Ban Ki-Moon to travel to Middle East

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is set to tour the Middle East to visit Jordan, Palestine and Israel later this week. Ban's spokesperson Eduardo del Buey said Tuesday Ban was scheduled to meet with Jordan's King Abdullah II as well as the country's foreign minister before proceeding to Ramallah, where he will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. While in Ramallah, he will also visit the tomb of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Buey said. In Jerusalem, Ban will hold meetings with several Israeli officials, including President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and he will also visit the grave of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at Mount Herzl. During his visit, Ban will also be meeting the chief Israeli and Palestinian peace negotiators, as well as the United States Special Envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, Martin Indyk, Buey said.