Ban meets Israel prez, seeks dialogue with Palestine

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has thanked Israeli President Reuven Rivlin for his “restraint” and urged him to return to negotiations with the Palestinians.

In a meeting between the two leaders at the UN headquarters in New York Monday, Ban and Rivlin discussed tensions in Israel, the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The Korean diplomat expressed his appreciation for the president’s commitment to promote calm and his clear voice of moderation.

The two talked about the importance of creating conditions for a return to Israel-Palestinian peace talks.

According to the UN, Ban and Rivlin also spoke about the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe and of the events to mark the occasion of the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust Jan 27.

The Israeli leader, who is on a trip to New York to mark 70 years since the end of the Holocaust, was scheduled to inaugurate an exhibition Monday.

However, the UN was forced to postpone the event on account of the blizzard affecting the northeastern US.

According to the Israeli mission to the UN, the exhibition is expected to open Wednesday.

The UN will also hold its annual Holocaust Memorial Ceremony in the General Assembly on the same day.

The event was originally planned for Tuesday, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, and will honour the victims of the Nazi era.