The SI Presidium, during its annual meeting at the UN Headquarters in New York, expressed its concern about the lack of international initiatives to move forward the process to achieve a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and made an urgent appeal for statements of support for a two-state solution to be turned into concrete steps toward freedom, justice and security for all.
In the current international political context of increasing threats to global security, the need to bring about a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has taken on more importance than ever, and the Socialist International will continue to be a vocal advocate of all efforts to advance the Middle East peace process. For many decades, our organisation has worked in pursuit of a two-state solution with a peaceful future for both Israel and Palestine, together with its member parties in both countries.
The SI Presidium:
Reiterates the call of the SI for immediate recognition of the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and its commitment to defend the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and statehood;
Supports the important work of UNWRA for the benefit of Palestinian refugees, and urges all countries to honour their financial commitments to this UN agency;
Reiterates its solidarity with the progressive forces in Israel, including SI member parties, that support full equality for all Israeli citizens regardless of their religion or ethnic origin as well as the establishment of the two-state solution based on international law and UN resolutions;
Recognises the right of civil society to endorse non-violent measures to secure the implementation of international law in the Palestinian territories, insofar as such measures are not intended to delegitimise the State of Israel but to bring an end to occupation and implement the two-state solution;
Calls upon the Israeli government to immediately end its institutional discrimination against its Palestinian, Christian, Muslim and Druze citizens by nullifying all laws that discriminate, including the citizenship law and the recently approved "Nation-State Law of the Jewish People", that denies the right to self-determination to all non-Jews living under Israeli control.
The SI Presidium reiterates the organisation's commitment to peace, democracy, justice and solidarity and the need to confront the divisive populism and nationalism that are becoming more prevalent in the world. This includes an unwavering commitment to peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians, and to working for equality and an end to the Israeli occupation and illegal settlements and the full recognition of the State of Palestine.
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