WASHINGTON, March 15 (Xinhuanet) -- James Wolfensohn, the Middle East envoy of the Western nations involved in the dormant peace process, said here Wednesday that he is considering quitting because his mandate remained unclear weeks after Hamas won an election.

    "If you were in a job where it was unclear what the purpose of that job was and what the backing that you had was and who had the responsibility ... you would probably wonder ... if that was the thing you wanted to do," Wolfensohn said at a U.S. congressional hearing.

    The 72-year-old Wolfensohn, the former World Bank head, was appointed one year ago special envoy by Quartet powers the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.

    The Mideast Quartet envoy had been charged with raising funds for Palestinians after Israeli pulled out from Gaza last autumn.

    Following the January parliamentary election victory by the Islamic militant group Hamas which refuses to denounce violence and recognize Israel, the Quartet has ruled out contact with a Hamas-led Palestinian government.

    However, Wolfensohn said, the Quartet has not made clear how funds can be channeled to Palestinians for such humanitarian needs as schools and hospitals.

    "The Quartet itself must continue but the role of a disenfranchised leader of that Quartet does not seem to me to be a particularly attractive thing to spend your life doing," Wolfensohn said. "And so I am considering (leaving) -- but not yet decided."

    Wolfensohn said Saturday that without a clear mandate on a policy toward Hamas, he would leave his job at the end of April, one of his staff members said. Enditem