“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 added.
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With U.S. efforts to broker a two-state accord in tatters and Washington focused on its November presidential election, Paris has lobbied countries to hold a conference before then to get Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table. Secretary of State John Kerry has not yet decided whether he will attend the May 30 meeting.
Israel suspended peace talks with Palestinian negotiators in April 2014 after Fatah – the leading faction in the Palestine Liberation Organization – entered talks with Hamas with a view to establishing a Palestinian unity government.
Ayrault travelled to Ramallah after the meeting with Netanyahu, in the occupied West Bank to discuss the initiative with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, noting that neither Ayrault, nor Mahmoud Abbas gave any statements to reporters.
On Friday, U.S. State Department Spokesperson John Kerby said in a daily press briefing that Kerry spoke with Abbas on Thursday, but he said he had no update on the planned French meeting.
Israeli and Palestinian representatives have not been invited to the French meeting to prepare for such a conference, mooted for the autumn. Just before concluding his visit, Ayrault promised to continue to strive for a Palestinian-Israeli settlement. “I told him that the scandalous decision passed by UNESCO with French support that did not recognize the millenia-old connection between the Jewish people and the Temple Mount casts a shadow on the fairness of any forum France tries to bring together”. I know that there is vehement opposition.
The suggestion that Kerry may participate, should a suitable alternative date be found, marks a shift for the administration, which up to now has said merely that it was looking at the French proposal. This is not new and it won’t discourage us. “It’s postponed, it will take place, it will take place in the course of the summer”, the French premier said in an interview. “Only they can conduct direct negotiations to achieve a solution”.
Sources close to Ayrault said on Sunday that France “regretted” the resolution, echoing remarks by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls who on Wednesday called it “clumsy” and “unfortunate” and said it should have been avoided.
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He went on telling his Israeli left-wing parties activists guests “you want security so we have to cooperate in both security and fighting terrorism and also on ending the status of incitement in order to be able to make peace for your children and our children”.
