The "Quartet" of Mideast peacemakers appealed Wednesday for Israel and the Palestinians to take confidence-building steps to improve the atmosphere for negotiations, as top Israeli and Palestinian officials prepared to meet for the first time 18 months.

Meeting in Washington on Wednesday, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and E.U. foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton also called for the international community to help the Palestinians meet their budget needs.

In a statement, they expressed concern about the "increasing fragility" of the Palestinian Authority, which needs $1.1 billion in financial aid, and called on the two sides to work together to improve Palestinian governance and expand economic opportunities for the Palestinian people.

The Quartet urged both Israel and the Palestinians to refrain from actions that could undermine trust and peace prospects. Instead it urged them to "focus on positive efforts that can strengthen and improve the climate for a resumption of direct negotiations."

The Quartet condemned rocket attacks on Israel from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. And, the group "expressed concern about unilateral and provocative actions by either party, including continued settlement activity, which cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations, the only way to a just and durable solution to the conflict."

Peace talks broke down in 2010 and, despite low-level contacts between the two sides in Jordan in January, have not resumed.

However, officials in the region say they expect Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to meet next week in what would be the highest level talks between the sides in a year and a half.

The Palestinians say they will not resume negotiations while Israel continues to build settlements on occupied land that the Palestinians claim for a future state.

Officials do not expect any breakthroughs at next Tuesday's meeting. Palestinian officials said Fayyad will present a letter asking to resume peace talks based on several conditions Netanyahu has rejected in the past, including a full settlement freeze.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

The "Quartet" of Mideast peacemakers is appealing for Israel and the Palestinians to take confidence-building steps to improve the atmosphere for negotiations.

Meeting in Washington on Wednesday, senior officials from the United States, United Nations, Russia and the European Union also called for the international community to help the Palestinians meet their budget needs. They expressed concern about the "increasing fragility" of the Palestinian Authority, which needs $1.1 billion in financial aid.

The Quartet urged both Israel and the Palestinians to refrain from actions, including settlement construction by Israel, that could undermine trust. In addition, it condemned rocket attacks on Israel from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Peace talks broke down last year and despite low-level contacts between the two sides in Jordan in January have not resumed.