United Nations, July 2 (RHC)-- A much-awaited report by the foursome of nations and entities involved in mediating the so-called peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has called on the Tel Aviv regime to put an end to its settlement expansion activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Quartet on the Middle East – the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia – said in the report on Friday that the Israeli settlements as well as the Tel Aviv regime's demolition of Palestinian homes and expropriation of land were “steadily eroding the viability of the two-state solution.”

“Israel should cease the policy of settlement construction and expansion, designating land for exclusive Israeli use, and denying Palestinian development,” the report added.  “This raises legitimate questions about Israel's long-term intentions, which are compounded by the statements of some Israeli ministers that there should never be a Palestinian state."

The report also urged Israel to lift the blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has been in place since 2007 and has caused a decline in the standard of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.

The apartheid regime of Israel denies about 1.8 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, proper job, and adequate health care and education.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed the Middle East Quartet report, saying that it “perpetuates the myth that Israeli construction in the West Bank is an obstacle to peace.”