BICOM

Representatives from 74 countries gathered in Paris for a conference on the Middle East peace process yesterday and called for Israelis and Palestinians to “take urgent steps” to “start meaningful direct negotiations”.

The conference was attended by 36 foreign ministers, including outgoing US Secretary of State John Kerry, plus Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, the secretary general of the Arab League, and the EU foreign affairs representative, Federica Mogherini. The UK sent Michael Howells, head of the Middle East desk at the Foreign Office and two diplomats from the Paris embassy. Israeli and Palestinian Authority (PA) representatives were not invited.

The delegates released a concluding statement, which said that a two-state solution “is the only way to achieve enduring peace”. It called on both sides to “officially restate their commitment to the two-state solution, thus disassociating themselves from voices that reject this solution” and to “reverse the “current negative trends on the ground including continued acts of violence and ongoing settlement activity”.

The statement also called on both sides to refrain from “unilateral steps that prejudge the outcome of negotiations on final status issues including Jerusalem, borders, security and refugees”.

It also “underscored the importance” of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which envisages a regional rapprochement between Israel and Arab states in return for the creation of a Palestinian state.

The statement added that a follow-up conference will take place before the end of 2017.

Addressing his cabinet yesterday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “The conference that is convening today in Paris is a pointless conference.”

He added: “It was coordinated by the French and the Palestinians and aims to force conditions on Israel that conflict with our national interests.”

Most Israeli leaders have opposed the conference, saying that such multi-lateral forums further encourage the PA to avoid direct bilateral talks with Israel.

Kerry reportedly called Netanyahu yesterday and pledged that conclusions from yesterday’s conference would not form the basis of a new UN Security Council resolution criticising Israel.