Israeli, Palestinian and European politicians and activists have used an international summit in Pisa, Italy, to demand an agreement to end the occupation by the end of 2008.

The conference last weekend, entitled Europe's Role in the Resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, was the second annual meeting aimed at building a consensus on peace.

Delegates included 50 Palestinian and 50 Israeli NGOs, as well as Israel's ambassador to Italy, Gideon Meir, who heard Luisa Morgantini, European Parliament vice-president, call for more EU involvement in the peace process.

"We are calling on Israeli and world leaders to commit to ending the occupation with a peace agreement by the end of 2008," read the concluding statement. "No more excuses, there is no more time to waste.

Failure to reach an agreement as soon as possible is a threat to the two-state solution and could consequently lead to a dangerous deterioration in the situation."