Visiting UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said Sunday that the time is not ripe for meetings with Hamas officials in the new Palestinian government.

Ban welcomed the formation of the new government, but said the atmosphere is not ripe for talks with Hamas. "At this time, I do not have plans to meet with Prime Minister Haniyeh or other Hamas Cabinet ministers," he said after a meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah.

Ban urged the Palestinian government to meet international demands to renounce violence, recognize Israel's right to exist and accept past peace agreements.

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"We expect that the national unity government will perform and meet the expectations of the international community," Ban said. "I encourage this new government and I hope that its actions will show a basic commitment ... to peace."

The new government's platform agrees to respect past peace deals, but does not explicitly recognize Israel. Abbas has said the deal is the best he can get from Hamas.

Hamas, branded a terrorist group by the U.S. and European Union, joined the more moderate Fatah party in a coalition government last week. Palestinian officials have expressed hope that the alliance would lead to an end to international sanctions imposed against the previous Hamas government.

Under heavy security, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Sunday toured a Palestinian refugee camp and inspected Israel's fence in the West Bank.

In his first trip to the Palestinian territories, Ban toured the Aida refugee camp on the outskirts of the biblical town of Bethlehem, just south of the separation barrier.

The UN chief went up on the roof of a UN-run girls' school in the camp to observe the barrier. "No wall will stop us," read wall graffiti in English.

Ban was surrounded by bodyguards during the brief visit. Camp residents near the girls' school unfurled large banners from their balconies.

"UN bodies and agencies should enable Palestinian refugees to exercise their right of return," read one large sign in English, referring to Palestinian demands to return to homes in what is now Israel.

While in the camp, Ban discussed the fence and Israeli travel restrictions with senior UN officials and the Palestinian governor of Bethlehem, Salah Tameri.

Later Sunday, Ban was to meet with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and members of the new Hamas-Fatah coalition government seen as unaffiliated with Hamas.