The Annapolis Conference

The Annapolis conference was organised and hosted by then US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the 27 November 2007 in the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and President George W. Bush, as well as delegations from many other countries and organisations, including the UN, the EU and the Arab League.

The Annapolis Conference was significant since it was the first time that the Israelis and the Palestinians agreed on a final-status solution that included a Palestinian state alongside that of Israel.

Annapolis brought new emphasis to a stalling Middle East Peace Process. We and our international partners have since continued to build on this emphasis, including by supporting the Arab Peace Initiative as a basis for this.

The Arab Peace Initiative

Also known as the Beirut Declaration, the Arab Peace Initiative (API) is a declaration by the Council of the League of Arab States (Arab League) made on the 28 March 2002. The API was a major initiative by the Arab states since it offered formal recognition to the state of Israel. We support the API firmly. The Foreign Secretary has stated that it is 'our best hope for peace'. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has also declared her support for the API.

The API reads as follows:

Emanating from the conviction of the Arab countries that a military solution to the conflict will not achieve peace or provide security for the parties, the Council:

1. requests Israel to reconsider its policies and declare that a just peace is its strategic option as well
   
2. calls upon Israel to affirm:
   
   
   1. full Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied since 1967, including the Syrian Golan Heights to the lines of June 4, 1967, as well as the remaining occupied Lebanese territories in the south of Lebanon
      
   2. achievement of a just solution to the Palestinian Refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194
      
   3. the acceptance of the establishment of a Sovereign Independent Palestinian State on the Palestinian territories occupied since the 4th June 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
      
3. consequently calls on the Arab Countries to affirm:
   
   
   1. consideration that the Arab-Israeli conflict ended, and enter into a peace agreement with Israel, and provide security for all the states in the region
      
   2. establishment of normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace.
      
4. assures the rejection of all forms of Palestinian patriation which conflict with the special circumstances of the Arab host countries
   
5. calls upon the Government of Israel and all Israelis to accept this initiative in order to safeguard the prospects for peace and stop the further shedding of blood, enabling the Arab countries and Israel to live in peace and good neighbourliness and provide future generations with security, stability and prosperity
   
6. invites the international community and all other countries and organizations to support this initiative
   
7. requests the Chairman of the Summit to form a special committee composed of some of its concerned member states and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States to pursue the necessary contacts to gain support for this initiative at all levels, particularly from the United Nations, the Security Council, the United States of America, the Russian Federation, the Muslim States and the European Union.

The Quartet Principles

The Quartet Principles were agreed by the Quartet of the UN, the EU, Russia and the United States in January 2006 to guide engagement with Hamas. The Quartet Principles are:

• a commitment to non-violence
• the recognition of Israel
• the acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the Roadmap.

The Roadmap

Published in 2003, the Roadmap for peace is a performance-based plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza alongside the state of Israel. It was agreed by both the Israelis and the Palestinians with the support of the Quartet. Although the original timescale envisaged by the Roadmap has not been met, the UK remains convinced that continued commitment to the Roadmap agreement – paired with the Arab Peace Initiative – provides the best opportunity to achieve a just and lasting peace.

The Roadmap itself is split into 3 distinct phases:

1. An end to terror and violence, the normalising of Palestinian life, and the building of Palestinian institutions.
2. The creation of a Palestinian state.
3. A permanent status agreement and end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including an agreement on Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.

The Roadmap provides clear and measurable guidelines to be achieved by both Israel and the Palestinians for progression towards the goal of a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.