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Former U.S. President Bill Clinton speaking in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
 (Reuters)
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Last update - 11:46 25/11/2009
Bill Clinton in Israel: There would be peace if Rabin were still alive
By The Associated Press
Tags: Israel news 

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said on Saturday that if former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin were still alive, a peace accord would have been reached between Israel and all of its neighbors.

"In the last 14 years, not a single week has gone by that I did not think of Yitzhak Rabin and miss him terribly," Clinton told a VIP gathering at the Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv.

"Nor has a single week gone by in which I have not reaffirmed my conviction that had he not lost his life on that terrible November night, within three years we would have had a comprehensive agreement for peace in the Middle East."
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The center is a memorial to the former prime minister, who was gunned down in November 1995 by a Jewish assassin opposed to his peace moves.

Clinton's own emotional last words to Rabin at his funeral - Shalom haver, Hebrew for Goodbye, friend - have been seared into the Israeli collective consciousness.

The former U.S. leader, whose energetic efforts to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal collapsed, also urged both sides to end their decades-old conflict, saying they cannot escape their common future.

"We are either going to hurt each other or we are going to help each other," he said of the two foes. "Divorce is not an option."

While president, Clinton had a close personal involvement in Middle East peacemaking. He presided over the signing of the historic first agreement between Israel and the Palestinians in 1993, and seven years later, he brought the two sides closer than ever before to a final deal.

But talks broke down in late 2000, and soon after, tensions ignited into years of deadly fighting.

The former U.S. president remains extremely popular in Israel, however, because he is perceived as being a genuine friend.



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      1.   Of course Bill Clinton doesn`t know... 21:33  |  Maureen Ann 14/11/09
      2.   Bill Clinton should know better 21:34  |  Mark Lincoln 14/11/09
      3.   And what did you say to the Palestinians, Mr. Clinton? 21:46  |  Mea 14/11/09
      4.   Who is responsible for this stupidity ? 21:48  |  Jew 14/11/09
      5.   Rabin Assassintion 22:17  |  Harold 14/11/09
      6.   Rabin would have lost the election 22:27  |  Binyamin Dissen 14/11/09
      7.   #1. Binyamin Dissen. 23:14  |  Stephen. 14/11/09
      8.   What nonsense 23:36  |  Linichka 14/11/09
      9.   Why is divorce not an option? 00:02  |  B 15/11/09
      10.   Arafat & his cronies don`t want peace 00:47  |  Observer 15/11/09
      11.   Rabin and Oslo were a start 00:48  |  WHG 15/11/09
      12.   If Rabin were alive there would also be far fewer settlements 00:49  |  Esther 15/11/09
      13.   The memory of Arafat 00:53  |  Moshe 15/11/09
      14.   Delusional Clinton 01:37  |  judith 15/11/09
      15.   I think he ir right, Rabin would have made peace 01:43  |  Basil 15/11/09
      16.   From the same man who said he "did not have sex..." 01:43  |  Charles 15/11/09
      17.   I don`t recall Clinton rushing to help Rabin 01:50  |  Mark Lincoln 15/11/09
      18.   Bill Clinton in Israel 02:05  |  Ralph 15/11/09
      19.   WHAT HAD RABIN ACHEIVED OTHER THAN SHAKE ARAFATS HAND 02:11  |  zionist forever 15/11/09
      20.   So, it wasn`t Arafat`s fault, then? 02:20  |  DM 15/11/09
      21.   clinton 02:35  |  DOV KORET 15/11/09
      22.   Clinton also honored by American Indians for achievements -- 02:51  |  American Observer 15/11/09
      23.   When will American naiveté end? 03:11  |  David Turner 15/11/09
      24.   When will American naiveté end, 2 03:12  |  Dvid 15/11/09
      25.   When will American naiveté end, 2 03:12  |  David Turner 15/11/09
      26.   The Correct Statement 03:41  |  Shimon Cleopas 15/11/09
      27.   Bill, for your edification: Perez has always been more dovish 03:45  |  Genuine Moshe 15/11/09
      28.   Clinton being Clinton 03:47  |  MIKE 15/11/09
      29.   Arafat killed your peace initiative Mr. President 04:08  |  Paul Freedman 15/11/09
      30.   conspiracy 04:48  |  Avi 15/11/09
      31.   7 05:51  |  zionist forever 15/11/09
      32.   The Oslo peace process didn?t have any chance to bring peace. 06:57  |  B. Gold 15/11/09
      33.   When wil American naivte end, 2 07:00  |  David Turner 15/11/09
      34.   To 7 - MIKE 09:26  |  Viktor 15/11/09
      35.   Rabin? I doubt it. 11:39  |  Roo 15/11/09
      36.   Clinton is a liar and a fool 22:19  |  peacelover 16/11/09
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