NEW YORK, May 02, 2008, (WAFA)- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that a sustainable peace in the Middle East will have to factor in a viable and just solution to the Palestinian refugee issue.

“The Palestinian people’s desire or right to live a normal daily life in their own sovereign land remains undiminished, as do the individual and collective rights of Palestine refugees,” Ban said in a message, read out by Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Angela Kane, to the conference in Paris to assess the condition of the refugees.  

“This year marks the 60th year of Palestinian dispossession, an anniversary that underlines the importance and urgency of finding a solution to the question of Palestine and of addressing the plight of the Palestine refugees,” he noted.

The Secretary-General said that the peace process launched in the United States city of Annapolis and the negotiations under way between the Israelis and Palestinians are the only way to settle the conflict and address all permanent status issues, including that of the refugees.

“Negotiations are the only means of realising the legitimate aspirations of both parties – Palestinian statehood and self-determination, and security for Israel,” Mr. Ban stated, as he pledged the UN’s continued support to the Palestinian and Israeli leaders as they seek to reach an agreement by the end of this year.

At the same time, he drew attention to the worrying situation on the ground, including the daily violence that besets the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Israel, as well as the food and fuel shortages that are worsening the already dismal living conditions of those in Gaza.