CNN, Paris :
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has labeled an international peace conference in Paris aimed at solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as “useless.”
The conference, which is being attended by some 70 countries, started Sunday morning to discuss how to bring both sides to the negotiating table and maintain support for a two-state solution.
The conference is expected to last one day. Neither Israel nor the Palestinian government are represented at the conference, and Netanyahu told his cabinet meeting Sunday that the talks were “among the last twitches of yesterday’s world.”
“It is being coordinated between the French and the Palestinians,” he said.
“Its goal is to try and force terms on Israel that conflict with our national needs. Of course it pushes peace further away because it hardens the Palestinian positions and it also pushes them away from direct negotiations without preconditions. “I must say that this conference is among the last twitches of yesterday’s world. Tomorrow’s world will be different-and it is very near,” said Netanyahu seemingly referencing the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in five days.
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the conference at the opening of the Palestinian embassy in the Vatican on Saturday. “We praise the role of President (Francois) Hollande and the French government in organizing this international conference, and we call upon the participants to take concrete measures in order to implement international law and UN resolutions,” Abbas said.
The talks, hosted by France, are aimed at restarting some level of negotiations after the last round of talks collapsed in 2014. Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French foreign minister, told delegates, “there is no time to lose” over a solution. “It is not the time to stop. The emergency remains,” he said.
“The parties remain very distanced in a relationship of defiance, which is particularly dangerous, and no one is immune to a new explosion of violence.” French president Francois Hollande warned that accepting the “status quo” was not an option for the international community and criticized those who believe holding such a conference was “naive.” “It would be naive to consider that bridging the gap between Israel and its neighbors, so necessary, is possible without progressing towards peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” he said in a speech. The conference comes amid rising tensions between Israeli and Palestinian leaders following December’s passing of a UN Security Council resolution that condemned Israeli settlement construction.
The Security Council approved the resolution with 14 votes, with the US abstaining.
Israel fears the recommendations of the conference could turn into another Security Council resolution during the Obama administration’s final days in office. Netanyahu has made it clear he’s looking forward to working with Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to relocate the US Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem-a proposal that has caused consternation within the international community.
Arab and European allies have warned the incoming Trump administration that such a move would risk undermining the peace process and lead to further violence in the region.
President Abbas responded by writing to the leaders of Russia, China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Arab League and others asking them to stop Trump. US Secretary of State John Kerry was also forthright in his opinion, warning that such a move could cause “an absolute explosion in the region.” Last week, Trump’s transition team floated the possibility of initially having the US ambassador to Israel work and live in the US consulate in Jerusalem, while the American Embassy remains in Tel Aviv.
Abbas has himself written to Trump to register his concern over how moving the embassy could have a shattering effect on any chances of peace. PLO Secretary-General and chief negotiator Saeb Erekat also confirmed that Russia had been urged to prevent any such move from occurring.
“The Palestinian Presidential office have sent a message to all foreign ministries asking them to use all tools to prevent Trump’s decision to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem. This will put an end to the two-state solution and it crosses all red lines,” Erekat told CNN.
Erekat also confirmed the message from Abbas was delivered to President Putin “through Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has labeled an international peace conference in Paris aimed at solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as “useless.”
The conference, which is being attended by some 70 countries, started Sunday morning to discuss how to bring both sides to the negotiating table and maintain support for a two-state solution.
The conference is expected to last one day. Neither Israel nor the Palestinian government are represented at the conference, and Netanyahu told his cabinet meeting Sunday that the talks were “among the last twitches of yesterday’s world.”
“It is being coordinated between the French and the Palestinians,” he said.
“Its goal is to try and force terms on Israel that conflict with our national needs. Of course it pushes peace further away because it hardens the Palestinian positions and it also pushes them away from direct negotiations without preconditions. “I must say that this conference is among the last twitches of yesterday’s world. Tomorrow’s world will be different-and it is very near,” said Netanyahu seemingly referencing the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in five days.
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the conference at the opening of the Palestinian embassy in the Vatican on Saturday. “We praise the role of President (Francois) Hollande and the French government in organizing this international conference, and we call upon the participants to take concrete measures in order to implement international law and UN resolutions,” Abbas said.
The talks, hosted by France, are aimed at restarting some level of negotiations after the last round of talks collapsed in 2014. Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French foreign minister, told delegates, “there is no time to lose” over a solution. “It is not the time to stop. The emergency remains,” he said.
“The parties remain very distanced in a relationship of defiance, which is particularly dangerous, and no one is immune to a new explosion of violence.” French president Francois Hollande warned that accepting the “status quo” was not an option for the international community and criticized those who believe holding such a conference was “naive.” “It would be naive to consider that bridging the gap between Israel and its neighbors, so necessary, is possible without progressing towards peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” he said in a speech. The conference comes amid rising tensions between Israeli and Palestinian leaders following December’s passing of a UN Security Council resolution that condemned Israeli settlement construction.
The Security Council approved the resolution with 14 votes, with the US abstaining.
Israel fears the recommendations of the conference could turn into another Security Council resolution during the Obama administration’s final days in office. Netanyahu has made it clear he’s looking forward to working with Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to relocate the US Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem-a proposal that has caused consternation within the international community.
Arab and European allies have warned the incoming Trump administration that such a move would risk undermining the peace process and lead to further violence in the region.
President Abbas responded by writing to the leaders of Russia, China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Arab League and others asking them to stop Trump. US Secretary of State John Kerry was also forthright in his opinion, warning that such a move could cause “an absolute explosion in the region.” Last week, Trump’s transition team floated the possibility of initially having the US ambassador to Israel work and live in the US consulate in Jerusalem, while the American Embassy remains in Tel Aviv.
Abbas has himself written to Trump to register his concern over how moving the embassy could have a shattering effect on any chances of peace. PLO Secretary-General and chief negotiator Saeb Erekat also confirmed that Russia had been urged to prevent any such move from occurring.
“The Palestinian Presidential office have sent a message to all foreign ministries asking them to use all tools to prevent Trump’s decision to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem. This will put an end to the two-state solution and it crosses all red lines,” Erekat told CNN.
Erekat also confirmed the message from Abbas was delivered to President Putin “through Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday.”
