To Israelis and Palestinians
A Statement of Support

On the occasion of the signing today of the "Geneva Initiative" - a blueprint for peace negotiated by teams of Israelis and Palestinians led by former ministers Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo - we express our strong support both for this and the "People's Voice" petition initiated by Ami Ayalon and Sari Nusseibeh.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has taken far too great a toll already. Both peoples have paid dearly in lives and livelihood in a war which both are losing. Every passing day undermines the prospects for a peaceful, two-state solution. As long as the conflict endures, it will be a source of instability and violence for the region and the international community as a whole.

We believe that the best way to move forward is to address at the outset, not at the end of an incremental process, all the basic principles of a fair and lasting solution. Postponing the final outcome makes any progress hostage to extremists on both sides. A process must be devised to give practical and political expression to the heartfelt desire of clear majorities on both sides to end this conflict once and for all.

The Geneva and People's Voice initiatives both reflect that public opinion, and can help give it new momentum. On the Israeli side, they can help undo the myths taking hold since the collapse of the peace process and onset of violence: that the Palestinian people are not prepared to accept a two state solution and Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. On the Palestinian side, they can offer an alternative to the current mindset that sees in violence the only possible means of ending the occupation. They send a powerful signal that an alternative to the current situation exists. They have the potential to transform the domestic political dynamics on both sides.

International support will be crucial to translate these endeavors into a concrete mechanism to bring about a lasting peace. The international players most relevant for this purpose - the U.S., E.U., Russia, UN 'Quartet', and the members of the Arab League - should wholeheartedly back these initiatives. They should urge both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority to be guided by the outcomes most of their peoples want. And they should make clear their own willingness to lend all the political, economic and military support needed to help implement a comprehensive peace agreement.

The Israeli and Palestinian peoples, by making clear their belief in the Geneva and People's Voice initiatives, can help turn the principles embodied in them into reality. You can count on our support in this endeavor.

Martti Ahtisaari Former President, Finland	José María Figueres Former President, Costa Rica	Fidel V Ramos Former President, Philippines
Ali Alatas Former Foreign Minister, Indonesia	Malcolm Fraser Former Prime Minister, Australia	Jerry John Rawlings Former President, Ghana
George Alleyne Former Director, Pan American Health Organization	Hans-Dietrich Genscher Former Foreign Minister, Germany	Mary Robinson Former President, Ireland
Oscar Arias Sánchez Former President, Costa Rica,Nobel Peace Prize 1987	Bronislaw Geremek Former Foreign Minister, Poland	Michel Rocard Former Prime Minister, France
Lloyd Axworthy Former Foreign Minister, Canada	Mikhail S Gorbachev Former President, Soviet Union, Nobel Peace Prize 1990	Nafis Sadik Former Executive Director, UN Population Fund
Alexander Bessmertnykh Former Foreign Minister, Soviet Union	I K Gujral Former Prime Minister, India	Salim Ahmed Salim Former Prime Minister, Tanzania, and Secretary-General OAU
Carl Bildt Former Prime Minister, Sweden	Bob Hawke Former Prime Minister, Australia	Cornelio Sommaruga Former President, International Committee of the Red Cross
Boutros Boutros-Ghali Former UN Secretary-General	Bill Hayden Former Governor-General and Foreign Minister, Australia	Kalevi Sorsa Former Prime Minister, Finland
Lakhdar Brahimi Former Foreign Minister, Algeria	Raffi K Hovannisian Former Foreign Minister, Armenia	Eduardo Stein Former Foreign Minister, Guatemala
Fernando Henrique Cardoso Former President, Brazil	F W de Klerk Former President, South Africa,Nobel Peace Prize 1993	Pär Stenbäck Former Foreign Minister, Finland
Ingvar Carlsson Former Prime Minister, Sweden	Wim Kok Former Prime Minister, Netherlands	Max van der Stoel Former Foreign Minister, Netherlands
Lord Carrington Former Foreign and Defence Secretary, UK and NATO Secretary-General	Masahiko Komura Former Foreign Minister, Japan	Thorvald Stoltenberg Former Foreign Minister, Norway
Jorge Castañeda Former Foreign Minister, Mexico	Budimir Loncar Former Foreign Minister, Yugoslavia	Hanna Suchocka Former Prime Minister, Poland
Claude Cheysson Former Foreign Minister, France	Barbara McDougall Former External Affairs Secretary, Canada	Alex Sceberras Trigona Former Foreign Minister, Malta
Jacques Delors Former President, European Commission	George Vassiliou Former President, Cyprus	Jirí Dienstbier Former Foreign Minister, Czechoslovakia
Boyko Noev Former Defence Minister, Bulgaria	Hubert Védrine Former Foreign Minister, France	Ruth Dreifuss Former President, Switzerland
Sadako Ogata Former UN High Commissioner for Refugees	Franz VranitzkyFormer Federal Chancellor, Austria	Uffe Ellemann-Jensen Former Foreign Minister
Lord Owen Former Foreign Secretary, UK	Ernesto Zedillo Former President, Mexico	Gareth Evans Former Foreign Minister, Australia
Surin Pitsuwan Former Foreign Minister, Thailand	Mark Eyskens Former Foreign and Prime Minister, Belgium	Augusto Ramírez-Ocampo Former Foreign Minister, Colombia
Gianni de Michelis Former Foreign Minister, Italy

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1 December 2003