Middle East Quartet to meet in late January: UN

The Middle East Quartet comprising the United Nations, the United States, the European union   and Russia, will meet later this month to discuss the next steps to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, the UN said on Thursday.

"A meeting at the Envoys' level is scheduled for Jan. 26 in Brussels" to discuss ways of reviving the peace process, according to the UN spokesperson's office.

The move comes as the decades-long conflict has escalated recently. On Dec. 30, the UN Security Council failed to adopt a draft resolution calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories by the end of 2017.

After that, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed documents to join the International Criminal Court, which could lead to possible war crime complaints against Israel.

Briefing the UN Security Council on the situation in the Middle East here on Thursday, Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen, assistant secretary-general ad interim for UN political affairs, warned that "ever-widening trust deficit" risks hampering future peace talks on the issue.

"The Secretary-General is alarmed that the parties are now engaged in a downward spiral of actions and counter-actions and calls on both sides to refrain from any actions that would exacerbate existing divisions," he said.

"The increasingly antagonistic and virulent nature of the discourse between the two sides should be the cause for serious concern among those seeking to foster an environment conducive to a return to constructive dialogue," he added, calling on the international community to "uphold its responsibility" in shepherding a way forward on a two-state solution.

Toyberg-Frandzen urged the Palestinians and Israelis to "plot a course" that ultimately leads to a negotiated settlement of the conflict on the basis of a two-state solution in which Israel and Palestine live side by side in peace and security.

"The alternative is fraught with unknown hazards that may be irreversible," he said.

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