{"id":194434,"date":"2014-07-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T16:48:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?p=194434"},"modified":"2019-03-12T16:48:29","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T16:48:29","slug":"auto-insert-194434","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/auto-insert-194434\/","title":{"rendered":"Secretary-General continues efforts towards a ceasefire in Gaza &#8211; SG&#8217;s Spokesperson&#8217;s noon briefing (excerpts)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\">\n<hr height=\"7px\" \/>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"color:#000000;text-align:center;padding-top:10px;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><strong>HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING<br \/>\nBY FARHAN HAQ, DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top:10px;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;color:#000000;padding-bottom:10px;text-align:center;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><strong>WEDNESDAY, 23 JULY 2014<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"line-height:150%;text-align:center;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;color:#000000;padding-bottom:10px;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><strong>MIDDLE EAST: VISITING ISRAEL, SAUDI ARABIA AND JORDAN, SECRETARY-GENERAL CONTINUES EFFORTS TOWARDS CEASEFIRE<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<ul type=\"disc\" style=\"margin-left:-20px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\">\n<li style=\"color:#000000;line-height:200%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">The Secretary-General travelled to Saudi Arabia from Amman, Jordan, where he met with King Abdullah as he continued his efforts to push for a cease-fire in Israel and Gaza. He told reporters that he came to Jordan with a heavy heart, knowing that so many people have been killed and wounded in Gaza. He said that over a recent two-day period, one Palestinian child had been killed every hour. The Secretary-General said that he thanked Jordan&#8217;s Government and people for the humanitarian assistance given to Gaza.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align:left;line-height:200%;\"><span style=\"color:#000000;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">Earlier today, he met in Jerusalem with Israeli President Shimon Peres and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/unispal.un.org\/pdfs\/2BAE38679B4DD94285257D2E0061770E.pdf\" style=\"color:#0000ff;line-height:200%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">said to the press<\/a><span style=\"color:#000000;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">&nbsp;that the violence must stop now. He added that it is important for dialogue to be resumed between Israelis and Palestinians, saying that, whatever the obstacles, they share a common future.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align:left;line-height:200%;\"><span style=\"color:#000000;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">The Secretary-General also held separate <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/unispal.un.org\/pdfs\/B7F257CF70F3DD5B85257D2E0063A8C7.pdf\" style=\"color:#0000ff;line-height:200%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">meetings<\/a><span style=\"color:#000000;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">&nbsp;this morning with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni. In those meetings, the Secretary-General reiterated his call for an immediate cease-fire, without conditions. He stressed the need to alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. Once a cease-fire is in place, the Secretary-General underscored the urgent need to address the underlying issues. He stressed the importance of ensuring the unhindered freedom of movement for humanitarian actors and their operations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align:left;line-height:200%;\"><span style=\"color:#000000;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">The Secretary-General met with US Secretary of State John Kerry before leaving Israel for Jordan. He said in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/unispal.un.org\/pdfs\/71A39AD8EFEA125285257D2E006280B9.pdf\" style=\"color:#0000ff;line-height:200%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">press remarks<\/a><span style=\"color:#000000;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">&nbsp;after that meeting that this is the 15th day since the crisis began, and that we do not have time to lose.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"color:#000000;line-height:200%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">Asked about the Secretary-General&#8217;s use of a Qatari-chartered plane for the first part of his travel, the Spokesman reiterated that the in-kind contribution by a Member State was made because of the need to travel to the region on short notice.&nbsp;&nbsp;He added that the Secretary-General has been dealing equally and impartially with a wide number of Member States as he travels through the region, trying to obtain a halt to the fighting.<\/li>\n<li style=\"color:#000000;line-height:200%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">Asked whether the Secretary-General was hopeful that there would be a ceasefire, Haq said that the Secretary-General was one of many officials working to build support behind the Egyptian-led initiative and he noted the increasing momentum of diplomatic efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"line-height:150%;text-align:center;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;color:#000000;padding-bottom:10px;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\"><strong>NEARLY THREE QUARTERS OF THOSE KILLED IN MIDDLE EAST ARE CIVILIANS, SAYS U.N. RIGHTS CHIEF<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<ul type=\"disc\" style=\"margin-left:-20px;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\">\n<li style=\"text-align:left;line-height:200%;\"><span style=\"color:#000000;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">The High Commissioner for <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/EN\/NewsEvents\/Pages\/Media.aspx?IsMediaPage=true&amp;LangID=E\" style=\"color:#000000;line-height:200%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">Human Rights<\/a><span style=\"color:#000000;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">, Navi Pillay, addressed the Human Rights Council at its special session today on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and discussed the situation in Gaza and Israel.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"color:#000000;line-height:200%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">She said that, according to preliminary UN figures, around 74 percent of those killed so far were civilians, and thousands more have been injured. Those numbers have climbed dramatically since Israel&#8217;s ground operations began on 17th of July. Hundreds of homes and other civilian buildings, such as schools, have been destroyed or severely damaged in Gaza, and more than 140,000 Palestinians have been displaced as a result.<\/li>\n<li style=\"color:#000000;line-height:200%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">Ms. Pillay added that two Israeli civilians have also lost their lives, and between 17 and 32 others have been reported injured as a result of rockets and other projectiles fired from Gaza. Also, 27 Israeli soldiers have been killed during military operations in Gaza.<\/li>\n<li style=\"color:#000000;line-height:200%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">Asked whether the Secretary-General agreed with Ms. Pillay&#8217;s views that war crimes may have been committed, the Spokesman noted that the Secretary-General had talked about the need for accountability. The actions by the parties on the ground would require further investigation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"color:#000000;line-height:200%;text-align:left;font-size:10pt;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;\">\/&#8230;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY FARHAN HAQ, DEPUTY SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON WEDNESDAY, 23 JULY 2014 MIDDLE EAST: VISITING ISRAEL, SAUDI ARABIA AND JORDAN, SECRETARY-GENERAL CONTINUES EFFORTS TOWARDS CEASEFIRE The Secretary-General travelled to Saudi Arabia from Amman, Jordan, where he met with King Abdullah as he continued his efforts to push for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/auto-insert-194434\/\"> [&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[897,909,1098],"document-category":[2197,2573],"document-source":[1825,5352],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1769,1829,2265,2005,1813,2181],"entity":[1985,1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-194434","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","country-israel","country-jordan","country-saudi-arabia","document-category-briefing","document-category-highlights-of-the-noon-briefing","document-source-office-of-the-united-nations-high-commissioner-for-human-rights-ohchr","document-source-secretary-general","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-casualties","document-subject-ceasefire","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-middle-east-situation","document-subject-negotiations-and-agreements","entity-state","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/194434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/194434\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=194434"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=194434"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=194434"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=194434"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=194434"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=194434"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=194434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}