UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrives in Cairo for talks |
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Cairo: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Cairo on Wednesday at the start of a regional tour aimed at ending Israel's devastating war on Hamas in Gaza.
Ban will meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who, along with his senior intelligence officials, has been at the forefront of efforts to mediate a truce between the two sides.
Ban's trip comes amid fears of an escalation of the conflict, now in its 19th day and with almost 1,000 Palestinians killed, after a second rocket attack in less than a week from Lebanon hit northern Israel on Wednesday.
The UN Security Council on Tuesday gave Ban strong support for implementation of Security Council Resolution 1860 which called last week for an immediate ceasefire but was ignored both by Israel and Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip.
UN spokeswoman Michele Montas said that Ban's goal during his tour was "to step up the pace of joint diplomatic efforts regarding Gaza and southern Israel."
Ban will seek clarifications from Egyptian officials on Wednesday about progress on an initiative proposed by Cairo to end the Israeli offensive in Gaza, a UN official said.
"Ban wants a ceasefire as fast as possible," said the official who is travelling with the UN chief. The official said the United Nations was receiving conflicting reports about the progress of the initiative.
Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouq said on Tuesday the movement had "significant observations" on the Egyptian proposals. A Hamas delegation is in Cairo to relay the group's position to Egyptian mediators.
The Egyptian proposal calls for a temporary ceasefire, followed by a long-term truce and the opening of Gaza's border crossings with the presence of officials from the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas, whose forces Hamas drove out of Gaza in 2007.
The third phase of the initiative deals with efforts to reconcile Hamas and Abbas's Fatah group.
Ban's tour of the Middle East will also take him to Jordan, Israel and Syria but he has indicated he would not have direct contacts with Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. |
| Reported by Agencies |
| 14th January 2009 04:55:08 PM |
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