JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rejected the possibility of a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at a France-led peace conference later this month, his office said.
Israeli officials have long opposed the initiative, which would involve an international summit in Paris at the end of December aimed at restarting long-stalled peace efforts with the Palestinians.
Netanyahu told French President Francois Hollande in a Wednesday phone call however that he was willing to meet Abbas “directly, without preconditions,” his office said in a statement. “Israel will not participate in an international conference that will not contribute to peace,” it added.
The Palestinians strongly support France’s international approach, saying years of negotiations with the Israelis have not ended the occupation. Netanyahu has spoken out against “international diktats” and repeatedly called for direct negotiations.
A spokesman for Netanyahu repeated Israel’s rejection of the French initiative on Wednesday.
“Peace will be achieved through direct negotiations with our Palestinian neighbors, not through international conferences,” David Keyes said before Netanyahu’s call with Hollande.
The Israeli Parliament on Wednesday voted in favor of a disputed bill on legalizing some 4,000 settler homes in the occupied West Bank, in the first of three readings.
Fifty-seven members of the Knesset, voted to approve the draft legislation submitted by Netanyahu’s party, while 51 were against it.
Israeli officials have long opposed the initiative, which would involve an international summit in Paris at the end of December aimed at restarting long-stalled peace efforts with the Palestinians.
Netanyahu told French President Francois Hollande in a Wednesday phone call however that he was willing to meet Abbas “directly, without preconditions,” his office said in a statement. “Israel will not participate in an international conference that will not contribute to peace,” it added.
The Palestinians strongly support France’s international approach, saying years of negotiations with the Israelis have not ended the occupation. Netanyahu has spoken out against “international diktats” and repeatedly called for direct negotiations.
A spokesman for Netanyahu repeated Israel’s rejection of the French initiative on Wednesday.
“Peace will be achieved through direct negotiations with our Palestinian neighbors, not through international conferences,” David Keyes said before Netanyahu’s call with Hollande.
The Israeli Parliament on Wednesday voted in favor of a disputed bill on legalizing some 4,000 settler homes in the occupied West Bank, in the first of three readings.
Fifty-seven members of the Knesset, voted to approve the draft legislation submitted by Netanyahu’s party, while 51 were against it.
