goal of an independent Palestinian state. For everyone who proclaims their support of the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, who cares more about the results than the rhetoric, there is no other path.

Around the world, people who have never been to Israel and never met a Palestinian are waiting for an end to the conflict in the Middle East. When I traveled the world as a First Lady, in a time of hope for the peace process, it was rare to hear people in places far from the region even mention the issue. But now, I have to tell you, wherever I go, it invariably is the first, second, or third concern on every agenda. And in every country, my answer is the same: Become part of the solution. Support the peacemakers and condemn the rejectionists. Invest with those who seek to build credible institutions and find common ground. Close your doors to those who traffic in violence and hate. All of us who care about the future have a responsibility to help shape it. (Applause.)

Because as Yitzhak Rabin said, ultimately, the leaders and the people of the region must provide the vision for peace and the will to realize it. The Arab Peace Initiative offers such a vision, a vision of a better future for all of the people of the Middle East. It rests on the bargain that peace between the Israelis and Palestinians will bring recognition and normalization from the Arab states. It is time to advance this proposal with actions, not just words.

We do not expect the Arab states to move forward in a vacuum. Israel must do its part by respecting the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, stopping settlement activity, addressing the humanitarian needs in Gaza, and supporting the institution-building efforts of the Palestinian Authority.

And Palestinians must continue their efforts to take responsibility and accountability for security in the West Bank. They must be vigilant in their work to stop incitement and prevent violence and terror. And they must press forward with the institutional and economic reforms under President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad's leadership, which we support.

And both sides should refrain from unilateral statements and actions that could undermine trust or prejudge - or appear to prejudge - the outcome of negotiations.

So we will continue to emphasize the responsibilities of Israelis and Palestinians, who must ultimately themselves negotiate a two-state solution. But there are also clear expectations of the Arab states. They have an interest in a stable and secure region. And they should take steps that show Israelis, Palestinians, and their own people that peace is possible and there will be tangible benefits if it is achieved.

First, all states must stop supplying weapons to terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. (Applause.) Every rocket smuggled into southern Lebanon or Gaza sets back the cause of peace.

Second, the Arab states can and should continue to provide President Abbas with the support he needs to negotiate in good faith with Israel.

Third, they could do more to support the Palestinian Authority budget and its two-year development plan. The long-term success of President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad's efforts to build the institutions of a future Palestinian state depend on a larger, steadier, and more predictable source of financial support from the international community. The United States has done our part - (applause). We have become the Palestinian Authority's largest bilateral donor, and Europe also has stepped up to help. Arab states need to share a greater portion of these responsibilities. (Applause.) The two-year plan to build a Palestinian state that provides security, good governance, and economic opportunities is an essential investment in the future and a necessary foundation for peace and security.

Fourth, as negotiations proceed between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and mutual confidence increases, Arab states should reach out to the Israeli public, demonstrating that Israel's isolation in the region is ending, and all states should resume multilateral discussions on critical regional issues. We would hope to see such concrete steps like the opening or reopening of commercial trade offices and interest sections, overflight rights, postal routes, and more people-to-people exchanges that build trust at the grassroots level. All the people of the region need concrete evidence of the benefits that peace will bring.

Because there are benefits. One durable multilateral partnership that grew out of the Oslo years is the Middle East Desalination Research Center. It brings together Arab states, the Palestinian Authority, and Israel to develop practical solutions to regional water challenges. Together, they are exploring new, greener production methods, including solar desalination, and working to reduce costs so more people across the region have access to fresh water. The United States and a number of our international partners are proud that we helped launch this project, and we appreciate the partnership of the American Jewish Committee in this effort. (Applause.) I understand that the director and deputy director of the Center are both here with us tonight. This project is an example of the shared dividends that cooperation can yield. It is proof that Israelis, Palestinians, and Arabs can put aside differences and work together.

Nearly a year ago in Cairo, President Obama called for a new spirit of partnership in the region and beyond, with broader engagement on education, economic development, health, science and technology. This week in Washington, the Administration hosted entrepreneurs, investors, civil society leaders and academics from more than 50 nations for a summit geared toward building those new partnerships.

Peace, both between Israel and the Palestinians and between Israel and her neighbors, will take us one step closer to fulfilling that vision. It will open so many new avenues of cooperation, from conserving scarce natural resources to promoting broad-based and sustainable economic development to preventing the looming threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. There are so many common challenges and common interests that the people of this region share.

And perhaps most of all, the people deserve an end to the culture of fear and hostility that has dominated their lives for decades. Israelis deserve to live in a secure and democratic Jewish state. Palestinians deserve a state to call their own, with dignity and opportunity. A two-state solution coupled with a regional peace promises a future of prosperity. The status quo promises only more violence and failed aspirations.

