UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said Israeli settlement building anywhere in occupied territory is illegal and must stop. He is in the Middle East to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders and press them to resume peace talks. Israel's controversial announcement of plans to build 1,600 more homes in East Jerusalem has inflamed tensions in the region and between Israel and the US. The Palestinian leadership has said the plan is an obstacle to resuming talks. Mr Ban's statement comes a day after he made a similar call, speaking for the international Quartet of Middle East peace mediators - the UN, Russia, the EU and the US.
