A/HRC/10/8/Add.2 page 4 I. INTRODUCTION 1. Following invitations by the Government of Israel and by the Palestinian Authority, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief carried out a mission to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory from 20 to 27 January 2008. During her visit, the Special Rapporteur met with Government officials and political leaders as well as representatives of religious or belief communities, members of civil society and academics. She travelled to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Daliyat al Carmel, Haifa, Nazareth, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus and Qalqilya. 2. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank both the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority for the cooperation extended to her before, during and after the country visit. In Israel, the Special Rapporteur held talks, inter alia, with the Interior Minister, the Religious Affairs Minister, the Deputy Foreign Minister, the Deputy State Attorney for Special Affairs, the Chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset, a Supreme Court Justice, the Director General of the Head Rabbinate and the mayor of Daliyat al Carmel. In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Special Rapporteur met, inter alia, with the Chief of Staff of the President of the Palestinian Authority, the Director General for International Relations of the Palestinian Authority, the Governor of Nablus, the Director General and Commissioner General of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens’ Rights, the President of Al-Najah National University as well as representatives of the Islamic Waqf in East Jerusalem and Hebron. 3. During her visit, the Special Rapporteur talked with religious leaders and representatives of the Baha’is, Christians, Druze, Jews, Muslims and Samaritans. She is also grateful for the information she received from members of various domestic and international civil society organizations as well as from individual academics, journalists and lawyers. 4. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur benefitted from meetings with the United Nations Special Co-ordinator and Deputy Special Co-ordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) as well as with representatives from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). She sincerely appreciates the outstanding logistical support provided by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. 5. The present report first outlines international legal standards and then gives an overview of the domestic legal framework on freedom of religion or belief. In the third part, the Special Rapporteur refers to the religious demography and highlights selected aspects of the status of freedom of religion or belief in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In the last part, the Special Rapporteur presents her conclusions and recommendations.