Ban to Netanyahu: It''s vital to break the current diplomatic stalemate

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 9 (KUNA) -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the ongoing efforts to move the Middle East peace process forward, the UN press office said in a statement.
Ban emphasized to Netanyahu, during a meeting late Monday, that it was "vital to break the current diplomatic stalemate, resume negotiations and produce results," the statement added. Israeli-Palestinian direct talks have been stalled for the last few months due to Israel's decision to resume settlement activities in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Ban expressed concern to Netanyahu at the resumption of the settlement activity and recent announcements of further settlement construction in East Jerusalem, the statement noted. Both officials also discussed the latest report on Security Council resolution 1701 concerning Lebanon, including current proposals to make Israel withdraw from the northern part of the Lebanese village of Ghajar. Ban expressed hope for further measures by the Israeli Government to ease the movement of people and goods to and from Gaza which is under siege for the last few years. The statement said both officials also reviewed the regional situation, including the Iranian nuclear file.
Netanyahu is in the US where he addressed earlier Monday in New Orleans the General Assembly of The Jewish Federations of North America.
"The greatest danger facing the world is the prospect of a nuclear Iran," he was quoted as telling the Assembly. "It (Iran) sponsors terror in Lebanon and Gaza, confronts the US in Iraq and Afghanistan, establishes beachheads in Saudi Arabia. Its influence has spread even to this hemisphere in South America. It has done all this without nuclear weapons. Imagine what it will do with them." (end) sj.rk KUNA 090905 Nov 10NNNN