Washington, Muharram 18, 1433, Dec 13, 2011, SPA - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday said he was “deeply concerned” by the Israeli government’s approval of new settlements in the occupied West Bank, near Bethlehem. “The secretary-general is deeply concerned about today’s reports of the government of Israel’s decision to approve the construction of 40 houses and a farm near the settlement of Efrat in the occupied territory near the Palestinian town of Bethlehem,” Ban’s office said in a statement. “The secretary-general calls again on the government of Israel to freeze all settlement activity,” the statement said. “Such activity is contrary to international law and the Roadmap, and prejudices final-status negotiations.” Ban said that with the Middle East diplomatic Quartet actively trying to find a formula to get both sides back to the negotiating, table it was important that “the parties must refrain from provocative actions and help create a positive environment for negotiations.” The Quartet is comprised of the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia. --SPA 11:00 LOCAL TIME 08:00 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/951960