Ban Ki-moon “outraged” over shelling of UN In Gaza

After meeting the Israeli Foreign Minister in Tel Aviv, the UN Secretary General had this reaction to the strike on the UN offices in Gaza.

“Today the UN compound in Gaza has been shelled again,” he said. “I conveyed my strong protest and outrage to the defence minister and the foreign minister and demanded a full explanation. Defence Minister Barak said to me it was a grave mistake and he took it very seriously. He assured me that extra attention will be paid to the UN facilities and staff and that this should not be repeated.”

The Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni did not mention the UN shelling, but gave a general defence of Israel’s offensive.

“Israel, a member state of the UN, is doing what a state needs to do in order to defend its citizens,” she said. “This is an effective, successful military operation against terror. And Gaza is being controlled by a terrorist organisation that doesn’t fight for the aspirations of the Palestinian people. It is not part of the peace process that Israel launched in Annapolis with the pragmatic leadership of the Palestinian authority.”

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tags: Ban Ki-Moon, Gaza, Mideast