Quartet calls for freezing settlement activities in the West Bank

Saturday May 03, 2008 00:20 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

 Members of the Quartet Committee for peace in the Middle East called on Israel to freeze all of its settlement activities in the occupied West Bank, UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon stated.

Ki-moon read that Quartet statement after a meeting of the Quartet members (the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia).  

The Quartet statement reaffirmed its support to resuming the efforts to secure a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians and establish a Palestinian State by the end of the year.

 The Committee met in London and called on the Israeli government to dismantle all of the illegal settlement outposts which were installed since March 2001.

 The Committee also called on the Arab countries to fulfill their financial obligations and pledges they made to the Palestinian people.

 US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, said that roadblocks are preventing economic activities in the Palestinian areas adding that real improvement is needed in order to act more effectively.

In Al Interview with the Qatar-based Al Jazeera, former British Prime Minister, the international envoy to the Middle East, Tony Blair, said that the important issue about roadblocks “is not their numbers, but their strategic locations”.

 He added that these roadblocks could be removed without harming the Israeli security.

Blair stated that the situation in the Gaza Strip is “very terrible” but added that in order to the Israeli blockade to be lifted “the firing of homemade shells by Hamas should be stopped”.

He also said that “it should be possible to lift the blockade on Gaza although the situation is difficult”. He also called for improving the situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

international | peace process | news report saed at imemc dot org