Activities of Secretary-General in Egypt, Israel, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Jordan, 19-22 November

In the late afternoon of Monday, 19 November, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew from Sana'a to Cairo to start a shuttle mission to help secure a ceasefire between Gaza and Israel.

On arrival in Cairo, the Secretary-General headed straight to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he met Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Ali Amr for talks that continued over dinner.

On the morning of Tuesday 20 November, the Secretary-General first met Nasser Al-Kidwa, the United Nations-League of Arab States Deputy Joint Special Representative for Syria, and then the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Nabil ElAraby.  After their talks, the Secretaries-General briefed the media.

Next, the Secretary-General met Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Mohamed Qandil and they then held a joint press conference.

The Secretary-General then flew from Cairo to Tel Aviv, and then continued on by road to Jerusalem, where his first meeting was with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman at the Foreign Ministry.

The Secretary-General next went to the Prime Minister's office to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  They spoke to reporters before their meeting, after which the Secretary-General moved to the President's Residence to meet President Shimon Peres.  After their talks, they briefed reporters before dining together with senior advisers.

On Wednesday, 21 November, the Secretary-General first met Hillary Rodham Clinton, the United States Secretary of State, who was also in Jerusalem.  He was then briefed by the United Nations country team, including by conference call from Gaza.

Next, the Secretary-General transferred by road to Ramallah to meet Prime Minister Salam Fayyad of the Palestinian Authority and then President Mahmoud Abbas, with whom the Secretary-General briefed reporters before continuing discussions with Abbas and other Palestinian leaders over lunch.

In the early afternoon of 21 November, the Secretary-General travelled by road from Ramallah to Tel Aviv, and from there, he flew back to Cairo to meet President Mohamed Morsyof Egypt.  The Secretary-General spoke to reporters before returning to Cairo airport to fly to Amman.

The Secretary-General arrived in Amman mid-evening and transferred by helicopter to the Palace of King Abdullah Il Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, where the King and the Secretary-General held talks over dinner.  The Secretary-General then held a press conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, during which the Secretary-General welcomed the just-announced Gaza ceasefire.

The Secretary-General left Amman late in the evening of 21 November, and flew by helicopter to Tel Aviv, where he briefed the Security Council by video link.  (See Press Release SG/SM/14666.)

He flew back overnight to New York, where he arrived early on Thursday morning, 22 November.