www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Communication/PMSpeaks/speechhilary030309.htm

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Statement

Good evening.

I welcome the Secretary of State of the United States of America, Hilary
Rodham Clinton, on her first visit to Israel in her new position.

The Secretary of State has an excellent familiarity with the State of Israel
and the entire Middle East, one which goes back many years, and I am certain
that she will know how to utilize all the experience and knowledge she
acquired through the years as a leading Senator in order to represent the
United States' interests and those of the entire free world, and to advance
stability and quiet in the region - because this is a goal we all share.

The friendship between the United States and Israel is close and long lived.
Throughout my entire tenure, our two countries nurtured and strengthened
this friendship. I am certain that President Obama, and the Secretary of
State, will work in cooperation with any Israeli government, and will remain
committed to the well-being and security of Israel as a Jewish state.

I expect that our discussion will undoubtedly deal with the bilateral
relations between our countries, as well as regional issues. The Secretary
of State has arrived here at the Prime Minister's Residence after a day of
discussions with the President of the State of Israel and with my
colleagues, and I am certain that she heard about our concerns and hopes
from all of them.

I will share our increasing concern about the Iranian threat with her. The
position of Israel, as I have already outlined, is that Israel cannot
tolerate a nuclear Iran, and I heard President Obama and the Secretary of
State that they resolutely object to a nuclear Iran. We will discuss ways in
which we can ensure this.

With regard to our hopes, I will share with the Secretary of State the
position my Government has taken to advance peace between us and the
Palestinians, and together we will discuss ways to advance peace in the
region as part of the two-state solution. This is the only solution - there
is no doubt - and it reflects absolutely Israel's supreme strategic interest
as well as the interest of the Palestinian people.

I will update the Secretary of State with regard to the peace negotiations
we conducted with Syria through the Turkish mediation, and together we will
discuss ways in which we can extricate as many countries in the region from
extremism in order to weaken the strength and influence of those countries
which support terror and of terrorist organizations in the region. I will
certainly update her with regard to the situation in Southern Israel and
about our intention to continue defending ourselves from any terrorist
aggressions on the part of the Hamas and other terrorist organizations,
which, unfortunately, rules in the Gaza Strip. In fact, they continue almost
on a daily basis to shoot at innocent Israelis living in the southern part
of Israel, and this is of course something that is totally unacceptable and
intolerable to us and to everyone who lives in the State of Israel.

Madam Secretary of State,

I am pleased to have the opportunity to meet with you in your new position -
your courage, your commitment, your international experience and the brave
friendship you have demonstrated for the State of Israel throughout the
years will certainly find expression in your new role and assist in your
success. I am totally convinced that you will continue to advance and
strengthen the relations between Israel and with the greatest friend we have
in the whole world - the United States of America. Welcome
Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's Remarks Statement

Thank you very much, Prime Minister, and it is indeed a personal delight for
me to be here this evening. I thank you for the generous offer of
hospitality. As you pointed out when I came in, I have been to this home
before, and it always reminds me of many years of friendship and people
whose lives have intersected with mine. I am grateful for this opportunity
to return as my country's Secretary of State, on behalf of President Obama,
and to have the opportunity you just briefly outlined to discuss the range
of issues that are of concern to Israel and the United States.

I've had a wonderful day. As the Prime Minister pointed out, it started
with an old friend, Shimon Peres. Then I was honored to go to Yad Vashem to
see some of the new parts of the museum and memorial, and to pay tribute
there to the six million lives lost in the Holocaust and to lay a wreath and
pay respect to the eternal flame.

The United States and Israel face a number of serious challenges, and it was
important for me to be here and to be with my delegation, including Middle
East Envoy, Senator Mitchell, who's been here before and will be back
numerous times in the future; to engage in in-depth discussions with Israel's
leaders on these matters of grave mutual concern.

But I also enjoyed the opportunity to have a discussion with a group of
women entrepreneurs just a short while ago at the hotel, who are being
featured in a little video made for a contest that the United States State
Department is running, seeking interesting projects around the world. There
were so many hundreds of them submitted, and this project from Israel which
discusses a supportive community that helps women become entrepreneurs,
particularly immigrant women - women from the former Soviet Union, women
from Ethiopia and elsewhere.

Because as we discuss the critical issues of our time, it's also important
to remember why we do this - and it is to provide the people who both the
Prime Minister and I are privileged to represent with a chance to fulfill
their own dreams, to live lives in safety and security, and to be given the
opportunity to fulfill their own G-d-given potential.

So when we sometimes discuss these serious matters of terrorism and
extremism, of the threat posed by Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon, we can't
disconnect it from what we are attempting to do, to make sure that the
people of Israel have a chance to live and flourish in a safe and secure
environment, and as the Prime Minister said, to seek a way that they can
live next to their Palestinian neighbors in a safe and secure environment.

So I am very grateful, once again, to be here in Israel and pledging not
only my personal commitment, but that of my country, to the fundamental and
unshakable bond that joins us to Israel's security and to our enduring bonds
of friendship.

Thank you so much Prime Minister.