The 106th Inter-Parliamentary Conference,

Recalling the United Nations resolutions that have repeatedly asserted the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the establishment of an independent State as well as the right of return of the Palestinian refugees,

Affirming Israel's right to live in security within internationally recognised borders,

Recalling the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and other applicable United Nations resolutions,

Recalling also its previous related resolutions and more particularly the one adopted at the 97th Conference (Seoul, April 1997) concerning the Holy City of Jerusalem, and those adopted at the 103rd Conference (Amman, April 2000), and the 104th Conference (Jakarta, October 2000),

Affirming the internationally recognised human rights principles enshrined in various United Nations resolutions and international conventions and repeatedly endorsed by the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Asserting the importance of respecting international humanitarian law, in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 1949,

Deeply concerned by the tragic events that are taking place in the occupied Palestinian territories and have led to numerous deaths and injuries, mostly among innocent Palestinian and Israeli civilians, due to excessive use of force by the Israeli army and security forces and to all forms of violence,

Also deeply concerned at the increase in terrorist activities, mainly affecting Palestinian and Israeli civilians and other populations of the world,

Reaffirming that a just and lasting solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict must be based on the principle of land for peace and the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and United Nations General Assembly resolution 194 (1948), and on an active negotiating process which takes into account the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination and to establish an independent State,

Referring to the Mitchell Report on methods to end the current surge of violence,

Convinced that the application of the conclusions of the Mitchell Report, which has received the support of the United Nations, the international community and the parties to the conflict, will lead to fairer and more balanced conditions in order to break up the cycle of violence and to solve the crisis, opening avenues for a peaceful solution,

Alarmed by Israel's closure of Beit Al-Sharq (Orient House) and other Palestinian institutions in breach of the Oslo Agreements, and its designs to isolate Jerusalem from its surroundings in violation of numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions and other international conventions,

Expressing full support for the peace process and the efforts made to find an equitable and lasting solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict,

1. Demands of the Government of Israel and of the Palestinian Authority that they reaffirm their resolve to respect the existing agreements, to enforce unconditionally and immediately the cessation of all violent acts, to renew their cooperation in security matters, to avail themselves more of means which aim at restoring confidence between the two peoples, thus establishing a period of significant pacification, and to return to a constructive dialogue, which comprises the substantive issues, by means of bilateral negotiations;

2. Condemns the murdering of civilians and children, the extra-judicial assassination of Palestinians, the demolition of homes, and the targeting of the economic infrastructure of Palestinian society;

3. Calls on Israel, as a means of defusing tension, to withdraw its military forces from the area immediately surrounding Palestinian cities and villages; to freeze all settlement activities; to refrain from attacking civilians and installations, and to lift its siege of the Palestinian territories;

4. Calls on the Palestinian Authority to implement efficient methods to avoid terrorist activities in the territory under its jurisdiction;

5. Calls for the dispatching of international observers and monitors to the occupied Palestinian territories to ensure respect for international humanitarian law and to end violence in these territories;

6. Calls on Israel, the occupying power, to withdraw from the recently occupied Palestinian national institutions, including Beit Al-Sharq (Orient House), and to stop all plans to isolate the Arab city of Jerusalem;

7. Calls for the resumption of negotiations in order to achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace by ending the Israeli occupation, establishing an independent Palestinian State with its capital in Jerusalem and solving the Palestinian refugee question equitably;

8. Requests the IPU Secretary General to convey this resolution to the United Nations Secretary-General, to ensure its follow up and to report to the next Conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

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* The delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran expressed reservations on those elements of the text which implied recognition of Israel.

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