Progress on the ground

The United Nations international meeting on the question of Palestine opened in Malta, from ReliefWeb:

To overcome the formidable obstacles to peace that persisted in the Middle East despite the current diplomatic momentum, progress by the parties on the ground and continued international engagement was crucial, speakers agreed as the United Nations International Meeting on the Question of Palestine opened this morning.

‘Both sides must seize the current window of opportunity to push the peace process forward, especially by acting on their obligations under the Road Map,’ United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said in a message delivered by Max Gaylard, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, to the meeting which was convened by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People and runs through tomorrow afternoon under the theme ‘Advancing the peace process -- Challenges facing the parties’.

Equally important was the role the international community must play, according to Tayseer Quba’a, Deputy Speaker of the Palestine National Council, who represented President Mahmoud Abbas and spoke of the promise of the recent Paris Donor’s Conference and the Annapolis Peace Conference of last November, which he said subsequently sparked the first direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians in ‘seven bitter years’.

‘Those who attended Annapolis and Paris -- groups representative of the entire international community -- did not attend the meetings as a photo opportunity, but rather because they are, as the Security Council and the General Assembly are, close partners in the peace process and true helpers in the effort to bring this process to a successful conclusion and they must play their rightful roles’, he said.

Opening the meeting this morning, Paul Badji of Senegal, Chairman of the Committee, thanked the Government of Malta for hosting the session. He noted that during its stay in Malta, the Committee’s delegation to the Meeting had met with the President and Foreign Minister of the country and discussed how both were contributing to efforts aimed at resolving the Middle East conflict. Through this international meeting, the Committee wanted to rouse the entire international community to help bring about the conditions conducive to final status negotiations...