LOC22:18
19:18 GMT
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 21 (KUNA) -- UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday
said the international community must find a way for Jerusalem to be the
capital of two states - Palestine and Israel.
He also indirectly referred to Hamas' rejection of the Jewish State and
Israel's insistence that the holy city will remain its undivided capital as
"irresponsible" rhetoric.
"We must find a way for Jerusalem to emerge as a capital of two states,
with arrangements for the holy sites acceptable to all. There is no place for
irresponsible rhetoric that call into question these fundamentals, seeks to
de-legitimize the others' heritage or incites hatred and violence," Ban told
the Palestinian Rights Committee as it met for the first time this year to
re-elect its bureau.
He said he was "very concerned as we enter a new year" at the lack of
progress towards peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and expressed
"regret that Israel has not frozen settlement activities," in response to the
international community's call.
"I reiterate my call on Israel to freeze all settlement activities," he
insisted.
"We need to move beyond the current stalemate and return the parties to
meaningful negotiations aimed at resolving all permanent status issues and
achieving a historic agreement," he said.
He said "we cannot afford to lose any further time" as the target dates for
reaching an Israeli-Palestinian framework agreement on permanent status and
for completion of the Palestinian Authority's two-year state-building program
will be here in eight months.
He also said he looks forward to "fruitful" discussions with Quartet
principles - UN, US, EU and Russia - when they meet in Munich, Germany on
February 5.
He commended the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah for improved
governance, transparency, economic opportunity and security, and said it
"deserves recognition as a dependable partner," noting the World Bank's
assessment that the PA is "well positioned for the establishment of a State at
any point in the near future".
He expressed hope that "this year will see a decisive upsurge of efforts to
bring an end to the conflict and to the 43-year-old occupation - through the
creation of a State of Palestine living side by side with Israel in peace and
security".
Palestinian envoy Riyadh Mansour reacted in the meeting saying "we are
encouraged by the strong spirit" reflected in Ban's speech.
He said he expected the Quartet partners, with the "very active role of the
UN," to adopt the "appropriate" decisions when they meet early next month in
Munich and "demonstrate decisive, firm and clear leadership in the months
ahead as we move forward to complete a peace treaty with our neighbors in
Israel before September 2011," so that occupation ends and an independent
State of Palestine be declared and become a full member in the UN system. (end)
sj.hb
KUNA 212218 Jan 11NNNN