The Secretary-General is extremely concerned about the violence in Gaza and Israel and about the rising civilian toll. A new cycle of bloodshed will make neither Israelis nor Palestinians more secure. Nor will it open the door to negotiations that could achieve the two-State solution necessary to end such violence permanently.

Before arriving in Cairo to support Egyptian efforts towards a ceasefire in Gaza, the Secretary-General visited Yemen to mark the Peace and Transition Agreement’s upcoming first anniversary, and hold meetings with the President, Prime Minister, cabinet, military committee, and Preparatory Committee for the National Dialogue.

The Secretary-General is meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu here in Jerusalem. He met the Israeli Foreign and Defence Ministers right after he arrived in Jerusalem from Cairo, and you will have also seen that we met Egyptian Prime Minister [Hisham] Qandil and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States in Cairo earlier today. The Secretary-General will be going to Ramallah tomorrow to meet President [Mahmoud] Abbas.

Having fared relatively well in the current difficult economic climate, cooperatives were positioned to provide the most sustainable, fastest-growing business model in the coming decade, panellists said today at a Headquarters press conference marking the close of the International Year of Cooperatives.

As the Secretary-General today continued his shuttle diplomacy among the capitals in the Middle East, this morning he condemned in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attack on a bus in the centre of Tel Aviv. There are no circumstances that justify the targeting of civilians, he said, while expressing his sadness and sympathy for those injured in the blast.

Today in Vienna, the Secretary-General will attend the inauguration ceremony for the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, where he will welcome its commitment to promoting a global respect for all world religions.

Robert Serry, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, just back from the region, briefed Security Council members today on his visits to Gaza and Rishon Letzion, and informed them that Egypt and the parties had, after last week’s devastating violence and the ceasefire, commenced with intensive talks.

Voting to grant non-Member Observer State status to Palestine would be an implicit recognition that the State of Palestine existed, and would open the way for negotiations, and give delegations the chance to join “the side of history and humanity”, the Permanent Observer of Palestine, Riyad Mansour, told reporters at a Headquarters press conference today.

Soccer, the most popular game in the world, was an extraordinary instrument for peace, development, mutual understanding and tolerance, Cesare Maria Ragaglini, Permanent Representative of Italy, told journalists at a Headquarters press conference today.

Under Secretary-General Hervé Ladsous and Chef de Cabinet Susana Malcorra briefed the Security Council today on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country’s peacekeeping mission had reported some signs that the M23 was preparing to withdraw from Goma, but there was no major movement as of yet.