NEW YORK, September 27, 2018 (WAFA) - The Envoys of the Middle East Quartet from the Russian Federation, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, who met on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday to discuss the prospects for peace negotiations and the situation on the ground, in particular in Gaza, “expressed their deep concern over the continued escalation in Gaza,” according to a joint press statement by the envoys.

“The Middle East Envoys expressed support for the United Nations’ efforts to prevent further escalation, empower the legitimate Palestinian authorities in Gaza and address all humanitarian needs, including through the AHLC,” said the brief statement.

The Quartet was set up in 2002 with a mandate to help mediate Middle East peace negotiations and to support Palestinian economic development and institution-building in preparation for eventual statehood. However, its mandate was later altered under US pressure to only supporting the Palestinian economy without any political intervention and its powers were severely curtailed.

The Quartet’s 2018 report on Palestine to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) of donor countries meeting in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly focused primarily on the drastic humanitarian situation in Gaza, which has been under strict Israeli blockade for the last 12 years and faced three devastating wars by Israel since 2008, with some attention to the economic situation in the West Bank.

M.K.