The Middle East quartet of diplomatic powers endorsed the creation of a temporary mechanism to deliver badly needed assistance to the Palestinian people suffering under a cutoff of Western aid to their militant government.
The proposal, unveiled after a day of talks among top diplomats of the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia, was aimed at averting a collapse of services in the Palestinian territories.
It also reflected a careful effort to navigate between a US drive to put a squeeze on the radical movement Hamas, which came to power six weeks ago, and a desire to take care of the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people.
EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said details of the proposal would hopefully be fleshed out in the coming weeks, but signs of difference already emerged between the Europeans and Americans.
A statement issued said the European Union would begin discussions on developing a ‘temporary international mechanism’ to channel aid for the more than three million people in the Palestinian territories.
It said the quartet would back a body ‘that is limited in scope and duration, operates with full transparency and accountability, and ensures direct delivery of any assistance to the Palestinian people.’
It called on donors and international organizations to consider taking part and pressed Israel to take steps to improve the humanitarian situation of the Palestinians.
But the quartet also reiterated that the Hamas-led government must fulfill its responsibilities regarding ‘basic human needs, including health services, as well as proper fiscal management and provision of services.’
‘The international community is still trying to respond to the needs of the Palestinian people,’ US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a joint news conference.
‘But ultimately the resolution to this is a Palestinian government that accepts its responsibility for governing,’ she said.
The United States and EU have frozen aid to Hamas, which they consider a ‘terrorist’ organization, until it renounces its armed struggle against Israel and recognizes the Jewish state's right to exist.
But with 160,000 Palestinian government workers clamoring for their salaries and fears mounting of growing chaos and potential violence in the territories, pressure grew for a new outlet for assistance.
The quartet expressed ‘serious concern about deteriorating conditions, particularly in Gaza’ and called on the international community to respond urgently to assistance requests.
‘Everybody understands that something must be done,’ Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters during an earlier break in the meeting.
A senior European official said the hope was that the temporary mechanism could be used, among other things, to pay the salaries of the Palestinian civil servants.
The official, who asked not to be named, said the body could also be used to disburse 60 million dollars a month in customs duties and taxes collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinians but withheld since Hamas came to power.
A senior US official said neither case was necessarily true, noting that funneling money to pay Palestinian doctors and teachers would be one thing and dispatching it to pay Hamas police would be another.
‘This is a discussion. We're still in it. We haven't decided all those things,’ said the official, who briefed reporters on condition that he not be named.
Meanwhile, Rice announced Tuesday the United States would provide 10 million dollars worth of medicine and medical equipment to the Palestinians.
US officials said four million dollars worth of goods could be delivered as early as Wednesday and six million dollars worth will be dispatched later via the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).