Top international diplomats on Friday called on Israel and the Palestinians to return to peace negotiations with a goal of reaching a final settlement that would create an independent Palestinian state within 24 months.
The statement further condemned "the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in east Jerusalem." Last week, during US Vice President Joe Biden's tour of the region, an Israeli building an planning committee had announced that 6,000 additional housing units would be built in Ramat Shlomo, a primarily haredi neighborhood near Ramot and adjacent to the Shuafat refugee camp.
The so-called Quartet peacemakers met in the Russian capital and issued a formal statement read by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the statement, but said the real test would be whether Israel would act according to the Quartet's demands.
Joining Ban at the Moscow meeting were US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, and the Quartet's special representative, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The statement further condemned "the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in east Jerusalem." Last week, during US Vice President Joe Biden's tour of the region, an Israeli building an planning committee had announced that 6,000 additional housing units would be built in Ramat Shlomo, a primarily haredi neighborhood near Ramot and adjacent to the Shuafat refugee camp.
The so-called Quartet peacemakers met in the Russian capital and issued a formal statement read by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the statement, but said the real test would be whether Israel would act according to the Quartet's demands.
Joining Ban at the Moscow meeting were US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, and the Quartet's special representative, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.