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Israel formally declines France peace initiative, pushes for direct talks
Israeli officials told a senior French diplomat yesterday that Israel will not participate in France’s international peace initiative because of concerns that it will allow the Palestinians to avoid direct peace negotiations.
Pierre Vimont, France’s special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, met Jacob Nagel, Israel’s Acting National Security Advisor and Yitzhak Molcho, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal envoy to discuss the initiative.
A statement from Netanyahu’s office said: “Israel’s position to promote the peace process and reach an agreement will only come through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).”
The statement continued: “Any other initiative, including this one, will only distance peace from the region,” adding that it expected France “not to promote a conference or a process that is contrary to (our) official position”.
Netanyahu reiterated this position during a press conference alongside Fiji’s Prime Minister Josaia Bainimarama, saying: ““I’ll be happy to begin peace negotiations without any conditions …with [PA] President Abbas.”
France announced its intention earlier this year to host an international conference with the goal of agreeing the implementation of a two-state solution. An initial preparatory meeting of ministers from 29 interested countries, but excluding Israeli and Palestinian representatives, convened in Paris in June. Earlier this week, Vimont said that France still intends to hold a conference before the end of 2016.
Israeli leaders have consistently argued that an international framework to solve the conflict will give the PA cover to make unrealistic demands and avoid real negotiations. The PA has previously demanded a freeze on West Bank and east Jerusalem settlement construction and the release of Palestinian prisoners as a pre-condition to restarting direct talks which ended in April 2014.
PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat met Vimont in Ramallah and pledged Palestinian support for the French initiative. He said: “Israel is a state that does not only refuse to attend international conferences, but refuses to recognise Palestine… Israel wants only to maintain the status quo and to continue with its settlement policies and land grabs.”