Quotes from Yitzhak Rabin

Israel is no longer a people that dwells alone, and has to join the global journey toward peace, reconciliation and international cooperation.

We do not celebrate the death of our enemies.

A diplomatic peace is not yet the real peace. It is an essential step in the peace process leading towards a real peace.

I enter negotiations with Chairman Arafat, the leader of the PLO, the representative of the Palestinian people, with the purpose to have coexistence between our two entities, Israel as a Jewish state and Palestinian state, entity, next to us, living in peace.

One does not make peace with one's friends. One makes peace with one's enemies.

No Arab ruler will consider the peace process seriously so long as he is able to toy with the idea of achieving more by the way of violence.

Only the change on the international scene, the crisis in the gulf, and the strong, firm position of the United States against aggression between two Arab countries created realities that led to the Madrid Peace Conference.

I believe that it is my responsibility as the prime minister of Israel to do whatever can be done to exploit the unique opportunities that lie ahead of us to move towards peace. Not everything can be done by one act.

Military cemeteries in every corner of the world are silent testimony to the failure of national leaders to sanctify human life.

We are destined to live together, on the same soil in the same land. We, the soldiers who have returned from battle stained with blood, we who have seen our relatives and friends killed before our eyes, we who have attended their funerals and cannot look into the eyes of their parents, we who have come from a land where parents bury their children, we who have fought against you, the Palestinians. We say to you today in a loud and clear voice: Enough of blood and tears. Enough.

We have no desire for revenge. We harbor no hatred towards you. We, like you, are people who want to build a home, to plant a tree, to love, live side by side with you in dignity, in empathy, as human beings, as free men. We are today giving peace a chance and again saying to you in a clear voice: Enough.

We have no gold mines, we do not have oil or diamonds. Israel's poor in natural resources, but it has tremendous human potential.

We sail onto a war which has no casualties, no wounded, no blood nor suffering. It is the only war which is a pleasure to participate in — the war for peace.

I would like Israel to be a Jewish state, and therefore not to annex over 2 million Palestinians who live in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to Israel, which will make Israel a bi-national state.

We do not celebrate the death of our enemies.

Let the Palestinians run their affairs: create a situation in which no Israeli soldier will have to maintain public order, whether in Gaza or the West Bank. Let's give it to the Palestinians, as long as there is security for us. No more occupying another people.

I am 73 years old. I was born in Jerusalem. I'm the first prime minister of Israel to be born here. I am the only former general to become a prime minister.

Israel has an important principle: It is only Israel that is responsible for our security.

I don't see any reason to discriminate against homosexuals.

Terror cannot be finished by one war.

In fighting terror, you cannot let it interfere with the normal life of civilians in Israel.

Military cemeteries in every corner of the world are silent testimony to the failure of national leaders to sanctify human life.

Israel's willingness to cooperate closely with the U.S. in protecting American interests in the region altered her image in the eyes of many officials in Washington.

We have to recognize that there is a Palestinian entity, that the PLO and the Palestinian Authority has to run their life.