The Quartet on the Middle East or Middle East Quartet, sometimes called the Diplomatic Quartet or Madrid Quartet or simply the Quartet, is a foursome of nations and international and supranational entities involved in mediating the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. The Quartet consists of the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia. The group was established in Madrid in 2002, recalling the Madrid Conference of 1991, as a result of the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
History
The initiative to establish the Quartet emerged in response to the Second Intifada, which began in September 2000. This period saw numerous unsuccessful attempts at implementing a cease-fire. On October 25, 2001, representatives from the European Union, the United Nations, the United States, and the Russian government met with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. During this meeting, they collectively endorsed Arafat's approach towards implementing cease-fire and security reforms within the Palestinian Authority.[1]
In April 2002, during the Israeli incursions into Palestinian areas, the same four entities convened in Madrid. They reiterated their call for the implementation of previously brokered cease-fire agreements by the U.S. government. Additionally, they agreed to transform their cooperation into a permanent forum dedicated to overseeing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.[2]
In 2002, the Quartet established the Office of the Quartet in East Jerusalem. This office was tasked with taking "tangible steps on the ground to advance the Palestinian economy and preserve the possibility of a two-state solution".[3]Kito de Boer led the Office from January 2015 to June 2017, succeeding Tony Blair.[4][5] The head of the Office is responsible for promoting the Quartet's strategies on Palestinian economic and institutional empowerment, focusing on areas such as the rule of law and economic development, as well as movement and access.[6] As of August 2020, John N. Clarke is the head of the Office.[7]
On March 23, 2021, the Quartet discussed reviving "meaningful negotiations" between Israel and the Palestinians. The focus was on both parties refraining from unilateral actions that would hinder the realization of a two-state solution.[8][9]
Special Envoys
James Wolfensohn, the former president of the World Bank, was appointed Special Envoy for Israel's disengagement from Gaza in April 2005.[10] He stepped down the following year because of restrictions in dealing with the Islamic militant group Hamas and the withholding of money from the Palestinian Authority, risking its collapse.[11]
Tony Blair announced that he had accepted the position of the official envoy of the Quartet, the same day he resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as a Member of Parliament on June 27, 2007.[12] The approval came after initial objections by Russia.[13] The United Nations were overseeing the finances and security of his mission, before his resignation on May 27, 2015.[14][5]
The special envoy from November 2015 to January 2017 was the Dutch national Kito de Boer.[4]
John N. Clarke was appointed as special envoy on January 17, 2018. He previously held the position as deputy head of mission.[15]
Peace efforts and actions
Tony Blair periodically travelled to the Middle East following his appointment as Special Envoy. On a trip there in March 2008, he met with Israeli leaders to discuss recent violence. A planned meeting between Israeli and Palestinian businessmen was postponed due to recent fighting.[16] In May 2008, Blair announced a new plan for peace and for Palestinian rights, based heavily on the ideas of the Peace Valley plan.[17]
In an August 2009 interview, Blair said that he would like to see Hamas and Hezbollah included in peace talks but under the right conditions, that religious leaders should be more involved in the peace process, and that resolving the conflict could be easier than it was in Northern Ireland.[18]
In a speech given in Israel on August 24, 2010, Blair sharply criticised the campaign of "delegitimization" being carried out by enemies of Israel and proponents of the Palestinians, which refuses to grant Israel its legitimate right to its own point of view and self-defense. "Don't apply rules to the Government of Israel that you would never dream of applying to your own country," he said. He characterized such double standards and prejudice as being an "affront to humanity" which "it is a democratic duty to counter."[19]
In July 2016, the Quartet reported:
The continuing policy of settlement construction and expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, designation of land for exclusive Israeli use, and denial of Palestinian development, including the recent high rate of demolitions, is steadily eroding the viability of the two-state solution. This raises legitimate questions about Israel’s long-term intentions, which are compounded by the statements of some Israeli ministers that there should never be a Palestinian state. In fact, the transfer of greater powers and responsibilities to Palestinian civil authority...has effectively been stopped.
It was within this context that the United Nations passed Security Council Resolution 2334 in December 2016 in another bid to address the settlement question.[20][21] The report was significantly altered to appease Israel and as well as urging Israel to stop its settlement policy, urged Palestine to end incitement to violence.[22][23]
In a speech to the UN General Assembly in September 2018, Mahmoud Abbas called Donald Trump's policies towards Palestinians an "assault on international law". He said the US is "too biased towards Israel" indicating that others could broker talks and that the US could participate as a member of the Middle East peace Quartet.[24] Abbas reiterated this position at a UN Security Council meeting on February 11, 2020.[25][26]
As of September 16, 2020, the UN has not been able to gather the consensus necessary for the Quartet or a group of countries linked to the Quartet to meet.[27][28] On September 25, 2020, at the UN, Abbas called for an international conference early in 2021 to "launch a genuine peace process."[29]
On February 15, 2021, the Quartet Envoys met virtually and agreed to meet on a regular basis to continue their engagement.[30] On March 23, 2021, the Quartet discussed the reviving of "meaningful negotiations" between Israel and the Palestinians who both need "to refrain from unilateral actions that make a two-state solution more difficult to achieve."[8][9]
Despite the significance officially attached to the Quartet's part in promoting the peace process, many of its statements are merely repetition of previous statements and no significant changes in policy by either the Israeli government or the Palestinian Authority have occurred resulting from a Quartet meeting.[31]
The Quartet has been fiercely criticized for its ineffectiveness. When Tony Blair held the function of Quartet representative, in December 2012, Palestinian officials said that "Tony Blair shouldn't take it personally, but he should pack up his desk at the Office of the Quartet Representative in Jerusalem and go home. They said his job, and the body he represents, are ′useless, useless, useless'".[32]
The Center for Middle East Policy said in February 2012 that "The Quartet has little to show for its decade-long involvement in the peace process. ... Having spent most of the last three years in a state of near paralysis, and having failed to dissuade the Palestinians from seeking UN membership and recognition in September 2011, the Quartet has finally reached the limits of its utility. ... The current mechanism is too outdated, dysfunctional, and discredited to be reformed. Instead of undertaking another vain attempt to 'reactivate' the Quartet, the United States, the European Union, United Nations, and Russia should simply allow the existing mechanism to go quietly into the night".[32]
Main sessions
The Quartet's meetings[33][a] have been held on the following dates:
b Convened to find a formula for restarting bilateral negotiations; ended without any results.
c Condemned settlement expansion in Ariel and East Jerusalem.[40]
d Issued a new schedule for resumption of negotiations between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority, which called for completing negotiations by end of 2012.[41]
e Called upon the parties to resume negotiations.[42]
f Meeting with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Jerusalem.
g A report offered recommendations on the way forward, urging Israel to stop its settlement policy and Palestine to end incitement to violence.[43]
