Despite Hamas's boast to the contrary, European, Israeli and US officials said Thursday that the Quartet had not watered down the international community's three benchmarks for granting the Palestinian Authority international aid and legitimacy. Quartet representatives - made up of the US, the EU, Russia and the UN - met at the UN on Wednesday and issued a statement that "welcomed the efforts of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to form a government of national unity, in the hope that the platform of such a government would reflect Quartet principles and allow for early engagement." The statement, which at points was almost identical to a statement on the Middle East put out by EU foreign ministers last week, did not explicitly refer to the benchmarks: recognizing Israel's right to exist, forswearing terrorism and accepting previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements. But in an indication that the Quartet had no intention of renewing direct aid to the PA, the statement "endorsed the continuation and expansion of the Temporary International Mechanism for a three-month period, and agreed to again review the need for such a mechanism at the end of that period." This mechanism provides humanitarian aid directly to the Palestinians, but bypasses the PA government.
The Quartet, like the EU foreign ministers last week, also encouraged Israel to resume the transfer of tax revenues to the PA - some $50 million per month. In addition, the Quartet seconded a UN request for James Wolfensohn, the Quartet's special Middle East envoy until he quit in the spring when financial aid to the Palestinians was cut off, to "report on the situation on the ground."