A/RES/53/42
Page 2
Affirming the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war,
Affirming also the illegality of the Israeli settlements in the territory occupied since 1967 and of
Israeli actions aimed at changing the status of Jerusalem,
Affirming once again the right of all States in the region to live in peace within secure and
internationally recognized borders,
Recalling the mutual recognition between the Government of the State of Israel and the Palestine
Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people, and the signing by the two parties
of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements in Washington, D.C., on
13 September 1993,2 as well as the subsequent implementation agreements, including the IsraeliPalestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, signed in Washington, D.C., on
28 September 1995,3
Recalling also the withdrawal of the Israeli army, which took place in the Gaza Strip and the Jericho
area in 1995 in accordance with the agreements reached by the parties, and the initiation of the Palestinian
Authority in those areas, as well as the beginning of the redeployment of the Israeli army in the rest of
the West Bank in 1996,
Noting with satisfaction the successful holding of the first Palestinian general elections,
Noting with appreciation the work of the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator in the
Occupied Territories and its positive contribution,
Welcoming the convening of the Conference to Support Middle East Peace in Washington, D.C., on
1 October 1993, as well as all follow-up meetings and the international mechanisms established to provide
assistance to the Palestinian people,
Concerned about the serious difficulties facing the Middle East peace process, and expressing the
hope that the Wye River Memorandum, signed in Washington, D.C., on 23 October 1998, will be fully
implemented towards full compliance with the existing agreements,
1. Reaffirms the necessity of achieving a peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine, the core
of the Arab-Israeli conflict, in all its aspects;
2. Expresses its full support for the ongoing peace process which began in Madrid and the
Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements of 1993,2 as well as the subsequent
implementation agreements, including the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip of 1995,3 and expresses the hope that the process will lead to the establishment of a
comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East;
2
A/48/486–S/26560, annex; see Official Records of the Security Council, Forty-eighth Year, Supplement
for October, November and December 1993, document S/26560.
3
A/51/889–S/1997/357, annex; see Official Records of the Security Council, Fifty-second Year,
Supplement for April, May and June 1997, document S/1997/357.
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