The Obama Administration will continue making this case forcefully and frequently. We know we cannot and will not impose a solution. It is up to the parties themselves. (Applause.) They must negotiate, compromise, and ultimately resolve this conflict. (Applause.) That is the only path that leads to security and prosperity. But the United States is committed to being an active partner for peace every step of the way.

The American Jewish Committee has been such a partner for so many years, and I thank you for that. And I want you to know that we will be with you, those Americans and Israelis who believe in this future that I have described. And may God bless you, may God bless Israel, and may God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

# # #

SHOTLIST

Jerusalem - 3 October, 2007

1. Various aerials of Jerusalem

Jerusalem - 21 September, 2007

2. High wide of Western Wall (also known as the Wailing Wall)

3. Various of Jewish people praying at Western Wall

Jerusalem - 8 October, 2007

4. SOUNDBITE: (Hebrew) Avigdor Lieberman, Hawkish Cabinet minister and leader of the Israel Beitenu Party:

"There is no doubt we think the opposite to (Vice Premier) Haim Ramon and the left in general. There is no room for compromise, the conflict between Jews and Arabs is not one of territory, every compromise based on territory brings neither peace nor security. The opposite is true: territorial compromise in Lebanon and Gaza brought only terror and Qassam rockets, we are however ready to exchange areas and their inhabitants."

Jerusalem - 9 October, 2007

++NIGHT SHOTS++

5. Various of Al Aqsa mosque, thousands of Palestinian muslims praying on Laylat Al-Kader, holy night

++DAY SHOTS++

6. Jerusalem Old City walls

7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Dov Shapiro, Israeli resident of Jerusalem:

"I wouldn't mind if I really thought that it was going to help the situation, but since we've been here before and sort of like, done this, I really don't think that it's really going to go anywhere with it."

8. Palestinian shopkeeper reading newspaper

9. Close-up of newspaper showing picture of Al-Aqsa with headline referring to Israeli opinion poll

10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Younes Maatouk, Palestinian shop keeper in Jerusalem:

"We must give way to anybody to pray, everybody have a holy place, everybody have a hope, as for that we must to finish it, not for me and for you and for him, we must finish it for the future of our children,"

11. Street in Old City bazaar

12. Jewish residents of Jerusalem in cafe reading newspaper articles on the opinion poll

13. Group of international Jewish community leaders preparing to meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres

14. SOUNDBITE: (English) John Reeves, Vice President of Bnai Brith Europe (Jewish Human Rights Organisation):

"It is an indivisible city, it is a holy city for Jews and also for non-Jews and I think any division of the city would in fact destroy its holiness, it would destroy actually its tradition."

15. Reeves and others meeting Peres

Ramallah - 9 October, 2007

16. Set-up of Palestinian shopkeeper Khamees (no last name given)

17. SOUNDBITE: (English) Khamees (no last name given): (overlaid with reporter question)

(Q: "Do you think the Israelis are serious in this offer? Are you a Palestinian citizen?")

"I doubt it very much. I doubt it very much. I don't think they will divide Jerusalem into two pieces, just like they wouldn't take the Hawara checkpoint or any other checkpoint, they wouldn't even let it go. Take away the checkpoints then we'll talk about the Jerusalem part."

18. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mustafa Barghouti, Palestinian legislator and former presidential candidate:

"I don't think what Ramon suggests has any serious impact because (Israeli Prime Minister Ehud) Olmert, (Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi) Livni and (former Prime Minister Ehud) Barak all of them say they refuse to discuss final status issues. Olmert wants to delay all the main issues of the conflict from 20 to 30 years, this is not serious from the Israeli side."

Jerusalem- 9 October, 2007

19. Pull out from Temple Mount, as it is known to Jews, or Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) as it is known to Muslims, to concrete barrier separating Jerusalem from West Bank

STORYLINE

A poll published on Tuesday in the Israeli Yediot Ahronot newspaper indicated that a solid majority of Israelis oppose any Palestinian rule in Jerusalem, a city Israel considers it's capital and for which

Palestinians have capital aspirations of their own in the eastern sector for a future state.

The survey followed remarks attributed to junior cabinet members that the possibility of giving the Palestinian Authority some degree of sovereignty over Jerusalem should be debated before next month's Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland.

The Annapolis talks, between Israelis, Palestinians and members of the Bush administration, was originally intended to be a fully-fledged peace conference but there are low expectations of any real, substantive talks, in spite of public utterances emanating from various camps that there will be.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his parliament he won't be deterred from seeking a peace deal with the Palestinians despite the need for painful concessions, warning that failure would mean a deep struggle.

