The four powers behind the Mideast roadmap slammed Israel and the Palestinians for not implementing the regional peace plan, as Israel shut down the Palestinian territories for the Jewish New Year following a flare-up in violence.
At a high-level meeting in New York, the Mideast quartet — comprising diplomats from the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia — blasted Israeli settlement activity and continuing Palestinian attacks, condemning both sides for not taking the necessary steps to make progress. A joint statement issued after the meeting condemned the “vicious (Palestinian) terror attacks” in the past two months and called on the Palestinian leadership to take “immediate, decisive steps” to clamp down on those planning bloodshed. Full Story