UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday slammed Israeli settlements as
illegal and called for an end to the “occupation,” AFP reported.
Speaking
at a conference on democracy in the Arab world in Beirut, Ban said that “the
Israeli occupation of Arab and Palestinian territories” and “violence against
civilians” must end.
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“Settlements, new and old, are illegal. They work
against the emergence of a viable Palestinian state,” the UN chief
stated.
Ban added: “A two-state solution is long overdue. The status quo
offers only the guarantee of future conflict.”
The UN secretary general
also addressed the wider Arab world,
calling on Syrian President Bashar Assad to
“stop killing” his people.
Ban angered Hezbollah during his visit to
Lebanon, when he
called on the Shi'ite group to give up its weapons on
Friday.
Ban said he was “deeply concerned about the military capacity of
Hezbollah and...
the lack of progress in disarmament.”
Hezbollah
leader Hassan Nasrallah shot back, “We want you [the UN], the US and Israel to
be concerned.”
“Our concern is that our people are comforted that there
is a resistance in Lebanon and we will not allow a new occupation or another
violation,” Nasrallah said in a video message to a Shi’ite religious event on
Saturday.