Epstein Secrets

g pragmatically and constructively. They are opening the door to negotiations that could begin as soon as December. This development is leading the Quartet (the U.S., EU, Russia, and the UN) to think beyond their plans from last year, when they could not manage to bring the parties together, according

ettlement by year's end. Thus UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry expressed the Secretary General's hope that the Quartet partners, in consultation with the parties, would chart a "new, credible political way ahead" in the coming months. It remains to be seen how Isra

anyahu sit down and have serious talks, they will find their positions much closer than is widely believed." In Abbas's September 27th speech before the UN General Assembly, after reciting the usual litany of Israeli violations, he announced his intent to be conciliatory: "We do not seek to delegitimize an existing sta

September 2011) 559 President Abbas’s Speech to UN General Assembly on Palestine’s Membership (23 September 2011) 562

eement. 27 April 1949 Opening of the Lausanne Conference convened by the United Nations’ Conciliation Commission for Palestine (UNCCP). 11 May 1949 The UN General Assembly admits Israel as UN member state through Resolution A/RES/273 (IID. 20 July 1949 Syria-Israel General Armistice Agreement. 12 December 1949 UN Gene

legitimacy in a potent new international coalition. The UN Secretary-General coined the phrase the “Middle East Quartet” for this informal group. The Quartet met both at principals level and at the level of special envoys. A novel approach to the imbroglio of Middle East peacemaking was launched: multilat

ens and minority groups. Recall, in this context, U.N. General Assembly resolution 181 of 1947 that called for the establ

za Strip will depend on effective control there by a legitimate Palestinian government that exercises authority in the West Bank, is committed to the Quartet principles and the Arab Peace Initiative and respects the commitments of the Palestine Liberation Organization. • Call for both states to engage in g