Warning that eight months of Middle East bloodshed could spiral out of control, a US-appointed panel inquiring into the unrest urged a swift halt to the violence and steps to restore trust, including a freeze on Jewish settlements and Palestinian steps to curb militants.
The Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee, led by former US Senator George Mitchell and formed as part of a failed US bid to clinch a ceasefire last October, did not fully assign blame for the outbreak of violence and has no binding power.
But leaders in the Middle East and elsewhere have been awaiting official publication of the report and the details have been widely disseminated as a possible way out of the cycle of rage that began in September.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed the report's call for an immediate end to the fighting and said he had instructed the US ambassador to Jordan, Mr William Burns, to help the parties work out a timeline to implement the panel's findings.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan also urged the parties to seize the moment and follow the panel's recommendations.
Former Senator Mitchell said: "With so many people killed, so many people injured, so much destruction, this process has to be stopped before it escalates out of control." "Political leaders on both sides must act and speak decisively to reverse these dangerous trends," Senator Mitchell said in an interview with Reuters after releasing the report.
The panel's other members were European Union foreign policy and security chief Mr Javier Solana, former Turkish President Mr Suleyman Demirel, Norwegian Foreign Minister Mr Thorbjoern Jagland and former US Senator Mr Warren Rudman.