Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Aid groups: Quartet failing in Mideast | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
Select Page

JERUSALEM (AP) – Aid groups say international envoys haven’t brought Mideast peace any closer since talks between Israel and the Palestinians resumed last year.

A coalition of 21 agencies faults the Quartet of Mideast mediators for not blocking Israeli settlement expansion. It says Israeli restrictions on movement in the West Bank continues and that an Israeli-led blockade of the Gaza Strip hasn’t been eased, despite a cease-fire between Israel and the territory’s Hamas rulers.

The Quartet is made up of the U.S., the European Union, Russia and the U.N. The groups criticizing its performance include CARE International UK, Oxfam and Save the Children UK.

Save the Children UK official David Mepham said Thursday that “time is fast running out.” He called on the Quartet to apply “more sustained pressure and decisive action.”