UN chief Ban Ki-moon, currently on a visit to Moscow, condemned the rocket attack from the Gaza Strip that killed a civilian in Israel, his spokesman said Thursday.

"The Secretary General condemns today's rocket attack from Gaza which killed a civilian in Israel," spokesman Martin Nesirky said in a statement from the Russian capital where Ban was due to attend a meeting of the Middle East Quartet Friday.

"All such acts of terror and violence against civilians are totally unacceptable and contrary to international law," the statement added.
 

An agricultural worker, reportedly from Thailand, was killed when the rocket slammed into a kibbutz in southern Israel just a few kilometres (couple of miles) from the Gaza border.
 

The attack, claimed by the Al-Qaeda inspired Ansar al-Sunna Brigade, came just as EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was visiting the impoverished coastal strip, which is still struggling with the aftermath of the 22 day offensive Israel launched in December 2008 in a bid to halt rocket fire.

Peace talks
The Quartet - the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States - was to weigh steps to promote a resumption of stalled peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.
 

The diplomatic activity comes at a time of heightened religious and political tension that saw several days of clashes between Palestinians and police in east Jerusalem after Israel announced the construction of 1,600 new homes for Jewish settlers in annexed Arab east Jerusalem.
 

The Israeli move was condemned by the international community and sparked a major row between the Jewish state and its closest ally, the United States.

Source: AFP