New UN Secretary General Says He Will Work toward Captive IDF Soldiers’ Release

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Wednesday told Dan Gillerman, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, that he would do everything in his power to ensure the abducted Israeli soldiers are released. Gillerman reiterated Israel’s demand for a sign of life from the soldiers. Gillerman told Ban, ‘The UN needs to deal more with the Iranian threat.’ Ban replied that denying the Holocaust, and the declarations by Iranian President Ahmadinejad about Israel’s destruction, are unacceptable. Ban also pledged to act against arms smuggling from Syria and Lebanon, saying he would ‘spare no effort to implement Resolution 1701.’