Middle East Quartet calls for resumption of negotiations between Israel and Palestine

During the 51st Munich Security Conference last Sunday, the Middle East Quartet urged for a resumption of negotiations between Israel and Palestine and expressed concern about the impediments that have delayed Gaza’s reconstruction; thus creating another arena through which to repeat a diplomatic discourse that has ultimately aided Israel’s colonisation of Palestine.

Formed in 2002, the group represents another international conspiracy that allegedly utilises mediation with the aim of preparing for a future Palestinian state. However, given the allegiance to Israel expressed by members of the group – including Russia, which lately advocated openly for a two-state agreement as opposed to decolonisation – the Quartet merely provides an additional source of oppression in relation to the Palestinian struggle for liberation.

Speaking at the conference, US Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini and UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson embarked upon repetitive discourse that future negotiations must “respect Palestinian aspirations for statehood and Israel’s security concerns.”

The issue of Israel’s security was expanded, according to Defence News, in an argument between the Israeli minister of intelligence Yuval Steinitz and foreign ministers of the Palestinian Authority and Qatar, Riyad Al-Maliki and Khalid Mohamed Al-Attiyah. While both Maliki and Attiyah insisted that the “Israeli-Palestinian conflict” is at the root of turmoil in the Middle East, Steinitz blamed Hezbollah and ISIS for instability in the region and alleged, in return, that these forces create difficulties for Israel’s security. However, in response, Maliki adhered to rhetoric on a two-state compromise and the importance of “ending the occupation” – rather than recognising the necessary anti-colonial struggle to liberate Palestine.

With regard to reconstruction, a statement by the Quartet is replete with the same futile terms: “The Quartet is deeply concerned over the difficult situation in Gaza where the pace of reconstruction needs to be accelerated to address the basic needs of the Palestinian population and to ensure stability.”

Last month, UNRWA Commissioner General Pierre Kräherbühl commented on the hardships inflicted upon Palestinians due to reconstruction delays. However, neither the Quartet nor any other organisation will prompt any change in the process that, upon agreement between the UN, Israel, the PA and the Palestinian unity government, has sought to increase difficulties for Palestinians in Gaza with the ultimate aim of marginalising Hamas.

Another statement by the Quartet quoted in Israel National News portrays, once again, the usual tactic of urging restraint from unilateral actions “that undermine or prejudge final status issues.”  The reference is a direct attack upon the Palestinian Authority’s belated decision to utilise international institutions in a bid to enforce further recognition, despite the fact that navigation of these channels has meant the endorsement of an imperialist interpretation of Palestinian history.

Diplomatic moves on behalf of the PA have failed to establish any autonomy from Palestinians, in particular the continued efforts to seek recognition at the UN Security Council based upon a resolution that, despite its adherence to imperialist dictates, still failed to provide Palestinians with recognition that goes beyond symbolic gestures.