MID-EAST QUARTET ‘HAS LOST GRIP’

BBC NEWS
iddle_east/7634894.stm
2008/09/25 09:07:52 GMT

The Quartet of international powers has "lost its grip" on the
Middle East peace process which it is meant to foster, a group of
aid agencies says.

In a damning report, the agencies say the Quartet – Russia, the US,
the EU and the UN – is failing in its mission.

Conditions for Palestinians, which it was meant to improve, have
worsened since peace talks recommenced under US sponsorship in 2007,
the agencies say.

In the West Bank there was an increase in Israeli settlement and
travel curbs.

The report was issued ahead of a Quartet meeting in New York on Friday.

"The Annapolis process [launched by the US in November 2007] was
meant to herald a new dawn for the Middle East peace process," said
Christian Aid director Daleep Mukarji.

Unless there is a swift and dramatic improvement, it will be necessary
to question what the future is for the Middle East Quartet Aid
agency report

"Nearly one year on, we are seeing exponential settlement growth,
additional check-points and – because of this – further economic
stagnation.

"The Quartet is losing its grip on the Middle East peace process."

There has been no immediate response from the Quartet, whose
representative in the region is former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Missed objectives

The Bush administration wanted the November 2007 peace summit at
Annapolis to lead to a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians
before it left office but this is looking increasingly unlikely.

The coalition of 21 aid agencies – including Oxfam, Save the Children,
Care, Cafod and World Vision – warned that the peace process would
fall apart unless the Quartet made swift and dramatic progress towards
its goals.

The report says there has been no change in a number of the 10 main
objectives set by the Quartet to help improve the daily lives of the
Palestinians and in five of them an actual deterioration.

It had failed to hold Israel to account for expanding the settlements
on occupied land, the report added.

The agencies say this week’s Quartet meeting would take place at "a
critical moment to demonstrate that it can play an effective role in
bringing peace to the Middle East".

"Unless there is a swift and dramatic improvement, it will be necessary
to question what the future is for the Middle East Quartet," it said.

"We are facing a vacuum in leadership," said Care International
representative Martha Myers. "The Quartet’s credibility is on the
line."