国际英语新闻：UN chief, Israeli PM meet on Middle East peace process

UNITED NATIONS, July 7 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Wednesday met with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the two discussed the Middle East peace process and the question of Gaza closures.

A brief UN statement, issued by Ban's spokesman after the meeting, said "They discussed the Middle East peace process, the question of Gaza closures, and Lebanon and the recent report on resolution 1701, among other topics." The resolution 1701 ended the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizbollah.

The meeting, which took place at 3 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, " included a tete-a-tete discussion," the statement said.

Their meeting came one day after the secretary-general welcomed the further measures announced by the Israeli government in increasing the scope and quantity of materials entering the Gaza Strip from Israel.

Netanyahu visited the UN Headquarters in New York after his Tuesday meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington.

The secretary-general, in his statement issued on Tuesday, also noted the agreement to facilitate the immediate start of construction of 12 United Nations education and health facilities.

The secretary-general has long called for a significant shift in strategy towards meeting the great needs of the population in Gaza. Further steps must now follow to meet those needs and to allow the United Nations to accelerate and expand its efforts, he said.