BICOM

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon pays an official visit to Jordan today, as part of a Middle East trip seeking to add to international pressure on the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to return to direct negotiations. “My visit comes at an important moment,” Ban told a press conference in New York last week when he announced the trip. “I will be there to encourage both sides to engage in earnest and create a positive atmosphere for moving forward.”

The United Nations is part of the diplomatic Quartet that has been seeking to broker a Middle East peace deal, along with the European Union, Russia and the United States.  The UN secretary general will hold talks in Amman with King Abdullah II and Jordan’s Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh today. Tomorrow, Ban will hold key meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah.  He is also expected to meet Israeli President Shimon Peres and other top officials from both sides during his visit, according to UN officials.

Meanwhile, in related news, Yasser Abed Rabbo, secretary general of the PLO executive committee, signaled yesterday that the Palestinians would continue their statehood initiatives at the UN. ‘The leadership will work to study a number of political and practical options during the coming days and to continue the political campaign it began on the international arena,’ said a statement read by Rabbo.