LONDON — International mediators in the Middle East peace process, worried about widespread skepticism in the region about an Israeli-Palestinian agreement this year, called on Arab countries today to support the process in spite of their concerns.
Meeting in London ahead of another trip to the region that will be made by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the so-called Quartet — the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations — said the Arabs’ role in any solution of the decades-long conflict is “crucial.”
“The Quartet encouraged the Arab states to fulfill both their political and financial roles in support of the Annapolis process,” the foreign ministers said in a statement read by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
In Annapolis in November, President Bush and leaders from more than 50 other countries and international organizations started an effort to establish a Palestinian state before Mr. Bush leaves office in January.
“The Quartet called for all donors to follow through on pledges made at the December 2007 Paris Donors’ Conference,” Mr. Ban said.
The statement echoed remarks by Miss Rice on Thursday, when she chided Arab countries for not stepping up to help the Palestinians financially so they can establish a viable state and accused some states of trying to get away with as little aid as possible.
“States that have resources ought to be looking not for how little they can do, but how much they can do,” she said when asked about the limited Arab support for the Palestinians in a briefing to reporters on her way to London.
They “need to put those resources to use now in order to lay the groundwork for the establishment of [a Palestinian] state,” the secretary said, although she did not name specific countries to avoid being seen a pointing fingers.
In addition to “budget support” for the Palestinian Authority, help is needed to implement “a broad national plan” drawn up by Prime Minister Salaam Fayad and his Cabinet, which was presented in Paris, she said.
Miss Rice said that less than half of the $1.5 billion pledged for budget support at a December donors’ conference in Paris has been paid — so far, $502 million by the United States and Europe, and $215 million by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Algeria.
A senior State Department official traveling with Miss Rice said that the UAE has been “very generous,” but other oil-rich countries like Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Libya have yet to honor their promises.
A total of about $7 billion was pledged in Paris, including for projects that are not part of the government’s budget.
Acknowledging the skepticism expressed by many Arab officials that the goal of a Palestinian state by January can be achieved, the ministers said today that the Palestinians need help nevertheless.
The Quartet also expressed “deep concern over humanitarian conditions in Gaza,” which has been under an Israeli blockade since the militant group Hamas seized the strip in June.
It also “condemned continuing rocket attacks from Gaza on southern Israel” and “called on Israel to freeze all settlement activity including natural growth.”
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