Work towards two-state solution, UN chief urges Netanyahu

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to renew his country's commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The UN chief called up Netanyahu to congratulate him on his electoral victory, and said that he looked forward to working with the new government upon its formation, the UN spokesperson's office said, according to a Xinhua report.

Ban, in his conversation with Netanyahu, reiterated that the two-state solution was the only way forward.

"The secretary general also urged the prime minister to release the tax revenue currently held by Israel, but owed to the Palestinian Authority," said the UN spokesperson office.

On Wednesday, Israel's ruling right-wing Likud party, led by Netanyahu, won the country's parliamentary election by garnering 30 seats in the 120-member parliament, beating opposition leader Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union, which won only 24 seats.

Before the election, Netanyahu had said that there would be no Palestinian state if he were to be elected.

However, in several interviews with US television networks after the election, Netanyahu said that he would continue working towards a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, as he had vowed to do years before.