( c ) A reduction in the numbers of the Palestinian police, as per previous agreements;

( d ) The bringing to fruition of the process by which the Palestinian National Covenant is to be annulled, by the convening of the members of the Palestine National Council, as well as the representatives of other Palestinian organizations for this purpose;

( e ) An end to incitement to violence in the Palestinian media. This matter will be monitored by a United States of America - Israel - Palestinian committee.

This agreement must not be allowed to exist in a vacuum - it must be utilized to reinvigorate the peace process. To that end, we anticipate:

( a ) The reconvening of bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Syrian Arab Republic and Israel and Lebanon;

( b ) The full reconvening of the multilateral track;

( c ) The strengthening of " people - to - people " programmes in order to engender grass - roots support for the peace process and encourage reconciliation;

( d ) An end to the denigration of Israel in international forums, including the United Nations General Assembly presently meeting in New York.

Following the Wye River Memorandum, Israel expects that the General Assembly will not put forth resolutions that prejudge the outcome of the final status negotiations, including the issue of statehood. Moreover, I would like to express our view that anachronistic and outdated resolutions recycled and readopted by the Assembly year after year, which no longer reflect present realities and achievements, should be finally removed from the annual agenda and relegated to the legacy of the past. Such resolutions only detract from the process of negotiations.

In this context, I would like to state that Israel's exclusion from any regional grouping in the United Nations system has deprived it of its right to be a full participant in all United Nations bodies, including the Security Council. This situation constitutes a clear violation of the principle of sovereign equality of Member States embodied in the Charter of the United Nations. During your last visit to Israel, when speaking before the Israel Council on Foreign Relations in Jerusalem, on 25 March 1998, you stated:

" I believe it is time to usher in a new era of relations between Israel and the United Nations... One way to write the new chapter would be to rectify an anomaly - Israel's position as the only Member State that is not a member of one of the regional groupings, which means it has no chance of being elected to serve on main organs such as the Security Council or the Economic and Social Council. This anomaly should be corrected. We must uphold the principle of equality among all States Members of the United Nations. "

As you know, Israel cannot join its natural regional group in Asia, owing to the objection of certain members. As a result, Israel is seeking a way of gaining membership, at least temporarily, in another group. While Israel's quest for full participation in the United Nations system stands on its own merits, the signing of the Wye Memorandum serves as an opportunity for Israel to redouble its efforts to solve this problem. It is our hope that you will continue to support Israel in this regard.

It was on the eve of these negotiations that I was appointed to the helm of Israel's diplomacy. Most of my adult life has been dedicated to the defence of Israel and ensuring its vitality and

<2>