Paris summit ends with call for international conference

Raphael Ahren

A one-day Israeli-Palestinian peace summit in Paris — to which the Israelis and Palestinians were not invited — concluded Friday with a warning that violence and settlement activity are imperiling a two-state solution, and a call for an international conference on the issue before the end of the year.

The closing communique did not set a firm timetable for further efforts, however. And while France portrayed Friday’s meeting as a first step by the international community to weigh different options, the Americans have been chilly towards the talks, although Secretary of State John Kerry attended, and Israel has flatly opposed to French efforts, calling instead on the Palestinians to enter direct peace talks without conditions.

“We must act, urgently, to preserve the two-state solution, revive it before it is too late,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said after the meeting. 

The closing communique did not set a firm timetable for further efforts, however. And while France portrayed Friday’s meeting as a first step by the international community to weigh different options, the Americans have been chilly towards the talks, although Secretary of State John Kerry attended, and Israel has flatly opposed to French efforts, calling instead on the Palestinians to enter direct peace talks without conditions.

“We have chosen to extend a hand to the Israelis and the Palestinians. We hope that they accept it,” Ayrault said. He warned that a solution which would see Israelis and Palestinians living side by side was “getting further away each day.”

Israel quickly dismissed the gathering as a “missed opportunity,” claiming its participants had caved to Palestinian demands. The Palestinians, by contrast, welcomed what they called a “significant step” against Israel’s “apartheid policies in occupied Palestine.”

In their closing communique, the more than two dozen participating nations reaffirmed that “a negotiated two-state solution is the only way to achieve an enduring peace, with two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security.” They expressed alarm that “actions on the ground, in particular continued acts of violence and ongoing settlement activity, are dangerously imperiling the prospects for a two-state solution.”

Calling for an end to the “Israeli occupation that begin in 1967,” the participants said they had “discussed possible ways in which the international community could help advance the prospects for peace, including by providing meaningful incentives” and “highlighted the potential for regional peace and security as envisioned by the Arab Peace Initiative.”

The closing communique also highlighted the key role of the Quartet and key regional stakeholders. “They welcomed the interested countries’ offer to contribute to this effort. They also welcomed France’s offer to coordinate it, and the prospect of convening before the end of the year an international conference.”EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini stressed that the aim of the summit was not to impose terms, but rather to create conditions in which substantive negotiations could resume. “The policy of settlement expansion and demolitions, violence, and incitement tells us very clearly that the perspective that Oslo opened up is seriously at risk of fading away,” she told reporters.

French President Francois Hollande speaks during an interministerial meeting in a bid to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, in Paris, France, on June 3, 2016. (AFP/Stephane de Sakutin, Pool)

The foreign ministers of the United States, Great Britain, Russia, China, Germany and several Arab states attended the meeting. No Israeli or Palestinian officials were invited.

French President Francois Hollande kicked off the summit by calling on both sides to make the “courageous choice” to advance peace. “This initiative has only one goal, peace in Middle East. It was desirable and became necessary,” Hollande said at the opening session of the conference. “We can’t take the place of the parties,” he said, acknowledging the absence of both Israeli and Palestinian officials. “We can only make sure that peace will be solid, lasting and internationally safeguarded.”

Ahead of the summit, an internal document sent by the French Foreign Ministry to participating nations had anticipated that “ministers will agree on the principle that a clear timetable will need to be established for the negotiations when they restart, and that some interim review might be necessary to gauge the seriousness of the process.”

Source: The Times of Israel