It is "crucial" for Palestinians to show unity in order to proceed with negotiations with Israel, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Friday in Vienna, according to dpa. Ban said he was encouraged by recent developments in the Middle East, including the election of a national unity government in Lebanon and the reconciliation of a number of countries with Syria. "It would be crucially important that the Palestinian people should be united among themselves and should be able to carry on this negotiation," the Secretary General said. Ban was in Vienna for the 30th anniversary of Vienna as a UN seat along with New York, Geneva and Nairobi. Talks between Israel and the Palestinians stopped following a change of government in Israel in March. Power in the Palestinian territories is split between the Fatah movement, and the rival Hamas movement which controls the Gaza Strip. Ban said the Arab Peace initiative offering Arab recognition of Israel in return for Israeli withdrawal from all territories occupied by Israel remained a "cornerstone" for a Middle East peace settlement. But he stressed that direct Israeli-Palestinian talks were also vital.
