Jim Bolger joins Global Leaders Call for Action on Arab-Israeli Settlement

The Palestine Human Rights Campaign (PHRC) of Auckland welcomes the call by a large number of global leaders’ Call for Action on Arab Israeli Issues of October 4.

135 respected global leaders, former presidents, prime ministers including our own Jim Bolger, and heads of international organisations,have joined in a call for urgent international action to comprehensively resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.

PHRC spokesperson Tuma Hazou says ”the global leaders’ call comes at a time when the Middle East has witnessed its worst crisis in years and the prospects for another and worse outbreak of hostilities could endanger not only regional stability but world peace”.

The Leaders’ statement notes that “there is a desperate need for fresh thinking and the injection of new political will” if the conflict, “with all its terrible consequences”, is ever to be settled. They say that ideally there would be a new all-in international conference to kick-start detailed negotiations, accompanied by:

International support for a Palestinian national unity government, with an end to the political and financial boycott of the Palestinian Authority

Talks between Israel and the Palestinian leadership, on both the immediate issues of mutual security and revival of the Palestinian economy, and on the core final-status political issues.

These talks mediated or sponsored by the Quartet (UN, US, EU and Russia) -- reinforced by participation of the Arab League and key regional countries.

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Tuma Hazou said he welcomes Jim Bolger’s support of the statement by former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, President of the International Crisis Group, which organised the Leaders’ Call. In it Mr. Evans said : “There is a real hunger out there for present-day political leaders to take hold of this catastrophically divisive issue and resolve it once and for all."

The Palestine Human Rights Campaign call upon the New Zealand government to publicly support this call for permanent resolution of the Middle East conflict by and an international conference, the goal of which, is to bring peace and security to all peoples in the region.

“ World peace and stability demands such an initiative” says Tuma.

Tuma Hazou, PHRC Spokesperson Auckland

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