U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel to the Middle East this week to support Israeli-Palestinian peace talks scheduled to resume Wednesday for the first time in nearly five years. U.N spokesman Eduardo del Buey told reporters Tuesday that Ban's first stop will be Jordan, where officials said he will meet with King Abdullah II Thursday. The secretary-general will then visit Ramallah for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah before heading to Israel, del Buey said. The U.N. is part of the Quartet of Mideast peace mediators along with the United States, European Union, and Russia.
