NEW YORK, 12 January 2009: On the eve of his departure for wide-ranging, high-level talks in the Middle East to personally help broker a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday called on Israel and Hamas to immediately stop fighting.
– My goal is to step up the pace of our joint diplomatic efforts and ensure that urgent humanitarian assistance reaches those in need, he told a news conference in New York. – It is one thing to speak to world leaders, as I have done daily in seeking to resolve this crisis. And it is another thing to be present oneself.
He said his message was simple, direct and to the point. “The fighting must stop,” he stressed as the Israeli offensive moved towards its 18th day with the stated aim to end Hamas rocket attacks into Israel.
– To both sides, I say: Just stop, now. Too many people have died. There has been too much civilian suffering. Too many people, Israelis and Palestinians, live in daily fear of their lives. And in Gaza, the very foundation of society is being destroyed: people’s homes, civic infrastructure, public health facilities and schools.
Ban, who left Tuesday and will meet with all the main players apart from Hamas, laid out the major elements needed to ensure full implementation of last week’s Security Council resolution calling for an immediate and durable ceasefire.
These include an immediate end to military operations in Gaza, an end to Israel’s offensive and a halt to the rocket attacks by Hamas; help from the international community to stop the smuggling of weapons into Gaza; and a full re-opening of border crossings into Gaza, he said of the message he would repeat at each of his stops.
Israel has insisted on an end to rocket attacks and the smuggling of weapons into Gaza through tunnels dug by Hamas, while Hamas has demanded an end to the border closures imposed by Israel in response to the rockets – closures that have starved Gaza of basic supplies, creating what the UN has called a severe humanitarian crisis for its 1.5 million residents.
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