-
Palestinian youths throw stones towards Israeli troops during clashes at a checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah - Source: Reuters -
Related
Two members of the international quartet of Middle East
mediators suggested that stalled indirect peace talks between
Israel and the Palestinians may be unblocked in coming days.
Speaking after a meeting in Moscow of the group - comprising the
United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia - quartet
envoy Tony Blair said he hoped for a package of measures to get the
talks started.
"I hope very much that in the next few days we will have a package
that gives people the sense that, yes, despite all the difficulties
of the past few days, it is worth having proximity talks and then
those leading to direct negotiations," he said.
Blair declined to give details of the package of measures, saying:
"That will become clear as the days unfold."
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in Moscow for the quartet
meeting, also suggested progress.
She said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given a useful and productive response to her concerns on the settlement issue during a telephone conversation on Thursday.
She did not give details.
The quartet called for direct negotiations between Israel and the
Palestinians with the aim of producing an agreement within 24
months to end Israeli occupation and establish an independent
Palestinian state.
The latest obstacle to the peace talks came 10 days ago when Israel
announced, during a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden, that it
would build 1,600 new housing units in a part of Jerusalem that it
captured in 1967 and annexed unilaterally.
The quartet called on Israel and the Palestinians to avoid
provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric and told Israel to
freeze all settlement building, dismantle outposts erected since
March 2001 and halt demolitions in East Jerusalem.
"We are convinced that this was all heard in Israel and that they
have correctly understood," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov,
who hosted the meeting, told reporters.
Gaza strike
The Palestinians welcomed the quartet's declaration.
"It is a very important statement. The statement is in full harmony
with the Palestinian and the Arab position," said Nabil Abu
Rdainah, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
"It is of vital importance that Israel abides by this statement
so that the peace process can resume."
The Israeli government declined to comment.
The quartet did not say how it could ensure its calls, which have
gone unheeded in the past, would be respected.
It promised only to closely monitor developments in Jerusalem
and to keep under consideration additional steps that may be
required.
Hours before the quartet met, Israeli aircraft struck at least six
targets in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire from the
Hamas-ruled territory the previous day, which killed a Thai worker
in Israel.
The quartet's statement condemned the rocket fire and called for an
immediate end to violence and terror.
But it added: "The quartet is deeply concerned by the continuing
deterioration in Gaza, including the humanitarian and human rights
situation of the civilian population, and stresses the urgency of a
resolution to the Gaza crisis."
Stone-throwing Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops in a few
towns in the West Bank. Palestinian medics said eight people were
wounded by police who fired tear gas and rubber bullets. One
Israeli soldier was wounded, the military said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he would go to Gaza on Sunday
to see the situation for himself.
The EU was represented in Moscow by foreign policy chief
Catherine Ashton.
Netanyahu's spokesman said the Israeli prime minister had proposed
mutual confidence-building measures by Israel and the Palestinian
Authority in the West Bank to Clinton, but did not elaborate.
The Palestinians say they will not enter indirect peace talks
unless Israel scraps the new settlement plans.
The quartet was formed in 2002 in Spain to assist in mediating an
end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Its achievements so far have been meagre, leading some analysts
to dismiss it as an expensive club for diplomats.
Moscow had hoped to organise a full-scale international conference
on the Middle East this year but the lack of progress on peace
talks forced it to settle for the quartet meeting.
