UN chief to meet Israeli chief peace negotiator UNITED NATIONS, May 1 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is going to meet Israel's chief peace negotiator with Palestine this week, a spokesman told reporters here on Wednesday. "The secretary-general will meet with Tzipi Livni from the Israeli government on Thursday," said Martin Nesirky, Ban's spokesperson, at the daily briefing. Livni, who has served as the Israeli Minister of Justice under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since March 18, 2013, is in charge of the country's peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Nesirky made the announcement when asked about an Arab offer concerning peace efforts between Israel and Palestine. On Tuesday, a senior Qatari official said the Arab states see that making peace between Israel and Palestine should be based on a two-state solution and that the two sides can agree on trading lands. This was seen as a concession that provides more flexibility for talks on the borders of the future Palestinian state, which the Palestinians have long said must be built on the lands that Israel has occupied in 1967. The Arab position was announced after foreign ministers of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington. At the Wednesday briefing, the spokesperson also reiterated the UN chief's call for breaking the ice in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. "The secretary-general has called for efforts to break the impasse that had developed between the two sides in recent months, " said Nesirky. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down in 2010 over a dispute on Jewish settlement expansion in the West Bank. According to reports, Livni on Tuesday welcomed the modified Arab proposal. "This is a positive announcement," said the Israeli chief peace negotiator, adding that it gave "tail wind" to peace efforts. In the end, "you need a direct negotiation between the Israelis and the Palestinians," he said.