RAMALLAH, April 19 (JMCC) - The Middle East Quartet - a working group comprised of representatives of the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia - may endorse a Palestinian state if Israel doesn't act soon to reinvigorate a flagging peace process,
reported a US newspaper Tuesday.
The
LA Times report quoted unnamed diplomats as saying that international patience with Israel was wearing thin.
Israel won some breathing space with the postponement last week of a meeting of international powers in Berlin, but American and European diplomats are continuing to prod Netanyahu to lay out his vision for restarting peace talks and ending the occupation of the West Bank. If he does not, diplomats warned, the so-called Mideast quartet — the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations — may attempt to jump-start the process by formally endorsing, for the first time, the creation of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Netanyahu's government has vehemently opposed such a move.
Israeli officials responded with divergent views, with members of the opposition saying that Israel must make a move soon.
Netanyahu is said to be considering an announcement of a partial withdrawal or other gesture to Palestinians and is set to address the US Congress in May.