France warned the Israeli government Friday that if Paris fails to break an impasse in the following weeks in the peace talks between Palestine and Israel, its government will recognize the state of Palestine, the Foreign Ministry announced.
Advertisement
“In the coming weeks, France will take… steps in order to organise an worldwide conference gathering each of the parties’ main partners, principally Americans, Europeans and Arabs, in order to preserve and to bring about the two-state solution”, he said.
As a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, Fabius added that France had a responsibility to try to keep up efforts to find a solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
France’s Socialist government supports the idea of two states, but had previously argued that it was too early for outright recognition of a Palestinian state.
An unnamed Israeli official has already told a journalist for the Haaretz newspaper that the French peace initiative will be rejected, as recognizing it would only encourage Palestinians to avoid direct negotiations with Tel-Aviv.
In December 2014, France tried to push for a UN Security Council resolution to lay down a framework for the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “It is our responsibility as a UN Security Council member and a power seeking peace”, Fabius said.
Speaking in Paris at a conference of French diplomats, Fabius said “unfortunately, [Israeli] settlement construction continues”.
Fabius noted that France hopes the global peace summit will be attended by Israelis and Palestinians, as well as other worldwide actors like the U.S., European Union states and Arab nations.
U.S.-led efforts to broker peace for a two-state solution collapsed in April 2014 and since then there have been no serious efforts to resume talks.
France on Friday threatened to recognize a Palestinian state if Israel and the Palestinians can not settle their long-festering differences following a peace conference planned by summer.
“We are not going to speculate about the proposed conference”.
Advertisement
Last September, the Palestinian flag was hoisted at United Nations headquarters for the first time as a symbolic gesture in the territory’s quest for statehood. They are also demanding that Israel withdraw from the Palestinian lands occupied in a 1967 war.
