Nor can the level of security cooperation ebb and flow with the ups and downs of negotiation. The Palestinian commitment to fight terror must be constant and absolute. This is essential to move the peace process forward. It is necessary, obviously, to create a climate of greater security and confidence within Israel. But it is also essential to Palestinians.
Extremist violence is a grave threat to Palestinian society.
Palestinians are sometimes the direct targets of this violence. And they are the ones who suffer economic and humanitarian hardships when Israel clamps down on access. Israelis and Palestinians must unite to defeat terrorism, which is their common enemy. This is the first principle of Oslo and it is the cornerstone of an enduring peace. The second principle is that both sides agreed to settle their differences over the subjects of negotiation at the bargaining table, and not somewhere else.