Geneva Accord

The Geneva Initiative, also known as the Geneva Accord, is a model permanent status agreement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on previous official negotiations, international resolutions, the Quartet Roadmap, the Clinton Parameters, and the Arab Peace Initiative. The Geneva Initiative addresses and presents a comprehensive solution to all issues vital to ensuring the end of the conflict and the realization of the national visions of both parties. It would give Palestinians almost all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip drawing Israel's borders close to what existed prior to the Israeli annexation of territory at the culmination of the 1967 war. Jerusalem would be divided administratively with East Jerusalem serving as the capital for the Palestinian state and West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In return for removing most of the Israeli settlements in those areas, the Palestinians would limit their "right of return" of refugees to Israel to a number specified by the Israeli government and will put an end to any further claims and demands from Israel.

Parameters of the Accord were negotiated in secret for over 2 years before the 50-page document was officially launched on December 1, 2003, at a ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland. Its initiator was Swiss Political Science professor Alexis Keller. Among its creators are formal negotiators and architects of previous rounds of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations including former Israeli minister and politician Dr. Yossi Beilin, and former Palestinian Authority minister Yasser Abed Rabbo. Both noted that the Geneva accord did not obligate either of their respective governments, even though Abed Rabbo was a minister at the time of the signing.

In September 2009, the Geneva Initiative released a book with 13 annexes to the original 2003 Geneva Accord. Comprising over 400 pages, the annexes serve as a supplement to the Geneva Accord, outlining the practical measures required for successful implementation of the two-state solution. They cover key issues including security, border crossings, the Implementation and Verification Group (IVG), roads, water management, environmental concerns, the economy, and the division of Jerusalem.

Read more about Geneva Accord:  The Accord Content, Current Geneva Initiative Activity, Support, Criticism, Arab-Israeli Peace Diplomacy and Treaties

Famous quotes containing the words geneva and/or accord:

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    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    The theory of rights enables us to rise and overthrow obstacles, but not to found a strong and lasting accord between all the elements which compose the nation.
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