SECURITY COUNCIL PRESS STATEMENT ON SITUATION IN MIDDLE EAST

The following Security Council press statement on the Middle East was read out today by Council President Marcello Spatafora ( Italy):

The members of the Security Council welcome the international donors’ conference for the Palestinian State held in Paris on 17 December, which has provided a strong international signal of support to the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority, and which constitutes an important step in a broader process aiming at the realization of the vision of two States living side by side in peace and security.

The members of the Security Council thank all participants for their pledges, urge a rapid disbursement of these pledges, based on equitable burden-sharing among all donors and call upon all those States and international organizations in a position to do so to assist in the development of the Palestinian economy, to maximize the resources available to the Palestinian Authority and to contribute to the Palestinian institution-building programme in preparation for statehood.

The members of the Security Council reaffirm their commitment to a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), as well as the other relevant Security Council resolutions.

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For information media • not an official record