Israeli Prime Minister Vows to Continue Exerting Peace Efforts

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak promised on Thursday to carry on the peace legacy of late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated five years ago for his peace pursuit with the Palestinians.

Speaking at a memorial service at the graveside of Rabin on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Barak said that peace and security are equally important objects of the Jewish state and "neither of them can come at the expense of the other."

"If we are steadfast and not driven by winds of change, the day will come when we can return here and say to Yitzhak: your mission has been accomplished and your path victorious," he said.

U.S. President Bill Clinton also sent his words to the memorial ceremony, saying "these past five years have seen triumphs and tragedies in the cause of peace."

"We have seen difficult days and no doubt still more lie ahead," Clinton said. "If we can meet them with just a fraction of Prime Minister Rabin's vision and resolve, surely we will do right by his memory."

According to the Jewish calendar, Thursday is the 11th day of Heshvan month, a day before the official fifth anniversary of the assassination of Rabin.

However, the memorial service already began last Saturday with an assembly in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square, where the pro-peace leader was killed by right-wing extremist Yigal Amir on November 4,1995.

Amir, who has been in prison with a life sentence since then, told Israeli media recently that he never regrets what he did, but only regrets that he had not done earlier.

In response, Barak said on Thursday that the assassinator will "remain in prison until his dying day."

He vowed "in the name of all of Israel's presidents, prime ministers, and justice ministers at present and in the future" that the murderer will not be pardoned.

Israeli President Moshe Katsav, Knesset (Parliament) Speaker Avraham Burg, justices of the Supreme Court, ministers, Knesset members, other public figures, including right-wing former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Rabin's relatives attended the memorial ceremony.

Peace activists fasted in Rabin's memory near the site and it was reported that discussions and lectures would be held on the site until the evening.

Meanwhile, Israel's Knesset also began a special mourning session Thursday afternoon.

On Friday, the Israeli national flag will be flown at half mast in government institutions and Israel Defense Forces camps.

In Israeli schools, the day will be marked by activities commemorating the personality and deeds of Rabin and his activities devoted to the importance of democracy in Israel and the dangers of violence for society and the state.

The memorial events were held at the most difficult time in the Middle East peace process when Israeli security forces clashed violently in the past six weeks with Palestinian demonstrators protesting against Israeli violation of an Islamic holy site in Jerusalem. The clashes have left nearly 190 Palestinians dead and thousands of others wounded.



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