MIDDLE EAST: UN Chief Ban Ki-Moon meets Israel's Olmert and crosses into war-ravaged Gaza

Record ID: 561976

  • Title: MIDDLE EAST: UN Chief Ban Ki-Moon meets Israel's Olmert and crosses into war-ravaged Gaza
  • Date: 20th January 2009
  • Summary: EREZ BORDER CROSSING, ISRAEL (JANUARY 20, 2009) (REUTERS) UN CONVOY DRIVING TOWARDS BORDER CROSSING CONVOY PASSING THROUGH SECURITY GATE VEHICLE DRIVING BAN KI-MOON STOPS CLOSE OF BAN GETTING OUT OF CAR SURROUNDED BY SECURITY PERSONNEL UN OFFICIAL PUTTING ON FLAK JACKET BAN WEARING BLUE FLAK JACKET GETTING INTO VEHICLE ANOTHER UN OFFICIAL IN BLUE FLAK JACKET GETTING INTO VEHICLE CONVOY DRIVING TOWARDS GAZA SIDE OF CROSSING
  • Embargoed: 4th February 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Nature / Environment
  • Reuters ID: LVA4JPT8TQWYH2PTXD9Z1Z3415KX
  • Story Text: With a ceasefire entering its third day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday (January 20) and then travelled to Gaza to see the devastation of a 22-day Israeli offensive.
    Olmert welcomed Ban into his office in Jerusalem.

    "With this ceasefire I think we must make it a durable," Ban told Olmert, adding "This is my commitment and I count on your leadership."
    Ban later crossed from Israel into the Gaza Strip through the Erez border crossing, for what a spokesman described as a visit to express solidarity with PalestinianS suffering after a 22-day Israeli offensive.
    He will be the highest-ranking international figure to visit the territory since separately declared ceasefires by Israel and Hamas on Sunday (January 18) ended the Israeli offensive and Palestinian cross-border rocket attacks. No meetings with Hamas officials were planned.
    Ban, on a Middle East peacemaking mission, would also visit southern Israel, Israeli officials said.
    World leaders were keen to cement a truce and avoid any more bloodshed in Gaza where more than 1,300 Palestinians were killed in Israel's air and ground strikes launched on DecEMBER 27 with the declared aim of ending rocket attacks.
    Gaza's infrastructure was left in ruins and the repair bill was estimated by the Palestinian statistics bureau to be about 1.9 billion US dollars.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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