Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee report

Statement of Senator George J. Mitchell and Senator Warren B. Rudman Publication of the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee Report May 21, 2001

(CNN) -- Last October, leaders of the Government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the United Nations, the European Union, and the Governments of Egypt, Jordan, and the United States met in a summit at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. They agreed that an International Committee should be formed to look into the then recent outbreak of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

In November, following consultations with the other leaders, President Clinton asked us to serve on the Committee, along with the former President of Turkey, Suleyman Demirel, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Thorbjoern Jagland, and the European Union High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana.

We are grateful to our colleagues for their cooperation and wise counsel. We are unanimous in our findings and recommendations. There were and are no disagreements among us.

In January of this year, Secretary of State Colin Powell, acting on behalf of the Bush Administration, advised us of his support for the continued work of the Committee.

We appreciate the support we received from the parties. Throughout our inquiry we made it clear to both the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority that we are dependent upon their cooperation, and that if either permanently withheld its support we would terminate our activities without making a report. They chose to support our work, and they provided us with a high level of cooperation, especially on our most recent visit.

We are also grateful for the support of the Governments of the United States, Norway, Turkey, and the European Union, and the Governments of Egypt and Jordan.

At the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit, the participants hoped that the violence would soon end. So they asked us to review what they thought would be past events and to make recommendations to prevent a recurrence of violence. Unfortunately, as we are all aware, the violence has not ended. It has escalated. In the past seven months, more than 500 people have been killed and over 10,000 have been injured.

In light of the ongoing violence, we focused our fact-finding on its underlying causes, and we focused our recommendations on three objectives: ending the violence, rebuilding confidence, and resuming meaningful negotiations.

The responses of the Government of Israel ("GOI") and the Palestinian Authority ("PA") to our report were positive.

The GOI said that " Israel appreciates the efforts of the Committee and considers that its Report provides a constructive and positive attempt to break the cycle of violence and facilitate a resumption of direct bilateral negotiations for peace on the basis of reciprocity."

The PA said that "After careful examination of the Committee's Report, we have concluded that the findings and recommendations of the Report offer Palestinians and Israelis a sensible and coherent foundation for resolving the current crisis and preparing a path to resuming meaningful negotiations."

Unfortunately, those generous words were followed almost immediately by a dramatic escalation of the conflict. In the past few days dozens have been killed an scores wounded. These tragic events add urgency, if any were needed, to our principal recommendation that the violence be ended.

Just a few weeks ago, on our Committee's last visit to the region, leaders on both sides told us, in virtually identical words, that life has become unbearable for their people. They said that the violence has to end. But it has not ended. It has gotten worse. And it will keep on getting worse unless the Government of Israel and the Palestinian authority take swift and decisive action to end the violence, rebuild confidence, and resume negotiations.

That is the principal message of our report, six months in the making, delivered to the President on May 1, and made public today.

We call on the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to implement our recommendations:

First, end the violence. That must be the immediate aim. The cycle of violent actions and violent reaction must be broken. We call upon the parties to implement an immediate and unconditional cessation of violence. Part of the effort to end the violence must include an immediate resumption of security cooperation between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority aimed at preventing violence and combating terrorism. Political leaders on both sides must act now to reduce the tension and stop the violence.

Then, rebuild confidence. The restoration of trust is essential. We recommend several steps to this end. Given the high level of hostility and mistrust, the timing and sequence of these steps are obviously crucial. This can be decided only by the parties. We urge them to begin the process of decision immediately.

Among our recommendations are:

The PA and GOI soul resume their efforts to identify, condemn and discourage incitement in all its forms.

The PA should make clear through concrete action to Palestinians and Israelis alike that terrorism is reprehensible and unacceptable, and that the PA will make a 100 percent effort to prevent terrorist operations and to punish perpetrators. This effort should include immediate steps to apprehend and incarcerate terrorists operating within the PA's jurisdiction.

The GOI should freeze all settlement activity, including the "natural growth" of existing settlements.

The GOI should ensure that the Israel Defense Force adopts and enforces policies and procedures encouraging non-lethal responses to unarmed demonstrators, with a view to minimizing casualties and friction between the two communities.

The PA should prevent gunmen from using Palestinian populated areas to fire upon Israeli populated areas and IDF positions. This tactic places civilians on both sides at unnecessary risk.

The GOI should lift closures, transfer to the PA all tax revenues owed, and permit Palestinians who had been employed in Israel to return to their jobs; and should ensure that security forces and settlers refrain from the destruction of homes and roads, as well as trees and other agricultural property in Palestinian areas. We acknowledge the GOI's position that actions of this nature have been taken for security reasons. Nevertheless, the economic effects will persist for years.

The PA should renew cooperation with Israeli security agencies to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that Palestinian workers employed within Israel are fully vetted and free of connections to organizations and individuals engaged in terrorism.

The PA and GOI should consider a joint understanding to preserve and protect holy places sacred to the traditions of Jews, Muslims, and Christians.

The GOI and PA should jointly endorse and support the work of Palestinian and Israeli non-governmental organizations involved in cross-community initiatives linking the two peoples.

Excerpts of our report have become public over the past two weeks and some of our recommendations have received more attention than others. We believe that all of these measures will help the parties to rebuild confidence and resume meaningful negotiations, and we urge that all of them be implemented. But no measure is linked to or is a precondition to another. We repeat our belief that the timing and sequence of these confidence building steps can be decided only by the parties, and we encourage them to begin the process of decision immediately.

Finally, resume negotiations. The parties must find a way back to the negotiating table. A halt to the violence, a resumption of security cooperation, and steps to restore trust cannot be long sustained without serious negotiations to resolve the underlying causes of the conflict.

It was not within our mandate to prescribe the basis or agenda of negotiations or to recommend how the parties should ultimately settle the difficult issues before them. But if they are to succeed in doing so, they must find a way to renew a spirit of compromise, reconciliation and partnership so that negotiations can lead to a just resolution of the conflict.

Fear, hate, anger, and frustration have risen on both sides. The greatest danger of all is that the culture of peace, nurtured over the previous decade, is being shattered. In its place there is a growing sense of futility and despair, and a growing resort to violence.

Political leaders on both sides must act and speak decisively to reverse these dangerous trends; they must rekindle the desire and the drive for peace. That will be difficult. but it can be done and it must be done, for the alternative is unacceptable and should be unthinkable.

Two proud peoples share a land and a destiny. Their competing claims and religious differences have led to a grinding, demoralizing, dehumanizing conflict. They can continue in conflict or they can negotiate to find a way to live side-by-side in peace.

We urge them to return to negotiations, however difficult. It is the only path to peace, justice, and security.