The four-member diplomatic group on the Middle East peace process gave support Tuesday to the conference held in Berlin, which aimed to assist the Palestinian Authority achieve statehood, according to dpa. The Berlin Conference in Support of Palestinian Civil Security and the Rule of Law was focusing on building a Palestinian police and justice sector, which is a part of efforts toward Palestinian state-building. The diplomatic group, known as the quartet, issued a statement supporting the German efforts. The group is composed of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon conferred by telephone with his counterparts in the quartet to agree on the statement made public at UN headquarters. The statement called for the "speedy implementation of projects agreed and robust donor support in order to build the capacity of the Palestinian police and justice sector." "The quartet urged Israeli-Palestinian cooperation in that respect, and emphasized the importance of unobstructive delivery of security assistance to the Palestinian Authority," the statement said. It said donors should fulfilled the financial pledges to the Palestinian Authority, which is in "dire budget situation." The quartet has called for an agreement by the end of 2008 to create an independent and viable Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, and an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