In his speech on Monday, Olmert was short on specifics, even as his closest political ally, Vice Premier Haim Ramon, talked publicly about a future division of Jerusalem, long taboo in Israeli politics.

The dispute over Jerusalem is one of the most explosive issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Ramon said in radio interviews Monday that the three main parties in Olmert's coalition all favour a division, and disagree only over where the line should be drawn.

Hawkish Cabinet minister Avigdor Lieberman made reference on Monday to "exchanging areas and inhabitants" without going into detail.

"There is no doubt we think the opposite to (Vice Premier) Haim Ramon and the left in general," Lieberman said.

"There is no room for compromise, the conflict between Jews and Arabs is not one of territory, every compromise based on territory brings neither peace nor security. The opposite is true: territorial compromise in Lebanon and Gaza brought only terror and Qassam rockets, we are however ready to exchange areas and their inhabitants," he added.

The proposals of Ramon and Lieberman would fall far short of a Palestinian demand to set up their future capital in all of the Israeli-annexed eastern sector of the city. The eastern part contains the Old City, home to major Jewish, Muslim and Christian shrines.

The poll published in the Yediot Ahronot daily, by the Dahaf Research Institute, said 63 percent of respondents declared that Israel should not give the Palestinians sovereignty over Arab parts of east Jerusalem under any circumstances.

It said that 20 percent would accept a change as part of a permanent peace treaty with the Palestinians and a further 11 percent would agree if a majority of Israelis voted for it in a referendum.

One percent did not answer, the paper said. Dahaf said it polled 500 people and its survey had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.

One Palestinian shopkeeper said he did not believe Jerusalem would be split in two.

"I doubt it very much. I doubt it very much. I don't think they will divide Jerusalem into two pieces, just like they wouldn't take the Hawara checkpoint or any other checkpoint, they wouldn't even let it go. Take away the checkpoints then we'll talk about the Jerusalem part."

Olmert addressed his parliament before Israeli and Palestinian teams met for the first time to start drafting a joint document that would guide negotiators in future peace talks.

The document, which is to address the core disputes, borders, Jerusalem, Israeli settlements and Palestinian refugees, is to be the centrepiece of the U.S.-hosted meeting in November.

Eastern Jerusalem was part of Jordan until the 1967 war when it was captured and occupied by Israel.

The occupied areas were formally annexed to the Israeli state in 1981, but many Palestinians believe some part of the city should be the capital of any future Palestinian state.

At the time of the 1993 Oslo Accords, which went some way to reconciling Israelis and Palestinians, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat deferred the Jerusalem issue to 'Final Status' talks, while deliberately not setting a timetable.

Jerusalem remains a highly charged emotional issue for both parties who view the same holy site - where the Jewish temple stood in Biblical times and where Islam's third holiest shrine sits - as central to their national and spiritual identities.

Arabic/Eng/Nat

Israeli and Palestinian delegates have arrived in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, for the first joint peace summit in nearly 11 months.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, accompanied by the wife of the former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated four years ago, said he hoped the summit would be a springboard for Arab-Israeli peace.

It was an emotional return to Oslo for Mrs. Rabin. The summit is also

being convened to honour her slain husband's contribution to the peace process on the fourth anniversary of his death.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and U-S President Bill Clinton are due to arrive on Monday.

On Sunday, Arafat's deputy also expressed his hope that the summit would bolster the prospect of peace in the Middle East, although he said the issue of illegal Jewish settlement in the West bank was still a thorny issue.

The meetings scheduled for the coming two days in Oslo, come a week before the scheduled start of a 'final status' series of talks.

These are aimed at reaching a permanent peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians by next September, under a process set in motion in 1993 following a 14-month round of secret talks in Oslo.

SOUNDBITE: (English)

"In Israel Oslo has become a synonym of peace so we are very, very honoured and pleased to be back in Oslo though of course for me personally it is emotional and at the same time, sad, to be back without my husband who was murdered, as you all know, four years ago. I see this visit as the manifestation of the process that started in Oslo and as a commitment to the peace process."

SUPER CAPTION: Leah Rabin, wife of former Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzak Rabin

SOUNDBITE: (English)

" We are looking to continue his (Yitzhak Rabin's) legacy, to bring peace to the Middle East and to put an end to the conflict in our region, and we are looking forward both to the ceremony and to the top level meetings."

SUPER CAPTION: Ehud Barak, Israeli Prime Minister

SOUNDBITE: (Arabic)

"We are happy to be here because this is another stage in the peace process that we began with Israel six years ago. We signed an agreement with them and we have come here now for two reasons. The first is that we are marking the anniversary of the death of Rabin. The second is that a number of other delegations are here with us under the auspices of the Norwegian government."

