Ayrault, who also had talks Sunday in Ramallah with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas later in the day, was on a visit to prepare for a May 30 global ministerial meeting to try to revive peace talks that have been frozen since a U.S.-brokered initiative collapsed in April 2014.
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Netanyahu has also questioned whether the French-led initiative would be fair and balanced amidst a row with France over its vote on a UNESCO resolution denying Jewish ties to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.
“I told him that the only way to advance a true peace between us and the Palestinians is by means of direct negotiations between us and them, without preconditions”, Netanyahu said after their meeting in Jerusalem.
“Historical experience shows that is how we achieved peace with Egypt and that is how we achieved peace with Jordan”.
Netanyahu has rejected the idea of a peace conference in Paris, insisting that any talks between the two sides should be direct.
Netanyahu on Thursday reiterated that willing to start direct negotiations with Abbas during a live chat on Twitter, the Jerusalem Post reports, saying “I am willing to meet President Abbas today, right now”.
“We’ve made it clear that the May 30 date originally proposed by the French would not work for the secretary and for his schedule”, State Department spokesman John Kirby said. “The summit will convene”.
In his letter, Netanyahu wrote that he was “astounded” by France’s support for “a historic distortion of truth” and “an extremely biased and offensive” resolution.
“UNESCO, the organization responsible for preserving the world’s historical heritage has now sunk so low as to rewrite a fundamental part of history”, Netanyahu wrote.
On Saturday, President Abbas expressed hope that the meeting that is scheduled to be held in Paris at the end of May or on early June will help to release a real peace process based on the two-state solution.
He went on to stress that France was still pushing for an worldwide peace conference aimed at resuming the stalled Mideast peace process, with a view to “stopping the terrorist attacks, political disputes and colonization that continue to plague the region”.
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Jewish community leaders had requested urgent meetings with senior ministers and sent letters of protest to Hollande. “It’s not possible to call into question the fact that these holy sites belong to three religions”, he added.
