Hamas Applaud UN Human Rights Envoy's call for UN to Pull out of Quartet

16 October 2007

Bethlehem – Ma'an – Hamas on Tuesday applauded the declarations of the UN human rights envoy to the Palestinian territories, John Dugard, that he will push for the UN to pull out from the Middle East Quartet unless it addresses human rights violations against Palestinians.

Dugard said that the Quartet was failing to challenge Israeli restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the territories under Palestinian control. He also criticized the Quartet's cooperation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and ignoring the political schism between Hamas and Fatah rivals.

In an interview with the BBC on Monday, Dugard said the UN "does itself little good by remaining a member of the Quartet".

He also described the Quartet as "weak" because it was "heavily influenced" by the US.

Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement, "We are proud of these declarations which we consider to be a new testimony to the UN's and the Quartet's bias towards Israel and against the Palestinian people."

Abu Zuhri called on Arab countries and Palestinian officials to take such a brave stance as Dugard. He also pointed out that Dugard's declarations did not adequately describe western bias towards Israel, adding that the US exerts pressure on the rest of the international community to secure support for the Israeli position and to turn a blind eye to their criminal acts.