Over two dozen foreign ministers, including US Secretary of State John Kerry, will convene in Paris June 3 for an worldwide conference on advancing a two-state solution in the Middle East, but neither Israel nor the Palestinian Authority will send envoys.
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Neither Israeli nor Palestinian representatives attended the talks, which are aimed at laying the ground for a full-fledged peace conference to be held by the end of the year.
The statement read that the parties “reaffirmed that a negotiated two-state solution is the only way to achieve an enduring peace, with two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security”.
“It is on the table and a solid basis for resolving this long-standing dispute”.
“Much is being invested in global efforts, and the French initiative is on the agenda”, he said, referring France’s move to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks with a summit in Paris on Friday. “We don’t want to act in the place of the Israelis and Palestinians but we want to help them”, he told France Info radio.
The gathering of ministers, without Israelis or Palestinians attending, is planned to clear the way for an global conference to set new parameters for negotiating a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The French proposal is to call an global conference by the end of the year to restart negotiations between Tel Aviv and the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinians say Israeli settlement expansion in occupied territory is diminishing any prospect for the viable state they seek, with a capital in Arab East Jerusalem.
Direct negotiation “doesn’t work”, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault insisted ahead of the conference. “These actions raise legitimate questions about its commitment to the two-state solution and to its obligations as the Occupying Power”, Ban said.
“Only the sides themselves can take the fearless step toward peace”, he added.
Israel has been adamant in its utter rejection of the French initiative, arguing that only bilateral talks can lead to progress.
“The discussion on the conditions for peace between Israelis and Palestinians must take into account the entire region”, Mr Hollande said.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas has refused repeated Israeli offers to begin negotiations and he has not responded to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s unprecedented gestures to jumpstart talks, including a temporary freeze on settlements – Jewish construction projects in eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank – and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
“There’s a real possibility for normalisation with many countries in this region, and that kind of framework makes a lot more sense”, he said.
Israel has rejected the French initiative. Still, senior USA officials stressed the sense of urgency of working to advance the goal of a negotiated two state solution.
“The Arab peace initiative has all the elements for a final settlement”, he told journalists after the conference.
“This effort utterly failed then and will completely fail today”, he said. So far, however, such talks between Palestinians and Israelis have always broken down.
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While the Palestinian side is backing the French peace effort, Israel is fiercely opposed to it and has loudly predicted it will fail. “The memory is still fresh of the events of last autumn, when over 200 Palestinians and over 30 Israelis became victims of violence”. John Allen, former senior advisor for the Middle East to the Defense Department, that would deploy more US troops to help guarantee security in the Palestinian territories.
