UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon rejected the Israeli accusations that his speech on the Palestinian issue was encouraging terrorism, and ratified his position at the Security Council.

"The Secretary-General rejects the language that accused him of "giving terror a tailwind". Anyone is free to pick and choose what they like or dislike from the Secretary-General's speeches; words can continue to be twisted, but the grave reality cannot be obscured", said Ban Ki-moon spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, in a statement for the press.

According to the spokesman, the Secretary-General stands by every word that he used at the Council, where he urged to address the root causes of the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Ban Ki-moon spoke at an open debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue, to reiterate his call to arrange peace negotiations to resolve the situation.

The Secretary-General condemned the recent attacks by Palestinians against Israeli civilians, but acknowledged the frustration generated for decades of occupation and the efforts of the Israeli government for building new settlements in the Cisjordan, which was declared illegal by the United Nations and rejected by the world.

After his speech, the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, accused Ban Ki-moon and said that "the Secretary-General forgot what the UN's role is", because "terror must not be encouraged for any reason whatsoever".

Dujarric said the message of the Secretary-General is clear, the current situation is unsustainable, because there is no guarantee for the security needs of Israel and the future of the Palestinians.

After nearly 50 years of occupation, Palestinians, especially young people, are losing hope, he said.

Source: MENA