Dutch diplomat Robert Serry has been appointed as the next UN Middle East envoy, a post that has been vacant for three months, the United Nations said tonight.
Mr Serry is currently Dutch ambassador to Ireland and was appointed by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to coordinate UN activities on the ground and to represent him at international meetings such as the Quartet of international mediators.
Israel and the Palestinians formally relaunched negotiations this week after a conference hosted by US President George W. Bush at which they agreed to try to forge a peace treaty and create a Palestinian state by the end of 2008 - a time scale skeptics say is too ambitious.
Speaking to reporters today, Mr Ban welcomed the outcome of the conference as a "historic agreement" but said implementation was now paramount.
"What we do tomorrow is more important than what we say today," he said after addressing a UN committee on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Mr Ban said one of his major concerns was improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where Islamist group Hamas seized control in June after fighting with forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The last UN Middle East envoy, Michael Williams of Britain, held the post for just three months before taking a similar appointment with the British government.