Clinton: I loved Rabin
Photo: AP
Clinton: Complete Rabin's work
Former US president says on 15th anniversary of Rabin assassination that, had he been allowed to live, prime minister would have brought peace
Former US President Bill Clinton is calling in a New York Times opinion piece for Israel to complete the work of Yitzhak Rabin and make peace with the Palestinians.
Thursday marked the 15-year anniversary of the former prime minister's assassination.
Clinton with Rabin and Arafat in Washington, 1993 (Photo: AP)
"A decade and a half since his death, I continue to believe that, had he lived, within three years we would have had a comprehensive agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians. To be sure, the enemies of peace would have tried to undermine it, but with Rabin’s leadership, I am confident a new era of enduring partnership and economic prosperity would have emerged," Clinton wrote.
The former US president, who was present at the signing of the Oslo Accords between Rabin and Yasser Arafat in 1993, describes himself as a good friend of Rabin's, saying he "loved him and his wife, Leah, very much".
He went on to encourage Israelis. "Israel has its best partner ever in the Palestinian government on the West Bank led by President Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, with its proven ability to provide security and economic development," he wrote.
"If he could speak to us today, he would ask us to remember him not by mourning what might have been, but by looking clearly at the opportunities and obstacles to peace and getting on with the work at hand."
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