Former U.S. President Bill Clinton told the guests at a sold-out Hadassah-WIZO children's charity fundraising dinner in Toronto that despite the daily Arab attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers, the best solution to the Middle East conflict is "to establish a Palestinian state now." Clinton also said that a “peace deal” was still possible based on the proposals he initiated at Camp David in the summer of 2000. That plan called for the establishment of a PLO state on the majority of Yesha (Judea, Samaria, and Gaza), with neighborhoods in the eastern part of Jerusalem serving as its capital; Yasser Arafat rejected this plan and waged the Oslo War instead.
The Toronto Star reported that Clinton told the crowd that there could be no military solution to the conflict. On the other hand, Clinton also said that if Iraq were to invade the State of Israel, he "would personally get in a ditch, grab a rifle, and fight and die." The remark drew a thunderous ovation.