DEEPLY CONCERNED AT RESURGENCE OF INTRA-PALESTINIAN VIOLENCE, SECRETARY-GENERAL

CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE CESSATION, FULL SUPPORT FOR PRESIDENT ABBAS’ EFFORTS

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General is deeply concerned at the resurgence of violence in Gaza, which has reportedly left at least 20 people dead.  The intensity of this latest round of fighting and the heightened public rhetoric marks a serious deterioration of the situation, placing the civilian population in Gaza in grave peril, jeopardizing the delivery of humanitarian assistance and threatening the future of the Palestinian Government and Authority.

The Secretary-General calls for the immediate cessation of all intra-Palestinian violence, including attacks against the Palestinian Authority and its institutions.  At this extremely difficult moment for the Palestinian people and their cause, the Secretary-General calls for all parties to give their full support to the efforts of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to restore law and order.

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For information media • not an official record