U.N. Secretary-General tries to get Israeli-Palestine talks going
CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pam Falk traveled with U.N. Secretary General Bank Ki-moon this week in the Mideast.
During his Middle East trip, Ban Ki-moon focused on Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The U.N. Secretary-General was met with protesters in Gaza, who attacked his convoy with sticks and shoes, but was applauded by schoolgirls at a U.N.-run school in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Palestinians hurl shoes at visiting U.N. chief
In Israel and the Palestinian territories, the Secretary-General met separately with Israeli President Shimon Peres as well as with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. Perez said that Israel's talks with the Palestinians in Jordan were not at an end despite differences between the two sides.
While in Amman, Ban focused on the Jordan initiative of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which are proposed along the timeline suggested by the European Union, Russia, the U.N., and the U.S.
However, Netanyahu condemned a new Palestinian deal to form a unity government as a step away from the peace process.Violence in Syria and threats from Iran weighed heavily on the Secretary General's trip, and he spoke about the instability caused by both on the Middle East peace process.
Ban's message, that the stalemate in reaching a two-state solution has gone on too long, during his Middle East trip was clear. Whether or not he will succeed in his mission is unclear, but his message to Israeli and Palestinian negotiators was direct: Get back to the talks.