Israel-PLO agreement called 'historic achievement.' (includes assessment of United Nations role)

The historic self-government agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho will serve as a model to the international community on the peaceful settlement of conflict and disputes, according to Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. He made the statement a day after the pact was signed on 13 September in Washington, D.C., United States, by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat.

The 17-article "Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements" states that the two parties agree that "it is time to put an end to decades of confrontation and conflict, recognize their mutual legitimate and political right, 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".

The agreement states that the aim of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations within the current Middle East peace process was, among other things, to establish a Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority, the elected Council for the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, for a transitional period not exceeding five years, leading to a permanent peace settlement based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). The interim arrangements were an integral part of the whole peace process and the negotiations on the permanent status would lead to the implementation of resolutions 242 and 338, it was stated.

The agreement calls for: elections for the Council; permanent status negotiations covering issues on "Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, security arrangements, borders, relations and cooperation with other neighbours, and other issues of common interest"; negotiations on an interim agreement; and establishment of a Palestinian police force and an Israeli-Palestinian Economic Cooperation Committee.

The Secretary-General, who attended the signing ceremony, met with the PLO Chairman at UN Headquarters on 14 September and conveyed his congratulations on the historic agreement. He made the following statement.

"This is an historic achievement which deserves the wholehearted support of the entire world community", he declared. "The conflict, which for decades preceded this breakthrough, was a cause for the most serious concern with regard to the maintenance of international peace and security."

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