Middle East envoy James Wolfensohn has decided to step down because of divisions within the Quartet of international mediators over his role now that Hamas controls the Palestinian Authority, officials said. "His term is expiring at the end of the month and he has no intention of remaining" in the job, an official in his office said, adding that no formal announcement was planned. Wolfensohn's departure expands a diplomatic vacuum after the United States, the European Union and Israel severed contacts with the Palestinian Authority. "What would a Quartet envoy do?" said a Western diplomat close to Wolfensohn. "You can't do economic development in a vacuum."