UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday flew to Jerusalem for talks with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders amid mounting international efforts to end weeks of escalating violence.
Ban’s visit came as a 50-year-old Israeli was reported to have died after being hit by a car during a stone-throwing incident near Hebron, Palestine.
Earlier, an Israeli soldier was hurt after reportedly being stabbed by a 23-year old Palestinian man, also near Hebron. His alleged attacker was shot dead.
Photo: Reuters
Calling for an end to violence that has claimed lives on both sides in recent weeks, Ban’s surprise visit came amid parallel efforts by US President Barack Obama’s administration and France to reduce tensions, in particular over the religious site known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as the Temple Mount.
Ban, whose trip was announced in Israel only hours before his arrival, was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu last night and is scheduled to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today in Ramallah.
His mediation efforts came amid reports that US Secretary of State John Kerry — who is to meet Netanyahu in Berlin tomorrow and Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah in Amman on Saturday — is pushing for a clarification of the so-called “status quo” at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount site via a written agreement and a complaint-resolution mechanism.
Kerry has said Israeli and Palestinian leaders need to clarify the status of the Jerusalem compound — which is home to the al-Aqsa mosque — to help stem the current bloodshed.
Before his visit, Ban said he understood Israeli anger.
“When children are afraid to go to school, when anyone on the street is a potential victim, security is rightly your immediate priority. But walls, checkpoints, harsh responses by the security forces and house demolitions cannot sustain the peace and safety that you need and must have,” he said on UN TV. “There is no so-called security solution.”
He told Palestinians: “I know your hopes for peace have been dashed countless times. You are angry at the continued occupation and the expansion of settlements.”
Responding again to claims that Israel has encroached on the “status quo,” Netanyahu yesterday told the World Zionist Congress meeting in Jerusalem that Israel had no intention of changing the situation.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source