UN chief urges Israeli-Palestinian 'patience' with talks

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon answers journalists' questions in Geneva, on July 1, 2013. Ban has urged Israelis and Palestinians to have "patience" with their peace talks so that they might have a chance to succeed. (AFP/File)

AMMAN (AFP) – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Israelis and Palestinians Thursday to have "patience" with their peace talks so that they might have a chance to succeed, state-run Petra news agency reported.

After holding talks in Amman with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Ban stressed the UN's support for peace talks between the two sides, which resumed in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

He "called on the Israelis and the Palestinians to have patience and do all that they can for the success of their negotiations and achieve the needed progress with the help of the international community," the report said.

"Ban stressed that the United Nations supports and encourages the continuation of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, leading to a two-state solution," Petra added.

Negotiators met for around five hours on Wednesday in a new round of direct peace talks, which broke down nearly three years ago in a bitter row over Jewish settlements

The United States took the lead last month in securing an agreement to resume negotiations.

Ban also met with King Abdullah II and discussed the peace process and the Syrian refugees the kingdom is hosting, a palace statement said.

He "stressed that he is committed to working with the international community in order to increase aid to Jordan and help minimise the burden of dealing with the Syrian refugees and providing them with humanitarian assistance," the statement added.

Jordan, home to more than 500,000 Syrian refugees, has repeatedly called for aid, complaining that limited resources are hampering its ability to cope with them.

Ban is on a tour of Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories aimed at buttressing the peace process.