United Nations chief urges Netanyahu to make tough choices in farewell visit

Netanyahu thanked the United Nations chief for meeting with the families, and urged him to do what he could to bring about their release.

Israeli police on Tuesday banned non-Muslims from a contentious Jerusalem holy site until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan following two days of clashes with Palestinian rioters at the site.

“Our progressive democracy has faced more country specific resolutions more country specific condemnation at the UN Human Rights Council than all the other countries combined”, Netanyahu said. He will meet the families of the two IDF soldiers whose bodies are being held by Hamas, as well as the family of Mengistu.

Ban attacked Hamas for its “genocidal” intentions, and expressed his hope that the United Nations will take into consideration “Hamas’s crimes”.

Speaking at a press conference at an UNRWA-run school, Ban warned that the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip fuels hostilities between the Palestinians and Israel.

He said Monday that “leaders on both sides need to urgently take concrete steps to restore hope and a political horizon so that the Israeli and Palestinian people see a pathway to peace, not a quagmire of recurring violence”.

Amid the ongoing wave of violence and the standstill in the talks, several global initiatives are in place, calling for the resumption of peace talks.

Feridun Sinirlioglu, the undersecretary to the Turkish foreign ministry, and Israeli representative Joseph Ciechanover met in Rome to discuss the deal, according to the Turkish news source Hurriyet.

While the Palestinians support the bid, Israel rejects it, claiming an worldwide forum would enable Palestinians to avert direct negotiations and set up preconditions.