[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 29 (Monday, July 24, 2006)]
[Pages 1352-1354]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
G-8 Leaders' Statement on the Situation in the Middle East

July 16, 2006

    Today, we the G-8 Leaders express our deepening concern about the 
situation in the Middle East, in particular the rising civilian 
casualties on all sides and the damage to infrastructure. We are united 
in our determination to pursue efforts to restore peace. We offer our 
full support for the UN Secretary General's mission presently in the 
region. The root cause of the problems in the region

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is the absence of a comprehensive Middle East peace.
    The immediate crisis results from efforts by extremist forces to 
destabilize the region and to frustrate the aspirations of the 
Palestinian, Israeli and Lebanese people for democracy and peace. In 
Gaza, elements of Hamas launched rocket attacks against Israeli 
territory and abducted an Israeli soldier. In Lebanon, Hizbollah, in 
violation of the Blue Line, attacked Israel from Lebanese territory and 
killed and captured Israeli soldiers, reversing the positive trends that 
began with the Syrian withdrawal in 2005, and undermining the 
democratically elected government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.
    These extremist elements and those that support them cannot be 
allowed to plunge the Middle East into chaos and provoke a wider 
conflict. The extremists must immediately halt their attacks.
    It is also critical that Israel, while exercising the right to 
defend itself, be mindful of the strategic and humanitarian consequences 
of its actions. We call upon Israel to exercise utmost restraint, 
seeking to avoid casualties among innocent civilians and damage to 
civilian infrastructure and to refrain from acts that would destabilize 
the Lebanese government.
    The most urgent priority is to create conditions for a cessation of 
violence that will be sustainable and lay the foundation for a more 
permanent solution. This, in our judgment, requires:
 <bullet>    The return of the Israeli soldiers in Gaza and Lebanon 
            unharmed;
 <bullet>    An end to the shelling of Israeli territory;
 <bullet>    An end to Israeli military operations and the early 
            withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza;
 <bullet>    The release of the arrested Palestinian ministers and 
            parliamentarians. The framework for resolving these disputes 
            is already established by international consensus.
    In Lebanon, UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1680 address 
the underlying conditions that gave rise to this crisis. We urge the UN 
Security Council to develop a plan for the full implementation of these 
resolutions.
    We extend to the Government of Lebanon our full support in asserting 
its sovereign authority over all its territory in fulfillment of UNSCR 
1559. This includes the deployment of Lebanese Armed Forces to all parts 
of the country, in particular the South, and the disarming of militias. 
We would welcome an examination by the UN Security Council of the 
possibility of an international security/monitoring presence.
    We also support the initiation of a political dialogue between 
Lebanese and Israeli officials on all issues of concern to both parties. 
In addition, we will support the economic and humanitarian needs of the 
Lebanese people, including the convening at the right time of a donors 
conference.
    In Gaza, the disengagement of Israel provided an opportunity to move 
a further step toward a two state solution under the Road Map. All 
Palestinian parties should accept the existence of Israel, reject 
violence, and accept all previous agreements and obligations, including 
the Roadmap. For its part, Israel needs to refrain from unilateral acts 
that could prejudice a final settlement and agree to negotiate in good 
faith.
    Our goal is an immediate end to the current violence, a resumption 
of security cooperation and of a political engagement both among 
Palestinians and with Israel. This requires:
 <bullet>    An end to terrorist attacks against Israel;
 <bullet>    A resumption of the efforts of President Abbas to ensure 
            that the Palestinian government complies with the Quartet 
            principles;
 <bullet>    Immediate expansion of the temporary international 
            mechanism for donors established under the direction of the 
            Quartet;
 <bullet>    Israeli compliance with the Agreement on Movement and 
            Access of November 2005 and action on other steps to ease 
            the humanitarian plight of the people of Gaza and the West 
            Bank;
 <bullet>    Resumption of security cooperation between Palestinians and 
            Israelis;
 <bullet>    Action to ensure that the Palestinian security forces 
            comply with Palestinian law and with the Roadmap, so that 
            they are unified and effective in providing security for the 
            Palestinian people;

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 <bullet>    Resumption of dialogue between Palestinian and Israeli 
            political officials.
    These proposals are our contribution to the international effort 
underway to restore calm to the Middle East and provide a basis for 
progress towards a sustainable peace, in accordance with the relevant UN 
Security Council Resolutions. The Quartet will continue to play a 
central role. The G-8 welcomes the positive efforts of Egypt, Saudi 
Arabia and Jordan as well as other responsible regional actors to return 
the region to peace. We look forward to the report of the Secretary 
General's mission to the Security Council later this week which we 
believe could provide a framework for achieving our common objectives.

Note: The statement referred to Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the 
United Nations; and President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) of the 
Palestinian Authority. An original was not available for verification of 
the content of this joint statement.