UNITED NATIONS, Sept 24: Despite Israel’s disengagement from Gaza, the only way forward to a comprehensive Middle East peace is for Israelis and Palestinians to take the mutually reinforcing steps outlined by the Middle East quartet, a top United Nations envoy told the Security Council on Friday.

“The objective benefits of the disengagement recently concluded are obvious and fairly easy to tick off,” the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Alvaro de Soto, said in a monthly briefing on the situation.

He reflected in particular Palestinians experiencing ‘“the joy of the departure of the occupier and Israelis freed of ‘the Sisyphus-like grind’ of occupation. Moreover, ‘Israel has demonstrated that it can make the sacrifices that are required to make peace; the Palestinians have shown restraint in the face of unilateral decisions and tight timeframes’.

“A basis has been laid for a true partnership, which should encourage every party to understand and address the other’s legitimate needs and concerns,” he summed up.

However, without the quartet’s roadmap, which calls for parallel steps from both sides, there was no way to break out of the cycle of mutual distrust.

Mr Soto said as all Palestinians had not renounced the use of violence, Israel’s need for security led it to build its barrier, creating facts on the ground.

In this situation, he said: “It is unfortunately difficult to circumvent the classic chicken and egg conundrum: Israeli leaders demand an end to violence before addressing further Palestinian concerns.