Page:South Africa v. Israel (Order of 26 January 2024).pdf/34

 Israeli withdrawal from territories it had seized in the conflict and recognition of Israel’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and “right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force” (Security Council resolution 242 of 22 November 1967). In 1973, in resolution 338, which called for a ceasefire in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, the Security Council again decided that “immediately and concurrently with the ceasefire, negotiations shall start between the parties concerned under appropriate auspices aimed at establishing a just and durable peace in the Middle East” (Security Council resolution 338 of 22 October 1973). This emphasis on the importance of the Israeli-Palestinian and broader Arab-Israeli peace process was subsequently affirmed by the General Assembly, which has emphasized the need to achieve a “just and comprehensive settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict” (General Assembly resolution 47/64 (D) of 11 December 1992).

7. The international community’s focus on encouraging negotiation between the parties has borne fruit, including the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt and 1994 peace agreement between Israel and Jordan. Most notably, the 1993 Oslo Accords resulted in the recognition by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (“PLO”) of the State of Israel and the recognition by Israel of the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people. The Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, signed by representatives of both parties, endorsed the framework set out in Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 and expressed the parties’ agreement on the need to “put an end to decades of confrontation and conflict, recognize their mutual legitimate and political rights, and strive to live in peaceful coexistence and mutual dignity and security and achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement and historic reconciliation through the agreed political process” (Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements, 13 September 1993). Although the Oslo Accords have not yet been fully implemented, they continue to bind the parties concerned and to provide a framework for allocating responsibilities between Israeli and Palestinian authorities and informing future negotiations.

8. Since that time, the United Nations has repeatedly affirmed the need for negotiations aimed at achieving a two-State solution and resolving the dispute between Israel and Palestine. In 2003, the Security Council, in resolution 1515, “[e]ndorse[d] the Quartet Performance-based Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict” (the Quartet was composed of representatives of the United States, European Union, Russian Federation and United Nations) (Security Council resolution 1515 of 19 November 2003). In that resolution, the Security Council “[c]all[ed] on the parties to fulfil their obligations under the Roadmap in cooperation with the Quartet and to achieve the vision of two States living side by side in peace and security” (ibid.). Similarly, the Security Council in 2008 declared its support for negotiations between the parties and “support[ed] the parties’ agreed principles for the bilateral negotiating process and their determined efforts to reach their goal of concluding a peace treaty resolving all outstanding issues” (Security Council resolution 1850 of 16 December 2008). In 2016, the Security Council again recalled both parties’ obligations and “[c]alled upon all parties to continue, in the interest of the promotion of peace and security, to exert collective efforts to launch credible negotiations on all final status issues in the Middle East peace process” (Security Council resolution 2334 of 23 December 2016). In this regard, the Security Council “urg[ed] … the intensification and acceleration of international and regional diplomatic efforts and support aimed at achieving without delay a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East” (ibid.).

9. The General Assembly has likewise regularly recalled the Oslo Accords and the Quartet Roadmap in its resolutions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. For example, the General Assembly has:

“[r]eiterate[d] its call for the achievement, without delay, of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions,