By IRNA,
London : The Middle East Quartet of the EU, Russia, UN and the US are failing the Palestinians, a coalition of leading humanitarian and human rights organisations warned Thursday.
The US, EU, Russia and the UN are “making inadequate progress towards improving the lives of Palestinians nor improving the prospects for peace,” the coalition of 21 international charities and agencies said.
In a progress report, the humanitarian agencies warned that key areas the Quartet committed to improving remain unchanged or have deteriorated since the Annapolis Conference last November, when the group launched its major bid for peace in the Middle East.
The US, EU, Russia and the UN were accused of having “failed to hold the Israeli authorities to account for the continued expansion of illegal settlements.”
“The Quartet has spoken out about settlements 18 times and yet settlement expansion is accelerating and taking a drastic toll on Palestinian daily life,” said the report, which comes ahead of the annual Qods Day rallies held around the world.
There was also “negligible impact in their stated goal of improving Palestinians’ ability to move freely in their own territory, to work, reach their schools or access basic services and to import and export goods.
The number of restrictions – including check-points, the Wall and restricted roads – were found to have actually increased from 561 in November 2007, when Annapolis began, to around 600 in August 2008.
“Despite the cessation of violence in Gaza, the Quartet has been unable to lift the blockade or secure a significant improvement in the humanitarian situation,” said the charities, led by CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Oxfam International, Save the Children UK and World Vision Jerusalem.
David Mepham, director of policy at Save the Children UK said the report shows that the Quartet has “fundamentally failed to improve the humanitarian situation on the ground.”
“Unless the Quartet’s words are matched by more sustained pressure and decisive action, the situation will deteriorate still further,” Mepham said.
“Time is fast running out. The Quartet needs to radically revise its existing approach and show the people of the region that it can help make a difference,” he warned on the eve of the US, EU, Russia and the UN holding a meeting in New York on the peace process.
Daleep Mukarji, director of Christian Aid, said the Annapolis process was supposed to “herald a new dawn for the Middle East peace process.”
“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,” Mukarji warned.
According to Martha Myers, country director for CARE, there was a “vacuum in leadership” with the Quartet unable to hold parties to their obligations.
“This must change fast. The Quartet’s credibility is on the line and we hope it will use this meeting to show it is able to go beyond rhetoric and make a real difference to the lives of Palestinians and Israelis,” Myers said.
At their meeting, the US, EU, Russia and the UN were urged to enforce the deals they brokered and ensure all parties are held to account for any failure to comply with their obligations under the peace process and international humanitarian and human rights law.
The agencies also called for efforts to pass a resolution at the UN Security Council to “address the humanitarian and economic impact of settlement expansion on Palestinian communities and the broader peace process.”
Other measures needed was a “new approach to improving access and movement in the occupied Palestinian territory, removing the network of restrictions rather than tackling individual obstacles while addressing Israeli security concerns.:
The Quartet should “commit to bringing a swift end to the blockade of Gaza and the policy of collective punishment” and strengthen the cessation of violence between Hamas and Israel, the coalition said.