West Asia quartet meets, US pushes its peace effort

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) The quartet of West Asia peace brokers began a meeting today that the United States hopes will endorse its push to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks despite violence raging between Palestinian factions.

The US State Department said it expected the talks among the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union to reaffirm efforts to isolate the Hamas-led Palestinian government through a year-old international aid embargo.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to outline US plans to other quartet members for a proposed meeting later this month among herself, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Speaking before the quartet talks, Rice told reporters they would cover ''how to make progress toward the establishment of a Palestinian state.'' The US peace push takes place amid fresh clashes between forces loyal to Hamas and to Abbas. At least 14 people died on Friday in fighting in Gaza, where Hamas overran compounds used by Abbas's forces and two major universities were set ablaze.

At least 20 Palestinians have been killed and more than 200 wounded in the last 24 hours of internal fighting, making some analysts deeply skeptical of broader US-led peace efforts.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said it was up to the Palestinians to settle their differences and that it was still worth trying to promote peace with Israel despite the internecine violence.

The militant group Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel or renounce violence, swept to power in Palestinian elections in January 2006. Efforts by the U.S.-backed Abbas to form a unity government with Hamas that might be more interested in negotiating peace with Israel have so far failed.

''If you wait for all of those political-to-political divisions to be completely bridged or healed you don't know how long that is going to take,'' McCormack told reporters. ''In the meantime, everybody can agree on the fact that there should be a Palestinian state and you can work on ... aspects of that.'' HAMAS LETTER Palestinian Foreign Minister and Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar urged the quartet in a letter to engage in talks with the Palestinian government to try to end internal fighting.

''We call upon you to engage in a constructive and important dialogue with us to help end the state of tension in the region and to push all parties to reach the status of stability that will lead to the recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people,'' al-Zahar's aide quoted the letter as saying.

The quartet supports the U.S.-backed ''road map,'' which was drawn up in 2003 and provided step-by-step benchmarks toward the goal of a final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by 2005, a date that has long since passed.

McCormack said the U.S. goal was to work within the context of the road map but he said harder issues that were further down the line could be tackled along with more immediate concerns such as Israeli checkpoints.

The United States is working to embolden Abbas in the face of opposition from Hamas and wants the quartet's help on this, particularly in building up the Palestinian president's security forces which Washington is helping train and equip.

While quartet members are united in pushing for a revived peace process, there is disagreement over whether a Western aid blockade to the Hamas-led government should continue. Russia called this week for the aid freeze to be lifted and the United Nations and European Union are also questioning it.

However, McCormack said expected the quartet to ''reaffirm the principles'' of its Jan. 30, 2006 decision to make aid to the Hamas-led government contingent on its renouncing violence, recognizing Israel and respecting past peace agreement.

REUTERS PDM KP2250