Palestinians hope the soldier can be released in exchange for prisoners held in Israeli jails [AP]

Ban visited the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem [AFP]

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, visited the West Bank town of Bethelhem and later held talks with Abbas.
 
The UN chief said the time was not right to meet with Haniya and urged the Palestinian government to agree to the West's demands.
 
"I expect that with this formation of the national unity government, the leaders of this government will abide by the principles laid out by the Quartet," he said.
 
Rice warning
 
Despite the flurry of activity, a senior aide to Abbas warned the US that Palestinians needed to see results if the US was to make any headway in its efforts to resolve the conflict.
 
Nabil Abu Rudeina said he has told Rice that US efforts "will lead only to frustration" if Palestinians see no progress on the ground.
 
"If the American administration wants its peace efforts to succeed it must force Israel to enter into serious negotiations,"  Abu Rudeina told Palestinian television.
 
"The shuttle visits to discover horizons of the peace process without results on the ground will lead only to frustration in the Arab and Palestinian street," he added.

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