UN chief: Palestine issue for members to decide

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reaffirmed his support for an independent Palestinian state on Friday but said Palestinian UN membership was an issue for member states to decide.

Ban said he strongly supported a two-state solution where Palestinians and Israelis can live side by side in peace and security. "I support also the statehood of Palestinians, an independent sovereign state of Palestine. It has been long overdue," Ban told reporters in Canberra before he left Australia. (Reuters)