Ahead of Friday’s meeting of the Middle East Quartet, a coalition of 21 aid agencies has warned that so far the international body has failed to improve the lives of the Palestinians and to advance the peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The aid groups warned that key areas the Quartet was committed to improving, including Jewish settlements in the West Bank, access and movement of Palestinians, and the blockade on Gaza, remain unchanged or have deteriorated since the Annapolis Conference last November.
The Quartet includes representatives from the European Union, the United States, the United Nations and Russia.
"Today’s study shows that the Quartet has fundamentally failed to improve the humanitarian situation on the ground,” David Mepham of Save the Children UK, said in a written statement.
"The Quartet needs to radically revise its existing approach," added Mepham.
According to a study undertaken by the aid groups, the construction of illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank has expanded since the Annapolis conference. Moreover, the Quartet was unable to improve the "Palestinians’ ability to move freely in their own territory, to work, reach their schools or access basic services, and to import and export goods."
Regarding the Gaza Strip, the Quartet was unable to lift the blockade or secure a significant improvement in the humanitarian situation. The study revealed that 80 percent of Gaza’s population was wholly or partially dependent on aid.
On the other hand, the report showed that since the Annapolis Conference, the Quartet has had partial achievements in supporting Palestinian security sector reform, securing donor pledges, increasing fuel for Gaza and stimulating private sector activity.
"The EU shares the frustration expressed in this report, especially regarding settlement expansion and the continued Israeli restrictions on access and movement," an EU spokesman told The Media Line.
The spokesman stressed, however, that there were also positive outcomes from the political process, pointing to the fact that Israel and the P.A. had begun addressing the core issues of dispute, and that "spirit of dialogue has spread to the Syrian track" as well.