UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon Arrives in Gaza, Promises Reconstruction, Demands Investigation of Israeli War Crimes

GAZA: BAN KI-MOON CONDEMNS "EXCESSIVE FORCE" USED BY ISRAEL

(AGI) -Cairo, 14 Jan. -

Ban Ki-moon "condemned the excessive military operation by the Israelis", specifying however that "at the same time" Hamas also has to "cease firing rockets" into the Jewish state. In a joint press conference in Cairo with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Abul Gheit, the secretary general of the United Nations renewed his appeal for "an immediate and lasting ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip and asked "all those with an influence on the sides in this conflict" to "use all means possible to put an end to the violence and find a lasting solution".

The head of the UN is engaged in a regional tour that after Egypt will see him visit Israel, Jordan, and Syria, but not the Gaza Strip, which has been bombarded for the past 19 days by Israelis. In Hamas controlled territory the situation is too dangerous for Ban to go there. "I am saddened by all these civilian deaths... this is the reason I wanted to visit Gaza this time, to share their suffering", he commented. Before the meeting with Gheit, the secretary of the UN met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, with whom - he said - he shared "frustration and pain due to the ongoing violence in Gaza". According to his spokesperson, Ahmed Fawzi, Mubarak said to Ban that he hopes that they can arrive at a ceasefire "at most within a week".

U.N. chief Ban sees "heartbreaking" Gaza damage

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Louis Charbonneau – Tue Jan 20, 2009, 4:00 pm ET

GAZA (Reuters) –

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, voicing shock and anger at the "heartbreaking" devastation, visited the Gaza Strip on Tuesday to pledge aid for Palestinians after Israeli attacks killed 1,300 and made thousands homeless.

Israel had withdrawn most of its force before U.S. President Barack Obama was inaugurated -- Israeli leaders seemed eager not to cloud the start of a new era in a key alliance. Obama's predecessor George W. Bush endorsed Israel's right to defend itself against rocket fire by Gaza's ruling Islamists.

Since a ceasefire, though nothing like a peace accord, took hold on Sunday, Hamas has demonstrated it remains in charge in the coastal enclave. It held "victory" rallies to coincide with Ban's visit. Some speakers urged him and Western powers to end their boycott of Hamas, which won the last Palestinian election.

"I have seen only a fraction of the destruction. This is shocking and alarming," Ban said, condemning an "excessive use" of force by Israel as well as Hamas's rocket fire into Israel.

"These are heartbreaking scenes I have seen and I am deeply grieved by what I have seen today," he told a news conference held against a backdrop of still smoldering food aid in a U.N. warehouse set ablaze by Israeli gunfire last Thursday.

Ban called the attack "outrageous" and demanded an inquiry and, if need be, the guilty to be held to account.

Tthe United Nations provides support for much of the 1.5 million population. Most are from families of refugees who fled or were forced from homes in what became Israel in 1948.

Ban, on a Middle East tour, was the most senior diplomatic figure to visit the territory in years, certainly since Hamas routed secular Fatah forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and seized control of Gaza in June 2007.

BAN CALLS FOR PALESTINIAN UNITY

Although aid agencies said they planned a massive inflow of supplies to Gaza's people through Israeli crossings, help will be complicated by the Western boycott of Hamas as a "terrorist" organization and an Israeli blockade on many items, including building materials, that can be used to make weapons.

So Ban urged the Palestinians to patch up their political differences within Abbas's Palestinian Authority in order to realize their hopes of statehood and make peace with Israel.

"I appeal to Fatah, Hamas, to all Palestinian factions, to reunite within the framework of the legitimate Palestinian Authority," Ban said, urging an end to a schism between Hamas in Gaza and Abbas in the West Bank that has paralyzed peace talks.

Thousands of Hamas supporters, many waving green Islamist banners, marched through Gaza and held a rally outside the compound during Ban's visit. Speakers demanded U.N. recognition.

"The Hamas government was elected by popular vote," one said. "We demand an end to double standards."

TROOP WITHDRAWAL

An Israeli security source said much of the pullout was completed as planned, before Obama's inauguration, though some forces remained inside the enclave. Analysts saw the withdrawal as an effort to avoid any tension with the new president.

Many Palestinians returned to the rubble of what used to be their homes in Gaza city suburbs that were hard hit during the fighting. They picked through debris, salvaging belongings.

"We've won the war, but we've lost everything," said Nabil Sultan, commenting on Hamas's "V for Victory" signs as he surveyed the rubble of his home on the city outskirts. "This was my house," he shrugged, beside a pile of smashed concrete.

Two children were killed by bombs left behind in Gaza, Hamas officials said. There were scattered and contradictory reports of occasional firing but no clear breach of the ceasefire.

