The much-awaited Friday report said that “Israel should cease the policy of settlement construction and expansion, designating land for exclusive Israeli use, and denying Palestinian development”.
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The Quartet of Mideast negotiators the United Nations, U.S., European Union and Russian Federation also criticized the glorification of Palestinians who commit “terrorist attacks” against Israel and called on the Palestinian Authority to “act decisively” to stop incitement to violence and clearly condemn “all acts of terrorism”.
In one of several attacks in recent days, a 19-year-old Palestinian fatally stabbed a 13-year-old US-Israeli national in her home at the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba on the outskirts of Hebron.
The report refers to both sides, and specifically to the Palestinians and Israelis in relation to violence, incitement to violence, Israeli settlement construction and related policies, Palestinian unity and institution building.
The end goal, United Nations officials and diplomats said, is to move the warring parties to the negotiating table for direct talks.
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said the rocket attack was “a horrific reminder of the intentions of terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip to target communities, people, men, women and children”. “But neither will the violence and terror, fueled by resentment, bring about a Palestinian state”.
The Quartet said Palestinian acts of terrorism and incitement to violence intensify mistrust between the parties and are incompatible with advancing a peaceful two-state solution. It called on both sides to “de-escalate tensions” and “take all necessary steps to prevent violence”. More than 200 Palestinians – mostly attackers, Israel says – have also been killed in that period.
Responding to the report, the United Nations secretary-general welcomed it, underscoring its findings, while the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) said it failed to meet the group’s expectations, accusing members of the global community of avoiding their responsibilities towards the Palestinian people.
Since the beginning of the Oslo peace process in 1993, the settlement population has more than doubled, with a threefold increase in so-called Area C – the most sought-after land in the West Bank, said the report. It also reaffirms that a negotiated two-State outcome that meets Israel’s security needs and Palestinians’ aspirations for statehood and sovereignty, ends the occupation that began in 1967, and resolves all permanent status issues is the only way to achieve an enduring peace.
Madani called on the Middle East Quartet to act as a mediator to halt Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and pave the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state whose capital is East Jerusalem.
The Quartet expressed alarm at ongoing attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, including a 2015 arson attack that killed three and the burning death of a Palestinian boy in 2014.
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A senior U.S. State Department official said Friday that Washington was very concerned about Palestinian incitement to violence, urging Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to condemn terrorist attacks.