SUPER CAPTION: Abu Mazen, deputy to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat

SOUNDBITE: (English)

"Of course we are realistic that there should be a push of the peace process, but it (illegal Jewish settlements) is one of the major obstacles and we believe the activity of the settlements - if it is still going on- is an major obstacle."

SUPER CAPTION: Abu Mazen, deputy to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

XFA Oslo, Norway- 31 October 1999

1. Plane taxiing on runway at Gardermoen (Oslo's Military Airport)

2. Mid shot plane on runway

3. Close up Israeli Air Force plane

4. Red carpet being rolled out

5. Various of Israeli entourage descending from plane

6. Wide of press conference

7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Leah Rabin, wife of former Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin

8. Cutaway

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ehud Barak, Israeli Prime Minister

10. Wide of press conference

11. Exterior Grand Hotel, Oslo

12. Close up hotel

13. Shot of Abu Mazen, deputy to Yasser Arafat in lobby

14. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Abu Mazen, deputy to Yasser Arafat

15. Cutaway

16. SOUNDBITE: (English) Abu Mazen, deputy to Yasser Arafat

17. Various security shots

Hebrew/Nat

Yigal Amir, the student who assassinated Israeli Premier Yitzhak Rabin, says he's on a hunger strike to protest at his prison conditions.

Amir, bearded and thin, announced the fast when he appeared in court in Tel Aviv Wednesday, accused of conspiring to kill the Prime Minister, who he shot at a peace rally last November.

Amir alone has already been convicted and jailed for carrying out the killing.

Yigal Amir, his brother, Hagai, and friend, Dror Adani, were at the Tel Aviv District Court for the first day of a trial.

They face various conspiracy and weapon charges.

The charge sheet said the three men had considered killing Rabin

with a car bomb or by drilling a hole in the water pipe in the Prime Minister's house and inserting nitro-glycerine explosive.

Yigal Amir has already been convicted of the murder and sentenced to life plus six years in prison.

The three accused - all Jewish extremists opposed to Rabin's peace policy - are also charged with conspiring to kill Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The Amir brothers are also charged with illegal possession of weapons, making weapons and carrying them illegally.

Yigal Amir shot and killed Rabin with deadly hollow "dum-dum" bullets made by Hagai as the Prime Minister left a peace rally in Tel Aviv on November 4.

All the charges against the defendants could give each up to 50 years in prison, said Yigal's lawyer, Amiram Flishman.

When journalists inquired about his health, Amir answered he was on a hunger strike to protest being moved from the Sharon jail in central Israel, to a maximum security prison in southern Beersheva on Sunday.

Amir's lawyer said he would ask the court to consider moving Amir back to the Sharon jail during the course of the trial.

After a short discussion, during which Yigal and Adani laughed occasionally, journalists were barred from the courtroom.

16.4.96 Tel Aviv

1. Amir brothers and Adani entering court room

2. Lawyers and prosecutors

3. Policemen and security men

4. Yigal Amir, Hagai Amir and Adani

5 Amir CU

T/I: 10:19:19

STORY: JIHAD

LOCATION: GAZA

DATE: 22 JUNE 1995

DURATION: 1.01

Israelis blamed for death of Islamic leader

Masked men killed a leader of the Islamic Jihad group in a

shooting incident in Gaza on Thursday (22/6). Muslim militants,

blaming Israel and Palestinian colaborators, quickly threatened to

strike back with renewed attacks on Israelis. The assassination of

Mahmoud Al-Khawaja comes at a critical time: Israeli and

Palestinian negotiators are attempting to meet a July 1 deadline

for agreement on withdrawing soldiers from the West Bank and on

Palestinian elections. Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, has

warned the peace talks will collapse if more Israelis are killed

by Muslim militants - typically, members of the Islamic Jihad

group whose members oppose the Israel-PLO autonomy agreement.

Thirty-four year old Al-Khawaja served more than 10 years in

Israeli prisons as a leader of Islamic Jihad's military wing. He

was shot in Shati refugee camp where he reportedly worked as a

refuse collector for the UN Relief and Works Agency.

SHOWS:

(SHATI REFUGEE CAMP, GAZA, 22/6) Street scene. Israeli

security on road. Brother (no name available) of Al-Khawaja, SOT:

"About three masked people arrived in a Peugot and shot him, about

ten bullets." CU daughter of Al-Khawaja holding photograph of him.

WS of same. Crowd of women outside of hospital crying. Marwan

Kanafani, spokesman for PLO chairman, Yasser Arafat, SOT: "The

president is very, very upset and annoyed and he is determined to

find out who is behind it and hold them responsible for that

criminal act." Mourners arrive at Al-Khawaja's house. Women

mourners inside house. Children outside closed shops.