Israel on Monday formally rejected France’s invitation to take part in a Middle East peace conference in Paris later this year, saying it is a distraction from the goal of direct negotiations with the Palestinians.
This followed a meeting between Israel’s Acting National Security Adviser and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Diplomatic Adviser with French envoy Pierre Vimont.
Netanyahu said in a statement that “during the meeting, Vimont was informed that Israel wanted nothing to do with the effort to revive talks that last broke down in 2014.
“We told him in clear and unequivocal manner that Israel’s position to promote the peace process and reach an agreement will only come through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority,’’ the statement said.
There was no immediate comment from Vimont, but the French foreign ministry said it still planned to hold the conference before the end of the year.
France has repeatedly tried to breathe new life into the peace process within the year.
It held a preliminary conference in June where the UN, EU, U.S. and major Arab countries gathered to discuss proposals without the Israelis or Palestinians present.
The plan was to hold a follow-up conference before year-end with the Israelis and Palestinians involved and see whether the two sides could be brought back to negotiations.
As at 2015, U.S.-backed talks ended in failure in April 2014; however, the Palestinians have agreed to attend the Paris conference if it goes ahead.
Israel, which regards the U.S. as the chief broker in the Middle East, has long maintained that only direct negotiations with the Palestinians can lead to peace.
It sees France’s efforts as a diversion. (Reuters/NAN)