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France to Host Preliminary 'Israel-Palestinian' Peace Summit

CBN

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JERUSALEM, Israel – France hopes to host dozens of foreign ministers at an international conference on May 30 to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but neither the Israelis nor Palestinians will be there.

The meeting is being billed as a lead-up to a conference during the summer that organizers hope will break the stalemated talks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says such initiatives, like others before them, "push the Palestinians further away from the negotiating table and direct negotiations."

"Israel adheres to its position that the best way to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is direct, bilateral negotiations," Netanyahu said in a statement released just before the Passover holiday. "Israel is ready to begin them immediately without preconditions. Any other diplomatic initiative distances the Palestinians from direct negotiations."

Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon agreed.

"The Palestinians believe they will receive a better deal is Israel is not involved – if outsiders dictate to Israel what the outcome will be – and this is a mistake," Danon said, adding that at some point they will have to sit down with Israel in the same room. "Maybe this makes them look better to their own people," he said, "but it won't help us get the peace process back on track."

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