Region | Palestinian Territories
Quartet asks Arab states to honour pledges
World powers called on Saturday on Arab states to honour their financial and political pledges to help the Palestinians in their US-backed Middle East peace effort with Israel.
- Reuters
- Published: 22:10 May 2, 2008
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London: World powers called on Saturday on Arab states to honour their financial and political pledges to help the Palestinians in their US-backed Middle East peace effort with Israel.
The Quartet of Middle East peace mediators, which comprises the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States, made its appeal after talks in London and was expected to drive home the point in a later meeting with Arab states.
"The Quartet called for all donors to follow through on pledges made... The Quartet encouraged the Arab states to fulfil both their political and financial roles in support of the Annapolis process," the statement.
Scepticism
US President George W. Bush announced the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority with fanfare at a November 27 conference in Annapolis, Maryland but the negotiations have since yielded no visible progress. Arab diplomats and foreign policy analysts suggest that the absence of tangible headway has disheartened Arab states, who are deeply sceptical of Bush's goal of achieving a peace deal by the end of this year.
"Let's remember this is not about the United States, this is ... for the Palestinian people," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said when asked if Arab doubts about the US peace push has made them reluctant to contribute.
"Clearly if you made a pledge, you ought to fulfil it," she added at a news conference before Quartet members were to meet with Arab states.
According to US figures, of $717.1 million (Dh2.632 billion) in budget aid for the Palestinians promised by Arab League members, only $153.2 million has been delivered, all of which came from three countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Algeria.
In contrast, other donors - chiefly the United States and European nations -have disbursed $502.1 million of the $834.9 million they pledged, the US figures showed.
The Quartet also voiced 'deep concern' over humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where Israel tightened its blockade after the Hamas movement seized power from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's more secular Fatah movement in June 2007.
The major powers called for a shift in strategy toward Gaza, backing Egyptian efforts to broker an informal truce between Israel and Palestinian fighters and to ease the embargo.
Israel says the blockade is aimed at stopping rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas and fighters.
Shortages of fuel, power and basic goods have strangled Gaza's economy and created a humanitarian crisis for its 1.5 million people.
The Quartet also called on Israel to freeze all colony activity and to dismantle border posts erected since March 2001, which the Palestinians and other countries say are an impediment to the peace process.
An Arab diplomat said many countries in the region were losing hope that Bush's peace effort was making headway.
"There is a sense of frustration that there aren't tangible dividends," said the diplomat, who spoke on condition that he not be named. "While people understand you can't negotiate in public, there are no indications that negotiations have gone well and the indications on the ground are getting worse."
Speaking as she flew to London, Rice said the two sides were making progress in their negotiations despite the public doubts.
Rice was scheduled to take part in a three-way meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Friday evening before travelling to Israel and the Palestinian territories this weekend.
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