- 4 hours ago
- Middle East
AP
A major international conference to try to kick-start peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians is under way in the French capital, Paris.
Delegates from 70 nations are expected to reaffirm support for a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict.
Palestinians have welcomed the meeting but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - who is not attending - says the conference is "futile".
The last round of direct peace talks collapsed amid acrimony in April 2014.
Israel and the Palestinians have been invited to hear the conclusions of the meeting, but not to participate in the summit itself.
It comes at a time of tension between Israel and the international community after the UN passed a resolution last month denouncing Israel's settlement activity on occupied land.
Israel accused the Obama administration of engineering the motion and enabling it to pass by not using its power of veto in the UN Security Council.
The White House denied colluding to get the resolution passed.
Tensions have also risen over US President-elect Donald Trump's plans to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The status of Jerusalem is one of the most sensitive and complex issues of the entire conflict. The Palestinians view East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state but Israel proclaim the entire city as its capital.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told France 3 TV on Sunday he thought Mr Trump would not be able to make the move, but if he did, it would have "extremely serious consequences".
"One cannot have such a clear-cut, unilateral position. You have to create the conditions for peace."
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas warned on Saturday that such a move could "bury the hopes for a two-state solution".
There is deep alarm among participants at the conference that if President Trump does break with decades of US policy and move the embassy to Jerusalem, then conditions will be set for another upsurge in violence in the region, says the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris.
Conference 'rigged'
In his speech to open the conference, French President Francois Hollande said the international community had to be reminded of its obligations to build peace.
"The naivety is to believe that the much-needed reconciliation between Israel and its neighbours can go forward without peace between the Israelis and Palestinians," he said.
"And the cynicism is to sink into the status quo, hoping the situation would find a natural solution as a result of all excesses."
The conference is being attended by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, as well as key European and Arab states.
AFP
Attendees are expected to discuss a draft statement calling on Israel and the Palestinians "to officially restate their commitment to the two-state solution" and avoid taking "unilateral steps that prejudge the outcome of final status negotiations".
A "two-state solution" of a Palestinian country alongside Israel has long been endorsed by both sides but there are sharply divergent visions as to the type of state which should emerge.
Israel rejects international involvement in the peace process, saying an agreement can only come through direct talks.
Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu has called the Paris meeting "a rigged conference" which Israel would not be bound by.
AFP
Prior to the conference, the US State Department said Secretary of State John Kerry would attend to try to ensure "whatever happens in this conference is constructive and balanced".
Israel is concerned that the conference might set the terms for a final agreement and seek to get it adopted at the UN, a move it feels would undermine future negotiations.
Sticking points
Despite years of on-off peace talks, major differences still separate the two sides.
Palestinians fiercely object to Israeli settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, territory it wants for a future state
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