Ban, who met Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert before traveling to Gaza, later visited southern Israel, an area hit by Palestinian rocket fire for years. At Olmert's office, Ban said he wanted to help to make the ceasefire "durable."

Gaza medical officials said the Palestinian dead included at least 700 civilians. Israel says hundreds of Palestinian fighters died.

The United Nations has estimated some $330 million is needed for urgent aid. Reconstruction, if it can be launched in light of the frost between Hamas and the West, may cost close to $2 billion, according to Palestinian and international estimates.

The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday it would look into a claim by Vienna-based Arab ambassadors that Israel may have used ammunition containing depleted uranium in Gaza attacks.

(Additional reporting by Douglas Hamilton in Gaza, Adam Entous, Luke Baker, Jeffrey Heller, Ari Rabinovitch and Alastair Macdonald in Jerusalem; Writing by Jeffrey Heller and Alastair Macdonald; editing by Michael Roddy)

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon arrives in Gaza

2009-01-20 19:31:54

·UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived in Gaza Tuesday afternoon to check the destruction. ·He checked the stores of UNRWA that were destroyed by the Israeli tanks shells. ·He will hold a news conference near the UNRWA food stores.

GAZA, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) --

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Gaza on Tuesday afternoon to check the destruction in the Gaza Strip following the 22-day Israeli military offensive on the enclave.

His envoy crossed into the Gaza Strip through Erez border crossing between northern Gaza Strip and Israel. His UN convoy passed by areas where seized by the Israeli army ground forces and caused severe destruction there.

Ban Ki-moon arrived at the main UN headquarters in Gaza City, where he checked the stores of United Nations for Relief and Work Agency in the Far East (UNRWA) that were struck and destroyed by the Israeli army tanks shells during the Israeli army incursion into Gaza City.

He was not received by Hamas leaders or Hamas authorities that rule the Gaza Strip, where he will tour several places and neighborhoods attacked by the Israeli army during the 22-day offensive on Gaza that ended on Sunday.

A spokesman for Ban said the UN Secretary General's visit is to show solidarity with the Palestinian who have been suffering an unprecedented Israeli assault.

Ban Ki-moon is the highest ranking international official to visit the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since Israel and the Islamist group declared separate ceasefire on Sunday.

He held a news conference near the UNRWA food stores. End of Xinhua report.

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In the news conference, Ban Ki-Moon condemned Israeli war crimes represented by killing civilians and destruction of their property. He also called for an international investigation of these crimes. He further expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people and promised them help from the UN and the international community.

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Ma'an, January 20, 2009

UN assesses damage

Voicing relief at Israel’s unilateral decision to halt its 22-day military offensive in Gaza and Hamas’ announcement of a temporary ceasefire, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Tuesday said he is determined to rebuild.

The UN leader asked other officials gathered at the Arab Economic, Social and Development Summit in Kuwait on Monday to “do all possible to ensure that this tragedy does not occur again” and “to come together to prevent further violence, help the people of Gaza in this hour of desperate need and restore stability.”

A lasting halt to the fighting is essential, he said, urging Hamas to cease firing rockets and on Israel to withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip.

“A durable ceasefire needs an open functioning system for the crossings in and out of Gaza, one that will immediately allow full access for humanitarian goods and personnel,” the secretary-general said.

“As well, the Palestinians themselves must face the challenge of reconciliation, and work to achieve a unified government under the leadership of [Acting] President [Mahmoud] Abbas within the framework of the legitimate Palestinian Authority,” Ki-Moon added.

The secretary-general also issued a call to all Arab leaders for their support in this effort, adding that “we cannot rebuild Gaza without Palestinian unity.”

On Monday, Secretary-General Ki-Moon dispatched a humanitarian needs assessment team to Gaza, where Israel’s massive assault has killed some 1,300 Palestinians and injured more than 5,000, causing widespread and rampant destruction to the infrastructure and lives of Gaza’s 1.5 million Palestinian residents.

The secretary-general said he intends to launch a humanitarian appeal for the Strip soon, appealing to major donor countries for contributions. Saudi Arabia pledged USD $1 billion on Monday.

“A true end to violence, and lasting security for both Palestinians and Israelis, will only come through a just and comprehensive settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict,” the secretary-general said at Monday’s gathering in Kuwait, underscoring the need to end the occupation that began in 1967.

“We need only political will and action,” he told the Arab leaders in Kuwait City. “Peace has remained an elusive goal for far too long.”

The secretary-general had arrived in Kuwait from Egypt, where he addressed the Conference on Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance in Gaza in the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

His efforts to secure a diplomatic solution to the three-week crisis, which began on 27 December when Israel launched its onslaught in Gaza, also took the secretary-general to Damascus, Cairo, Amman, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Ankara and Beirut.

***Updated 14:15 Bethlehem time

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