Azerbaijan, Baku, January 27 / Trend , E.Ostapenko/
A negotiated solution agreed by both parties and overcoming distrust is the only way forward in the Middle East solution, the PACE stated, Assembly official press release says.
"All parties must overcome distrust to get it back on track," the parliamentarians said, and recalled that neither military action nor terrorism will achieve peace.
The PACE debates on Middle East were also attended by Daniel Ayalon, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel, and Mohammad Shtayyeh, Minister of Public Works and Housing of the Palestinian National Authority.
The main obstacle to the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations is the Israeli settlement activities. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly said that the talks will not be resumed unless Israel stops building settlements in East Jerusalem and West Bank of Jordan River.
The Assembly considered that the conflict in the Middle East above all concerns two equaly legitimate aspirations - Israel's right to be recognised and to exist in safety and the Palestinians' right to have an independent, viable and contiguous state".
Following the proposals of the rapporteur (Piero Fassino, Italy, SOC), the adopted resolution calls on Israel to freeze any new settlements beyond its borders, remove so-called "illegal outposts", and restart negotiations in good faith towards the creation of a Palestinian state. It should also thoroughly investigate whether Israeli soldiers were involved in human rights violations.
All Palestinian forces, under President Abbas's authority, the text says, should refrain from violence, recognise Israel's right to exist and abide by all existing agreements. Hamas in particular should free the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, stop smuggling weapons and cease feuding with opposing factions.