Netanyahu and UN Chief Ban Ki-moon
Netanyahu and UN Chief Ban Ki-moonFlash 90

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday called Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and urged him to renew Israel's commitment to a "two-state solution" to the Middle East conflict.

"The secretary-general reiterated his view that the two-state solution was the only way forward and urged the prime minister to renew Israel's commitment to that goal," Ban's spokesman said, according to the AFP news agency.

"The secretary-general also urged the prime minister to release the tax revenue currently held by Israel but owed to the Palestinian Authority," the statement added.

Earlier this week, after Netanyahu won the elections in a landslide victory, Ban called on his new government to work towards the establishment of a Palestinian state, saying that he “firmly believes this is also the best and only way forward for Israel to remain a democratic state.”

Netanyahu declared in a series of interviews earlier in the week he would do everything in his power to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. He appeared to backtrack on Thursday, explaining in an interview that he wants “a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution" but adding that his earlier comments were a reflection of changing conditions on the Palestinian side, pointing to Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas made a pact to form a unity government with Hamas.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)