Itongadol.-France\’s foreign minister heads to the Middle East this weekend with an initiative aimed at bringing Israel and the Palestinians back to peace talks under an international framework amid growing regional instability.
US-led efforts to broker peace for a two-state solution collapsed in April 2014 and leaders on both sides have since been weakened politically. But with the region\’s crises worsening and Washington reassessing its options on US-Israel relations, France sees a narrow window to resume negotiations.
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius will explore the prospects for talks with key Arab League ministers, including Saudi Arabia, in Cairo on Saturday and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday.
"Everything points to inertia, but we believe that this inertia is deadly," said a senior French diplomat. "We can no longer isolate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the regional context."
If the conflict remains unresolved, the diplomat added, radical groups such as Islamic State will make the Palestinian cause their own.
"If we are in a period without negotiations, and without the possibility of negotiations, we will have to look at all options," US Ambassador Dan Shapiro told Israel\’s Army Radio.
Netanyahu has highlighted his opposition to French moves and Israeli deputy foreign minister Tzipy Hotovely dismissed it on Friday.
"The French initiative is counter-productive because it gives the illusion to the Palestinians that they will get something from the international community without having to make concessions," she told French daily Le Figaro.
She added that only direct dialogue between the two sides could resolve the conflict.