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Netanyahu meets French PM, suggests direct peace talks in Paris
Israel’s prime minister hosted his French counterpart in Jerusalem and warned that the French multi-lateral peace initiative would hand the Palestinian Authority (PA) an excuse to avoid direct talks with Israel.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls is on a three-day visit to the region and will this morning meet PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in Ramallah this morning in an effort to promote the French plan, which envisages an international peace conference in Paris to implement a two-state solution. An initial preparatory meeting of ministers from interested countries, but excluding Israeli and Palestinian representatives, is scheduled for 3 June.
Valls and Netanyahu held a joint press conference prior to the meeting. Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s position that “the only way to proceed to peace” is through direct negotiations. He said that the French initiative “will not encourage peace… Peace just does not get achieved through international conferences, UN-style” or “international diktats”. He warned: “The Palestinian Authority does not see the French initiative as an inducer for negotiations, but as a way to avoid them.”
Instead, Netanyahu suggested “a different French initiative… direct negotiations without preconditions, between the Israeli prime minister, the Palestinian president in Paris.” He pledged: “I will sit alone directly with President Abbas in the Élysée Palace, or anywhere else that you choose. Every difficult issue will be on the table.” Valls responded that he would present the idea to French President Francois Hollande.
Earlier in the day Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin delivered a similar message to Valls, telling him: “We are convinced that the only way to bring an end to this tragedy of 150 years between us and our cousins the Palestinians, is through direct negotiations,” adding, “In the Middle East, there are no shortcuts.”
However, Jamal Dajani, the director of communications for PA Prime Minister Hamdallah, appeared to reject Israeli overtures, saying: “Direct negotiations with Mr. Netanyahu in the past have proven to be fruitless; why repeat the same mistakes?”