Israel would consider a French invitation to peace talks with the Palestinians, but believes France has made a mistake by saying it would recognize a Palestinian state if the talks fail, an Israeli government official said on Saturday.
“If and when we get an invitation to a conference, we will examine it and respond to it,” the official, who declined to be named, said in a statement.
French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development Laurent Fabius told foreign diplomats on Friday that if the conference he proposes were to hit a wall, “well ... in this case, we need to face our responsibilities by recognizing the Palestinian state.”
The Israeli official dismissed the idea, saying: “Why would the Palestinians budge on even a comma in a conference if they already know that, without making progress, they will get what they want?”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking to African leaders at a summit in Ethiopia, urged them to back France’s conference plan.
‘UNDER THREAT’
However, two Israeli Cabinet ministers, both allies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel should boycott such a meeting.
“Unequivocally, Israel will not attend a conference under threat,” Israeli Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz told Channel 2 TV, echoing a comment by Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources Yuval Steinitz to Channel 1.
US-led efforts to broker a “two-state solution” collapsed in 2014, and there has been no serious attempt to revive them.
Fabius has previously called for an international support group comprising Arab states, the EU and UN Security Council members to put pressure on the two sides to compromise. However, Netanyahu has called France’s initiatives “counterproductive.”
TWO-STATE SOLUTION
A US official responded cautiously to Fabius’ statement.
“The US position on this issue has been clear. We continue to believe that the preferred path to resolve this conflict is for the parties to reach an agreement on final status issues directly,” the official said.
Despite anger in the US administration over Israeli settlement building, there is little prospect of US President Barack Obama supporting any initiative that could upset the US Jewish lobby 10 months before an election.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called Israel’s expansion of Jewish settlements in occupied land “provocative” and said that it raises questions about its commitment to a two-state solution.
Palestine has non-member observer status at the UN and its flag flies with those of member states at UN headquarters in New York.
Sweden became the first member of the EU to recognize a Palestinian state in 2014, and several other nations have followed.
Palestinians seek a state in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, parts of which have been occupied by Israel since 1967.
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