On 5-7 January 2003, a group of Palestinians, Israelis and international officials convened for the first time to address the operational aspects of third party intervention in the current conflict. The meeting was hosted in Ermelo, the Netherlands by the Foundation de Burght, organized with Mercy Corps and co-sponsored by the Foundation for Middle East Peace and the Foundation de Oude Beuk. The aim of the discussions was to consider what can and cannot work from a functional perspective, within the context of social and political realities. The meeting explored a range of options and issues affecting the design of any third party international intervention in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The participants combined local and regional expertise, knowledge of the parties' positions and experience in complex peace operations, with humanitarian, military and transitional political elements. This mixture of individuals allowed the synthesis of area-specific information and lessons of multi-dimensional missions to produce comprehensive planning considerations. The following report is a reflection of the issues discussed, and incorporates many of the ideas contributed by the participants.

Urgency of ground conditions / Convergence on international intervention / Operational factors and considerations. Harmonization and coherence -- Mission contours -- Geographic scope -- Civilian authority and administration -- Security dimensions -- Military forces -- Rule of law -- Economic reconstruction -- Cross-cultural aspects.