UN secretary general has set off for a tour...

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon together with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and the Quartet"s special representative Tony Blair met for the Middle East Quartet of international mediators in Moscow on Friday.

Farhan Haq said Ban is expected to meet over the weekend with the president and prime minister of Israel, the Palestinian premier as well as to visit Gaza to evaluate the humanitarian situation in the region.

The Quartet condemned recent plans by Israeli to build 1,600 housing units for Jewish families in the disputed area of East Jerusalem and demanded that all settlement activity be frozen.

"The Quartet urges the government of Israel to freeze all settlement activity, including natural growth, dismantle outposts erected since March 2001 and to refrain from demolitions and evictions in East Jerusalem," Ban said.

Chief Palestinian presidential advisor Sahib Oreikat

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