U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday called for a halt to "irresponsible rhetoric" that questions a two-state solution and incites hatred and violence. "The Palestinian people have the right to an independent and viable state of Palestine, living side by side with the state of Israel in peace and security," Ban said in his opening remarks to the 2011 Session of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. "Similarly, there should be no doubt about the legitimate right of Israel to exist in peace within secure and internationally recognized borders, and to be fully integrated into the region, as suggested by the Arab Peace Initiative," he added. The U.N. chief also reiterated his call for Israel to halt all settlement building. "I have repeatedly expressed my regret that Israel has not frozen settlement activities, as have the Quartet, the European Union, the United States, numerous other member states, and this committee," Ban said.
