It is recognized that the search for peace was for three decades hampered by the difficulty which the Arab side had to accept the enormous sacrifice which was imposed upon the Palestinians by Israel receiving more than two thirds of the land of Palestine. However, for two decades now conditions have been at hand for partition to be implemented. This solution rests firmly on principles of international law, and the international community should develop the means to enforce it as the only one which will, in the long run, safeguard the interests of all parties. Both sides have everything to gain from it.

The Seminar reaffirmed the previous WILPF resolutions and statements on the Palestine/Israel conflict, including the Cyprus documents. It called for an immediate end of the state terrorism inflicted by Israel on the Palestinians, and strongly condemned Israel's atrocities and the use of military force against the Palestinian people, including children, and its policies of assassination, collective punishment and 'shoot to kill', which are all tantamount to crimes against humanity.

The Seminar recognized an urgent need of, and called for, international protection of the Palestinian people under the umbrella of the United Nations.

The Seminar unreservedly condemned Israel's continuous occupation and siege of the West Bank and Gaza, the physical bombardment of Palestinian institutions, the demolition of residential homes and the destruction of previous agricultural installations and water resources in retaliation for the Palestinians continued resistance to Israel's brutal occupation.

Th Israeli government's motives for holding on to the Palestinian territories it occupied by military force, and even more importantly for its settlement policies, are not really based on Israel's need for security but on the its desire to keep control over the important resources in Palestine and over other uses of the land :

- the fresh water under the Palestinian land;

- the land as a convenient dumping ground for Israel's industrial waste;

- confiscating Palestinian agricultural land for Israeli settlements where the settlers enjoy a high level of suburban living while the Palestinians lose land and agricultural resources and are further confined to Palestinian cities and villages into ghettos.

The policy of Israel's government is short-sighted. Israel's stands to gain far more than they will lose by abiding by the UN decisions. Israel needs a vision of peace in place of the vision of making concessions, which is so strongly entrenched now in the Israeli public psychology and discourse.

Water is a very scarce commodity in the Middle East. A number of commissions have studied the question of water sources and their equitable distribution to satisfy the needs of all the people in the area. In peace, these recommendations can be put into effect. Economic advantages of peace could be realized for the entire population of the area.

With peace, large military expenditures could be released for other purposes: education, welfare, development in many areas in Israel. The social tensions which exist in Israel's very divisive society could be lessened with an adequate budget of social improvements. The positive sides of pluralistic cultures could come to the fore when communities no longer feel they must fight each other for the few crumbs left over in the yearly budget.

With peace, there could be free access for all the religious groups to all of the many religious sites in the region. If the Palestinians in Israel have equal rights, they will have the freedom to develop their communities and their cultures.

Concerning Lebanon, the Seminar concluded that the international community must put every pressure on Israel to

- withdraw immediately from the Shabaa Farms, in the foothills of Mount Hernon, in accordance with Security Council resolution 425;

- release unconditionally all the Lebanese detainees in Israeli jails;

- provide the Lebanese Army and/or the United nations troops n South Lebanon (UNIFIL) with maps showing the mines that have been left by Israel after it withdrew from South Lebanon in May 2000;

- halt the aggressive and illegal acts such as the violation of the Lebanese sky and bombardments.

1. Reaffirm its support of the Palestinians to achieve their inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination and to establish their independent, sovereign state of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital. It recommends the adoption of the following statement by WILPF (see annex).

2. Articulate a peace policy to break the deadlock in the Israel/Palestine conflict, and formulate a strategy based on the respect of the relevant UN resolutions in a new multilateral framework. Links should be made with the problems of the larger area of the Middle East, including the Gulf region.

3. Call on the UN Security Council to appoint a Middle East Co-ordinator charged with arranging a Conference on the Middle East with a balanced representation of States, to negotiate terms of a just settlement based on the two-State solution, and other relevant UN decisions and on international law. Negotiations should include terms of mutual disarmament, extending to the larger region of the Middle East, including Iran, Iraq and all the Gulf States.

4. Send small delegations to meet with heads of state and government to promote WILPF's peace proposals and press for action on their part.

5. Organize a model negotiation round in Geneva with women from the region.

6. Widen and deepen the women's network on peace in the Middle East.

7. Develop a peace education programme.

8. Publish and disseminate the Seminar report with the full texts of the presentations and summary of the discussion.

The Executive Committee of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, meeting in Geneva from 29 July to 3 August 2001, is appalled by the tragic and highly dangerous situation in Palestine that the international community has allowed to develop.

We unreservedly condemn Israel's continuous occupation and siege of the West Bank and Gaza and East Jerusalem, the bombing of Palestinian institutions and assassinations of individuals, the demolition of residential homes and the destruction of agricultural land and installations and of water resources in retaliation for the Palestinians continued resistance against Israel's brutal occupation.

We underline the important responsibility the United Nations, in particular the Security Council, have toward the Palestinians. We call on the United Nations and its Member States to take the necessary action to uphold international law as it pertains to the Israel/Palestine conflict, ensuring the implementation of the relevant UN resolutions and decisions and the Geneva Conventions. Such action is critical in laying the foundation for ending the occupation, violence and destruction and entering the cycle of peace.

We urge the United Nations to provide for the immediate international physical protection of the Palestinian people.

We call on the UN Security Council to appoint a Middle East Co-ordinator charged with arranging a Conference on the Middle East with a balanced representation of States, to negotiate terms of a just settlement based on the two-States solution, on other relevant UN resolutions and on international law. Negotiations should include terms of mutual disarmament, extending to the larger region of the Middle East, including Iran, Iraq and all the Gulf States.

WILPF fully supports and reaffirms our position as to Jerusalem. We recognise the state of Palestine within the pre-June 4^th, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.