Palestinian protesters throw shoes at Ban

Palestinian protesters threw shoes, sticks and stones at a convoy with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Thursday as it entered Gaza. About 40 protesters briefly held up the convoy as it tried to enter the Gaza Strip from southern Israel, Voice of America said. No injuries were reported and the convoy resumed its travel once security officials removed the protesters, witnesses said. Throwing shoes is a sign of disrespect in some cultures. Most of the protesters were relatives of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, VOA said. Among their complaints, included on signs the protesters carried, were that the United Nations was biased toward Israel and that the non-government organization has refusal to meet with Palestinian prisoner groups. Ban is in the Middle East to try to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that broke down in 2010 over a dispute about Israeli settlement construction on occupied land. Ban met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday in Ramallah, West Bank, to discuss the stalled talks, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. "We fully believe that the way to reach peace with Israel is through negotiations," Abbas said during a news conference. Israel, however, hasn't offered any proposals in recent talks in Jordan to justify a resumption of negotiations, Abbas said. Ban, who said an independent Palestinian state "was long over due," agreed with Abbas that negotiations was the only avenue to a two-state solution.