The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault that Israel still opposes holding an international conference on the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.
“I told him the only way to advance genuine peace between us and the Palestinians is through direct negotiations between us and them, without preconditions,” said Netanyahu.
The Israeli side seems to be afraid of any international intervention that may dictate terms.
Israel replied formally last month on the French initiative saying that anything other than bilateral negotiations “will give the Palestinians an escape from recognising Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people”.
Ayrault moved to Ramallah to discuss the issue with the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said Monday that Egypt will support any initiative that asserts the rights of the Palestinian people.
During a meeting with Abbas, Al-Sisi said Egypt will continue to work to establish a Palestinian state in accord with the 1967 borders, a move that will help stabilise the region, according to a statement released by the presidency.
Secretary general of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) Saeb Erekat said that Egypt and Palestine agreed to address the conflict with the UN Security Council.
The council will hold a meeting in Egypt to find ways to execute Security Council resolutions 605, 672, and 904, which provide for the protection of the Palestinian people and the disarmament of Israeli settlers.
Earlier this year, the French government began efforts to host an international conference planned for this summer to restore peace talks between Palestinian and Israeli authorities. It also vowed to recognise a Palestinian state if peace talks failed.
Peace talks stalled following the collapse of a US-led initiative two years ago.
