Activities of Secretary-General in State of Palestine, 21 October

On Wednesday, 21 October, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon travelled by car from Jerusalem to Ramallah, where he met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Speaking to the press after the meeting with President Abbas, the Secretary‑General said that he was deeply concerned by repeated provocations at the holy sites in Jerusalem, which had fuelled the current outbreak of violence.  Addressing the existing tensions is critical to reversing the trend towards escalation.

He noted that the response by Israel has also added to the already difficult challenge of restoring calm.  The Secretary‑General noted that he had emphasized to Prime Minister Netanyahu the urgency of addressing this issue.

Earlier in the day, he had a separate meeting in Ramallah with the Prime Minister, Rami Hamdallah.

The Secretary-General, accompanied by the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Pierre Krähenbühl, met with the parents of Abd el Rahman Oubeidalla, a 13-year-old UNRWA ninth-grade student killed by Israeli forces in the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem on 5 October as he was leaving school.

Before departure, the Secretary-General dropped by a United Nations Day reception held at the United Nations common premises.

Mr. Ban flew by helicopter from Ramallah to Amman, Jordan.