Assembly/AU/Decl.1(XXVIII) Page 1 DECLARATION ON THE SITUATION IN PALESTINE AND THE MIDDLE EAST Doc. EX.CL/993(XXX) WE, the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, having met at our Twenty Eighth Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 30 to 31 January 2017; Taking Note of the Report on the Situation in the Middle East and Palestine, and recalling all resolutions and decisions of the Organization of African Unity/African Union on the Situation in Palestine towards achieving lasting peace and security in the Middle East; Reaffirming our full support to the Palestinian people and the State of Palestine under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas in their quest for the restoration of their legitimate right to establish an independent state co-existing peacefully with the State of Israel and commending the recent reconciliation deal reached on 15 January 2017 in the Russian capital Moscow, between Palestinians Organizations to form a unity government; Reiterating our wish for the peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict in accordance with the principles of international law and all relevant United Nations resolutions to ensure the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the borders of June 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital; Renewing our call for the resumption of negotiations between the two sides in order to reach a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East; Re-Reaffirming our full support to all initiatives aimed at bringing peace to the region in particular the Arab Peace Initiative and the French initiative of holding international peace conference aimed at re-launching negotiations to solve the Palatine-Israeli conflict on specific timeframe; Condemning the illegal settlements in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and in the occupied territory of the Syrian Golan Heights and the continued occupation of Palestinian lands and the Judaization campaign aimed at changing all Islamic and Christian features of the Holy City and reducing the Palestinian population to the fullest extent through the confiscation of their lands and the destruction of their homes and all measures of collective punishment; Denouncing the Israeli practices against the Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including women and children, which are contrary to the international law and international humanitarian law; Calling on the Israeli government to release all Palestinian and Arab political prisoners and detainees in the Israeli jails immediately and unconditionally. Equally Demanding that Israel refrains from using acts of terrorism against civilian populations as well as arbitrary arrests of Palestinians including children and women 28th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union, 30 - 31 January 2017, Addis Ababa