Its initial focus is to reaffirm existing worldwide texts and resolutions that are based on achieving a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip co-existing with Israel.
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Netanyahu spoke by phone with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry Thursday, shortly before the Paris peace summit, and the conversation was a reason the summit’s concluding statement was vague and set no date for a follow-up meeting, according to the report.
Participants discussed ways in which the worldwide community could “help advance the prospects for peace”, a short joint statement from the attendees said after the meeting.
Head to Head – Should the United States be neutral on Israel-Palestine?
The two sides last met in April 2014 but talks broke up with the Palestinians accusing Israel of breaking a prisoner release deal and Tel Aviv refusing to continue after the possibility of a Palestinian unity government including Hamas, which Israel calls a terrorist group, was raised.
Under that proposal, Arab leaders offered to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied since 1967, and the creation of a Palestinian state.
It said participants were “alarmed that actions on the ground, in particular continued acts of violence and ongoing settlement activity are dangerously imperiling the prospects for a two-state solution”.
Mogherini said that the European Union is working within the Quartet with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the Arab League to create a framework “that could, first of all, save the perspective of the two states and, secondly, recreate conditions for a pece process”.
Israel and the Palestinians will not take part, but the French hope this meeting could lead to eventual direct talks.
He said the mobilisation of the global community showed that despite numerous conflicts and the terrorism threat, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remained “at the heart of our concerns”.
“In the end it will come down to the Israelis and Palestinians – and only them – to make the courageous choice of peace”, Hollande said. There had to be acceptance of the United Nations Security Council resolutions rejecting the annexation of the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, which were recognised by the worldwide community, as well as respect for global law. That time never arrived.
“I think June 3rd could produce something in terms of moving the process forward”, regional expert Natan Sachs from the Brookings Institution told VOA.
“We can not substitute for the parties. The Arab peace initiative includes positive elements that can help revive constructive negotiations with the Palestinians”, Netanyahu said during a Knesset session on Monday evening.
France’s foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault envisions two outcomes for Friday’s conference.
It called on the two sides to create conditions for “fully ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967”, a rhetorical shift from what Washington, Israel’s main ally, has previously endorsed.
He stressed that this may keep Israeli settlements on the West Bank of the Jordan River.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) welcomed the talks in Paris, albeit taking the chance to snipe at Israel in the process. The vision: Two States, One Homeland – where people can live wherever they want.Palestinian and Israeli activists have been working on the plan for four years.
“We were expecting timelines for the negotiations”, he said, also lamenting the lack of demand to halt settlements.
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Israel though is fiercely opposed to the French initiative. He says a deal can only be reached in direct negotiations. The Saudi minister said the initiative “does not need changing or adjusting, it is on the table as is”.
