Brussels, 09/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Sunday 8 February, representatives of the Quartet for the Middle East - Russia's Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State John Kerry, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson called on donors to honour the commitments they made in October for the reconstruction of Gaza after the war last summer (see EUROPE 11175).
In a joint press release, they stated that “donor funding is critical”. The Quartet representatives therefore expressed their support for the joint letter from Egypt and Norway and for the joint statement from the secretary-generals of the United Nations and League of Arab States urging donors to honour the financial commitments as soon as possible that were made at the Cairo conference in October 2014, “including the funding of UN agencies carrying out vital operations in Gaza for both the refugee and non-refugee populations”. On Tuesday 27 January, the UN announced it was suspending its financial aid for repairing Gaza, criticising the fact that the aid commitments have not been honoured. The Quartet is concerned about the “difficult” situation in Gaza and believes that “the pace of reconstruction needs to be accelerated to address the basic needs of the Palestinian population to ensure stability”. The Quartet underscored the importance of ensuring that the acute fiscal challenges faced by the Palestinians are addressed, and of supporting Palestinian institution-building efforts.
During their meeting, Mogherini, Kerry, Lavrov and Eliasson underlined the importance of resuming the peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians “as soon as possible” with a view to reaching a “just, lasting and comprehensive peace”. They stressed the importance of the Arab peace initiative and the vital role of the Arab partners. “The Quartet will remain actively engaged in preparing for a resumption of the peace process in the coming period, including regular and direct outreach to Arab states”, the representatives added. While awaiting the resumption of negotiations, the Quartet called on both parties to refrain from actions that undermine trust or prejudge final status issues. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)