“Then this city will bring Me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.” (Jeremiah 33:9)
While opposing the upcoming French peace summit that will not permit attendance by Israel or the Palestinian Authority (PA), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested that France arrange a one-on-one meeting between him and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in France.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls was in the region last week to build up support for the French peace initiative, which will convene 20 nations, including the United States, to decide the best course of action for peace.
Netanyahu told Valls that peace could not be achieved through international conferences, but only through direct negotiations.
“I can tell you from long experience, I know how hard direct negotiations are, but this is how we achieve[d] peace with Jordan and before that this is how we achieve[d] peace with Egypt,” he said. “And both peace treaties, achieved through direct negotiations, have stood the test of time. They’ve weathered many, many storms. And many lives have been saved because we sat around the table with former enemies directly, without preconditions, and we made difficult decisions.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greets French Prime Minister Manuel Valls. (GPO photo by Kobi Gideon)
Netanyahu called on Valls to help arrange direct negotiations rather than the indirect negotiations France has proposed.
“And if you really want to help launch peace, then help us launch direct negotiations with Mahmoud Abbas,” he challenged. “I will sit alone directly with President Abbas in the Élysée Palace, or anywhere else that you choose. Every difficult issue will be on the table: mutual recognition, incitement, borders, refugees, and yes, settlements — everything.”
As Netanyahu offered last month, “I am ready to clear my schedule and come.”
Unfortunately, “the Palestinian leadership doesn’t see the French initiative as an inducement to compromise, but rather as a way to avoid it,” Netanyahu said. “In fact, the Palestinian Prime Minister, Hamdallah, let slip the other day his hope for an imposed timetable [for Israel to withdraw to pre-1967 borders], rather than a negotiated peace.”
“We want two states for two peoples, a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state,” Netanyahu told Valls. “And I urge you not to let the Palestinian leadership shirk this difficult choice.”
Valls said he would welcome direct talks and would discuss Netanyahu’s proposal with French President Francoise Hollande.
Rami Hamdallah
On Tuesday, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, slammed Netanyahu’s offer to negotiate directly, telling Valls that “time is short. Netanyahu is trying to buy time… but this time he will not escape the international community.”
In a comment that reveals Palestinian intentions, Jamal Dajani, the director of communications for Hamdallah said before the meeting, “Direct negotiations with Mr. Netanyahu in the past have proven to be fruitless; why repeat the same mistakes?”
Meanwhile, France’s international peace summit, slated for June 3 without Israel or the PA’s presence, remains on the schedule despite strong Israeli objections.
“The aim [of the summit] is to bring the international community back for the sake of peace and a two-state solution, and to create the conditions for a renewal of negotiations,” Valls said at the press conference.
Following the conclusion of the summit, France still plans to host a second conference in the fall with Israeli and Palestinian representatives in attendance.
In a meeting this past Wednesday, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said to Valls that both sides must “truly [want] to live side by side in peace in this land.”
“In the Middle East, there are no shortcuts. Reaching an understanding and an agreement requires direct negotiations out of mutual trust,” he added.
“We are convinced that the only way to bring an end to this tragedy of 150 years between us and our cousins the Palestinians, is through direct negotiations,” Rivlin said.
Reuven Rivlin and Manuel Valls discuss peace.
“The Israeli people are in no doubt of your sincere and good intentions to bringing a solution to the conflict, but we are concerned that going through international channels will make redundant our demand of the Palestinian side, and the Palestinian president, to come and talk directly with us in order to find a solution, a lasting solution for peace between us and others living in this land,” Rivlin said.
Peace talks between Israel and the PA stalled in April 2014 after the collapse of a peace initiative led by the United States. The Palestinians have ignored Israel’s offers for discussing peace and claim Israel’s “occupation” has not ended. Certain Palestinian elements have claimed that any land under Israeli control is the equivalent of occupation.
