Secretary-General, Marking Twentieth Anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin’s Assassination, Urges All Parties to Heed His Stand that Dialogue, Compromise Lead to Security

The following statement by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was issued today:

On the twentieth anniversary of the assassination of Israel’s Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, I offer my deepest sympathies to the citizens of the State of Israel as they commemorate the life of a heroic man of peace.

Prime Minister Rabin dedicated his life to the security of his homeland.  He died after courageously seizing on the need and the opportunity to embark on serious peace negotiations with the Palestinians, recognizing that, as he said: “You don’t make peace with friends; you can only make peace with your enemies.”  Rabin was vilified by many for that move, and then murdered by an opponent of the peace process just when it was at a moment of historic breakthrough.

In the years since, terrorism, expanding settlements and halting progress in implementing Israeli-Palestinian agreements have repeatedly shattered hopes.  Today, the voices of the majority who support peace and oppose violence are being drowned out by inflammatory rhetoric and shocking actions by extremists on all sides.

I urge all parties to stand firmly against violence and incitement, and to be guided by Prime Minister Rabin’s realization that the path to true security and strength is through dialogue and compromise.