Hollande says Paris peace confab not designed to replace direct talks

French President Francois Hollande says Sunday’s peace conference in Paris is not meant to replace Israel-Palestinian talks, but aims at ensuring the support of the international community for the two-state solution as a reference for future direct negotiations.

“Peace will be achieved by Israelis and Palestinians, and nobody else. Only bilateral negotiations can succeed,” Hollande says in a speech to diplomats, adding that the abandonment of the two-state solution would undermine Israel’s security.

Earlier in the day Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the conference as “rigged by the Palestinians with French auspices to adopt additional anti-Israel stances,”

Hollande says the January 15 conference will push for concrete solutions to help develop energy, transportation and city infrastructure to benefit Israelis and Palestinians. French authorities are expecting 72 countries to attend the conference — but not Israel or the Palestinians.

The Palestinians, who in recent years have campaigned for the international community to assume a greater role in resolving the conflict, have welcomed the French initiative.

— AP