DECLARATION ON THE SITUATION IN PALESTINE AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Doc. Assembly/AU/9(XXV)

Decision No: Assembly/AU/Decl.4(XXV)

We, the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, having met at our Twenty Fifth Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union in Johannesburg, South Africa from 14 to 15 June 2015;

Taking Note of the Report on the Situation in the Middle East and Palestine; and Recalling all resolutions and decisions adopted by the OAU/AU on the Situation in Palestine and the Middle East;

Reaffirming our full support to the Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle against Israeli occupation, under the leadership of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people;

Reiterating our support for the peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict in accordance with the principles of international law and all relevant United Nations Resolutions, which have advanced the clarion call for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the borders of June 1967, and its capital, East Jerusalem; and the implementation of the UN Resolution 194 on the return of the Palestinian refugees;

Commending the efforts exerted by President Mahmoud Abbas to achieve comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, and supports his efforts in achieving the Palestinian reconciliation;

Condemning the Israeli statements that are rejecting the two-state solution, which could undermine the peace process between both sides and represent a challenge to all international resolutions;

Also Condemning the continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian land and all measures in the city of Jerusalem, through the policy of Judaization, the demolition of houses, the expulsion and destruction of historic monuments of the Islamic and Christian holy sites and the expansion of settlements in the city;

Further Condemning Israel for withholding Palestinian funds and tax revenues, which constitute a cornerstone of the Palestinian economy, and calling upon the international community to put pressure on Israel to release Palestinian tax funds that it has withheld;

WE hereby:

1. CALL ON the international community to exert pressure on Israel to stop all settlement activities, release Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and, EQUALLY DEMAND that Israel refrains from arbitrary arrests of Palestinians including children and women which is an act of violation of international laws and human rights norms including the Geneva Convention on the Rights of Women and Children;

2. FURTHER CALL UPON the international community to exert pressure on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza Strip and open the border-crossing for the movement of people and goods and respond immediately to the humanitarian situations due to this siege;

3. REQUEST the UN Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities in maintaining international peace and security, and to take the necessary steps to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict in all its aspects, to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the region based on the principle of two-state solution, according to the 1967 borders, and apply the provisions of relevant international law and previous decisions of the Council in this regard;

4. REITERATE that a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East, demands a full withdrawal of Israel from the occupied Arab and Palestinian territories to the line of June 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights and territories still occupied in southern Lebanon;

5. CALLS FOR boycott of Israeli products from Palestinian occupied territories;

6. CALLS ON all Member States and other States that have not yet done so, to recognize the State of Palestine and support its admission into Regional and International Organizations.