Unlocking the Aviation Trust Fund

Nevertheless, through all the contacts over the years since Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat went to Jerusalem, relationships have developed between Arabs and Israelis on many levels, including the official level. We now are at a stage where a considerable majority of Israelis support the peace process and where Mr. Arafat shows increasing sensitivity to the security concerns of Israelis. We now are approaching the time when the largest and most difficult issues must be addressed. Mr. Barak and Mr. Arafat have a responsibility to lead and to persuade their constituencies of the necessity to make concessions for peace. They must stand strong against radical elements that will seek to undermine their efforts to settle their problems at the peace table. After the horrors of World War II had devastated Europe, the French and Germans, traditional and bitter enemies, came together and gradually their mutual antagonisms faded and they began to enjoy the blessings of peace, security, reconstruction and economic development. And just this year, 1999, it has been announced that France and Germany have become each other’s major trading partners. This is the kind of achievement peace might bring to the peoples of Israel and the Arab world, if they take full advantage of the opportunities created by Ehud Barak.