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UN chief rejects Israeli PM's accusation of "giving terror a tailwind"

Xinhua, January 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's accusation that he was "giving terror a tailwind" in his recent remarks at the Security Council on the Middle East peace process.

"The secretary-general rejects the language that accused him of 'giving terror a tailwind,'" said Stephane Dujarric, Ban's spokesman, at the daily press briefing, referring to a quote from Netanyahu's criticism of Ban's remarks in the council.

"I condemned the stabbings, the vehicle attacks and shootings by Palestinians targeting Israeli civilians," Ban later told reporters at a meeting. "Nothing excuses terror."

"At the same time, if we want to see the end to this violence, security measures will not be enough," he said. "We must address the root causes, the underlying frustrations and failure to achieve a political solution."

Dujarric told reporters that the secretary-general "stands by every word that he used in the Security Council" on Tuesday while speaking of the Middle East peace process.

"Some have accused the secretary-general of justifying terrorism," Dujarric said. "Nothing could be further from the truth. The secretary-general has repeatedly said that nothing, absolutely nothing justifies terrorism."

Netanyahu was quoted in published reports as saying of Ban's council remarks, "The words of the secretary-general give a tailwind to terrorism," adding "Palestinian murderers do not want to build a state -- they want to destroy a state and the say that out loud."

At the session with reporters, Ban said, "After nearly 50 years of occupation -- decades after Oslo -- Palestinians -- especially young Palestinians -- are losing hope," referring to the agreements in the 1990s that stemmed from secret talks that began in Oslo.

"Israelis, Palestinians and the international community need to read the writing on the wall: the status quo is untenable, it undermines the security of Israelis and the future for Palestinians," Ban said.

"Anyone is free to pick and choose what they like or dislike from speeches," the secretary-general said. "But the grave reality cannot be twisted or obscured. That can only change through concrete action and real change in people's lives." The United Nations is part of the Middle East Quartet, which also groups the European Union, Russia and the United States, a diplomatic group in search of the two-state solutions -- a secure Israel to live in peace with an independent State of Palestine. Enditem