UN Backs Quartet On Israeli Gaza Withdrawal

UN Meeting Backs Quartet Position On Israeli Withdrawal From Gaza

A United Nations conference on the rights of the Palestinian people has given its backing to the position of the diplomatic Quartet that any pullout by Israel from the Gaza Strip should be a full withdrawal and part of the Road Map peace plan.

The conference issued a Final Document at Wednesday's conclusion of the two-day UN African Meeting in Support of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Document, which reviewed the participants' contribution to the meeting, echoed their conviction that the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory remained the core of the Middle East conflict. They were appalled by the continuing Israeli policies of extrajudicial killings, house demolitions and restriction on the freedom of movement.

The meeting also took note of the upcoming African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and expressed hope that action would be taken to promote the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, with a particular effort to engage the Quartet, which comprises the UN, European Union, Russian Federation and United States.

That group is the sponsor of the http://www.un.org/News/dh/mideast/roadmap122002.pdf Road Map peace plan, which calls for Israel and the Palestinians to take a series of parallel and reciprocal steps leading to two States living side-by-side in peace by 2005.

© Scoop Media