THE MIDDLE East Quartet, which was set up to mediate in the region’s peace process six years ago, is failing to improve prospects for peace or the lives of Palestinians, a report suggests this week.
The Middle East Quartet: A progress report, has been produced by a coalition of 21 aid agencies and human-rights groups, and comes on the eve of a meeting of Quartet members in New York to discuss the future of the Middle East peace process.
The report says that the Quartet, which consists of the EU, the UN, Russia, and the United States, and has the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as its special envoy, has failed to make progress in five key areas of the peace process.
On the issue of settlement-expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the report concludes that “there has been a marked failure to hold the Israeli authorities to their obligations under the Road Map and international law”.
On the key areas of access and movement, the report observes that the Quartet has “failed in its efforts to secure the removal of checkpoints and other obstacles
. . . that would enable Palestinians to see a tangible improvement in their daily lives”. It also highlights the consequences of the continuing ban on exports from Gaza, and how 80 per cent of its 1.5 million people are reliant on humanitarian aid.
The report recognises a number of partial achievements by the Quartet, such as securing donor pledges, stimulating private-sector activity, and supporting reforms to the Palestinian security sector.
The director of Christian Aid, Daleep Mukarji, warned that the Quartet was “losing its grip on the Middle East peace process. The Annapolis process was meant to herald a new dawn for the Middle East peace process. Nearly one year on, we are seeing exponential settlement growth, additional checkpoints, and, because of this, further economic stagnation.”
The report warns that “unless there is a swift and dramatic improvement, it will be necessary to question what the future is for the Middle East Quartet”. It calls for the Quartet to back calls for a resolution to be passed by the UN Security Council that will address the impact of settlement expansion.
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