Content of The Declaration
As tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict escalated, European countries decided that the current negotiations (as coordinated by the United States) were not working, that the situation was serious, and that they needed to interfere. In justifying their role in the negotiations, the nine European countries cited their traditional and colonial ties to the region. They based the Venice Declaration on Security Council Resolution 242 and Security Council Resolution 338. They emphasized, in the fourth point of the declaration, that they were primarily concerned with “the two principles universally accepted by the international community: the right to existence and to security of all States in the region, including Israel, and justice for all the peoples, which implies the recognition of legitimate rights of the Palestinian people” . They also stated the need to establish boundaries in the Middle East and to maintain peace within them. While they said it was important to resettle the Palestinian refugees, the European leaders also stressed the value of self-government for Palestinians and that, like the Israelis, they should be involved in the process of peace settlement. Furthermore, the Declaration asserts that these principles are necessary for the establishment of peace and that everyone involved, both Palestinian and Israeli, should have access to Jerusalem. The nine European powers determined that Israel should “put an end to the territorial occupation which it has maintained since the conflict of 1967.” They concluded by saying that force would be used to implement the Declaration and that they, the nine European powers, would reach out to the Middle Eastern nations in order to initiate the changes.
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