The Secretary-General met today with the Justice Minister and Chief Negotiator in the Israeli-Palestinians peace talks, Tzipi Livni, of the State of Israel. They discussed the current state of play of the Middle East peace process as well as regional developments, in particular in Syria.

The Secretary-General strongly encouraged efforts towards the resumption of credible negotiations to achieve the two-state solution, expressing hope that renewed US engagement would lead to a substantial initiative soon.

He welcomed the positive engagement of the Arab League Peace Initiative follow up committee. He stressed the importance of creating an environment conducive to a resumption of talks, and encouraged Israel to take positive steps in this regard. He reiterated that the announcement of the E-1 settlement should be rescinded. While reiterating his concern over the situation of Palestinian prisoners, he expressed appreciation for the announcement by the Government of Israel of the upcoming release of several hunger striking prisoners.