Mideast peace Quartet backs effort to ease Gaza blockade

London: World powers on Friday backed a fresh approach to Gaza, including Egyptian efforts to broker a peace truce and the easing of Israeli embargo of the Gaza Strip.

The move by the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators increases pressure on Israel to ease its blockade of the Hamas-controlled territory.

"Principals strongly encouraged Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Egypt to work together to formulate a new approach on Gaza that would provide security to all Gazans, end all acts of terror [and] provide for the controlled and sustained opening of the Gaza crossings for humanitarian reasons and commercial flows," the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States said in a statement.

The Quartet also called on Arab states to honour their financial and political pledges to help the Palestinians, voicing "deep concern" over humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip.

Of $717.1 million in budget support for the Palestinians promised by Arab League members, only $153.2 million has been delivered so far.

"The Quartet called for continued emergency and humanitarian assistance and the provision of essential services to Gaza without obstruction. The Quartet expressed its continuing concern over the closure of major Gaza crossing points given the impact on the Palestinian economy and daily life," it said.

It also called on Israel to freeze all settlement activity and to dismantle outposts erected since March 2001, which the Palestinians say are blocking the peace process.