UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Sunday called for an end to Israeli "occupation" in the Arab world, saying the illegal building of settlements worked against a two-state solution.
"The Israeli occupation of Arab and Palestinian territories must end. So must violence against civilians," Ban said in a keynote address at a conference in Beirut on democracy in the Arab world.
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- "Settlements, new and old, are illegal. They work against the emergence of a viable Palestinian state," said the UN secretary general.
"A two-state solution is long overdue. The status quo offers only the guarantee of future conflict."
Ban, who arrived in Beirut on Friday, was speaking at a conference entitled "Reform and Transitions to Democracy" organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
The two-day conference brings together a slew of dignitaries from countries that suffered under dictatorships.
- Among the speakers are Egyptian presidential hopeful and former Arab League chief Amr Mussa and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, whose country has emerged as a key regional player in the Middle East.