Israel and Palestinians: Powers warn of ‘perpetual conflict’

“Israel should implement positive and significant policy shifts, including transferring powers and responsibilities in Area C”, the Quartet report said.

But Mladenov added: “Let me be unequivocally clear that a permanent status agreement ending the conflict can only be achieved through direct, bilateral negotiations, the outcome of which cannot be prejudged by unilateral steps that would not be recognised by the worldwide community”.

“Severe poverty, a crippling unemployment rate, and the chronic underdevelopment of Gaza further feed instability and frustration that could create the conditions for renewed conflict”, it said. “Israel rejects any attempt to draw moral equivalence between construction and terrorism”, the statement by Mr. Netanyahu’s office said. The underlying message from Paris was clear: “We must act decisively now or continue to deal with the damaging repercussions for years to come”. To that end, the Quartet emphasized the importance of both parties complying with their basic commitments under existing agreements in order to promote this two-state reality and lay the groundwork for successful negotiations.

He called on the Security Council to welcome and support the Quartet’s efforts. He also noted a Palestinian teenager shot to death by Israeli security forces on June 21, which Israel said was “a mistake”.

Since the Oslo peace process began in 1993, the population of Israeli settlements has more than doubled, with more than 570,000 settlers, including at least 85,000 who live deep inside the West Bank.

Being an important part of the Quarter, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon underscored in a statement today, the reportآ’s finding that there is a strong need for affirmative steps to reverse negative trends on the ground.

“Israel should cease the policy of settlement construction and expansion, designating land for exclusive Israeli use, and denying Palestinian development”, it said among its 10 recommendations.

He said the Quartet would like to see Israel allow for more Palestinian infrastructure projects in Area C – which is under full Israeli control and in which Israel rarely grants Palestinians permission to build.

“All that is lacking is the political will to make that happen”, he stressed in his message, which was delivered by Michael Moeller, Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG).

The report also points to the continuing splits in Palestinian governance of the West Bank and Gaza as an obstacle to peace, saying the territories “should be reunified under a single, legitimate and democratic Palestinian authority”.

Since the collapse of the Kerry-led talks, a war between Gaza militants and Israel later in 2014 killed more than 2,200 Palestinians and 73 Israelis, and there is no end in sight to the current round of violence that erupted last fall.

The report’s release comes at a time of deep worldwide pessimism over the prospects for peace in the Middle East. Several years of shuttle diplomacy by the Obama administration have failed to resolve the decades-long conflict.