Brussels, 26/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - During the evening of Friday 23 October, the Quartet representatives reiterated their call for “maximum” restraint in the Middle East in order to avoid provocative rhetoric and actions. The representatives underlined the “urgent need to restore calm”.
Since the start of October, violence in the Middle East has claimed the lives of over 54 Palestinians and Israeli Arabs, and 8 Israelis.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State John Kerry, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, and UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov underlined their deep concern at the continuing escalation in tension, and condemned all the acts of terror and violence against civilians. With regard to the holy sites, the Quartet encouraged Israel to work with Jordan to uphold the status quo in Jerusalem, “in both word and practice”. Elsewhere, Israel and Jordan found an agreement on Sunday 25 October to strengthen security on the esplanade of mosques.
Stating that security measures alone cannot stop the violence, the Quartet called for “significant steps” to “restore confidence and hope in the viability of a negotiated two-state solution”. “The Quartet envoys will travel to the region in the coming period and engage directly with the parties to encourage them to take concrete actions, consistent with prior agreements”, the Quartet added in statement, hailing the willingness of the parties to cooperate with the envoys. At the end of the Quartet meeting, Mogherini announced that there had been confirmation of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu receiving the envoys.
The Quartet reaffirmed its “strong” commitment to act in coordination with the international and regional stakeholders “in an effort to stabilise and to assure and actively support a just, comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict”.
As the agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme showed, “where the international community is determined and united, it is not normally impossible to achieve results”, Mogherini stated. She was due to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during the evening of Monday 26 October (EUROPE will return to this). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)