SecGen deplores violence in Gaza – Daily press briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for SecGen (excerpts)

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING BY THE OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Michèle Montas, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon, all.  I notice that the UN correspondents’ corps has changed this morning.  Anyway, welcome to all of you.

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**Questions and Answers

Question:  Is the Secretary-General concerned or mildly interested, outraged, or condemns or welcomes the deaths of 11 people in Gaza or does the UN even have a representation in Gaza?

Spokesperson:  The UN does have strong representation in Gaza by the way, and the Secretary-General deplores the violence that took place there.  Eleven people have died and over 100 were injured and this feature also brought a wave of arrests and detentions.  The Secretary-General calls for dialogue and reconciliation among all Palestinians, and reiterates his support for President [Mahmoud] Abbas’s initiative for progress towards the goal of reunification of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, within the framework of the legitimate Palestinian Authority.  That’s all I have for you.

Question:  Actually, the initiative that I saw reported on is Abbas wouldn’t allow some of the Fatah people that wanted to look for asylum in the West Bank to enter the West Bank.  Instead he said they should go back to Gaza where Fatah should have representation.

Spokesperson:  I cannot comment on that, of course not.  Any other questions?

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For information media • not an official record