UN chief 'deeply troubled' by Israeli settlements
UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki moon says he's deeply troubled by continued Israeli settlement building.
RAMALLAH (AP) - UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki moon says he s "deeply troubled" by continued Israeli settlement building, warning it will ultimately prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Ban spoke in a news conference Thursday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
A day earlier, Israelis and Palestinians launched formal talks on the terms of a Palestinian state after a five-year freeze.
The talks were overshadowed by recent Israeli announcements on promoting plans for more than 3,000 new settlement apartments.
The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967. Israel has built dozens of settlements there that are now home to more than half a million Israelis.
Ban says settlement activity is "deepening the Palestinian people s mistrust in the seriousness on the Israeli side toward achieving peace."
