Reassembled Mideast Quartet Urges Caution in Israeli-Palestinian Relations

The quartet of actors mediating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations – released a statement on Tuesday calling on both sides to “refrain from unilateral actions that make a two-state solution more difficult to achieve,” following the forum’s first meeting in nearly three years. Representatives of the four parties discussed reviving “meaningful negotiations” between Jerusalem and Ramallah, in what could be the first shift toward progress in the dormant peace talks. During former US President Donald Trump’s term, the Palestinian Authority severed diplomatic ties with the US and Israel, livid over Washington’s sudden unwavering support of Israeli settlements in the disputed West Bank territories. The signing of four normalization accords by Israel and Arab nations, brokered by the former administration, also served to anger the Palestinians. President Joe Biden’s team has signaled a sharp change in policy, promising to reopen the PA’s de facto embassy in Washington and expressing its support for the two-state solution.