Saudi Arabia and France on Tuesday called on countries at the UN to support a declaration that outlines “tangible, timebound and irreversible steps” towards implementing a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians.
The seven-page declaration is the result of an international conference at the UN this week, hosted by Saudi Arabia and France, on the decades-long conflict. The US and Israel boycotted the event.
“We call on you to support the document before the end of the 79th session of the general assembly by contacting the missions of Saudi Arabia and France in New York,” Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud told the conference on Tuesday. The 80th UN general assembly is due to start in September.
The first step outlined in the declaration is to end the 22-month war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
“After the ceasefire, a transitional administrative committee must be immediately established to operate in Gaza under the umbrella of the Palestinian Authority,” it reads.
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank under Israeli occupation.
The declaration supports the deployment of a temporary international stabilisation mission, mandated by the UN security council, and welcomes “the readiness expressed by some member states to contribute troops”.
It calls on Israel's leadership to “issue a clear public commitment to the two-state solution, including a sovereign and viable Palestinian state”, to immediately end violence and incitement against Palestinians and to halt all settlement, land grabs and annexation activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.
The declaration commits to adopting restrictive measures against violent extremist settlers and those who support illegal settlements, and adopting targeted measures “against entities and individuals acting against the principle of the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine, through violence or acts of terrorism and in breach of international law”.
It also describes regional integration and independent Palestinian statehood as “intertwined objectives”.
The document states: “Only by ending the war in Gaza, releasing all hostages, ending occupation, rejecting violence and terror, realising an independent, sovereign and democratic Palestinian state, ending the occupation of all Arab territories and providing solid security guarantees for Israel and Palestine can normal relations and coexistence among the region’s peoples and states be achieved.”
Reuters
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