Just in:
Infineon and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering jointly develop ship electrification technology // Meta Earth Official Website Launch: The Pioneer Explorer in the Modular Public Blockchain Domain // 2024 Lok Sabha Election Is A Historic Battle Against The Advent Of Fascism In India // Universal Language for Healthcare: General Authority Embraces Global Coding System // Hullabaloo About Electoral Bonds May End Up As A Whimper Pre And Post Poll // German Job Market Resilience Bodes Well for Economic Recovery // Arvind Kejriwal Was Used By BJP In 2011 Movement To Take On The Congress // No running of govt from jail, says Delhi Lt Governor // Experience Ultimate Shopping Freedom at 4.4 Shopee Spree: Don’t Worry, Shop Shopee! // Superland Announced Annual Results for 2023, 2023 Net Profit Increased approximately 39.5% to approximately HK$22.2 million as Compared to the 2022 Adjusted One // Near Miss at Kolkata Airport: IndiGo Plane Makes Contact with Stationary Air India Express // Sunshine’s Debut Features Leave Tech World Scratching Its Head // Sharpening the Focus: Sharjah Health Department Refines Evaluation Criteria for “Healthy Schools Programme” // In Lok Sabha Polls In Punjab, AAP Is Advantageously Placed As Against Its Three Rivals // HSBC Streamlines Gold Investment for Hong Kong Residents with Tokenized Product // Experts come together to support updating the city’s nature conservation masterplan // Emirates Post Speeds Up Deliveries for GCC with Special Day // Court Sides with Coinbase on Wallet Service, But Staking Program Remains in Limbo // Arvind Kejriwal Gets International Heft Against The Deshi Vishwaguru // AIA Hong Kong Wins More Than 20 Accolades at MPF Ratings MPF Awards, BENCHMARK MPF of The Year Awards and Bloomberg Businessweek Top Fund Awards //
HomeMiddle EastNetanyahu Rejects ‘International Diktat’ on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Deal

Netanyahu Rejects ‘International Diktat’ on Israeli-Palestinian Peace Deal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, right, and France’s foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, in Jerusalem on Sunday.
By ISABEL KERSHNER
June 21, 2015

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Sunday rebuffed the French idea of restarting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process with international support and the backing of a United Nations Security Council resolution.

Speaking at a joint news conference with France’s foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, who was visiting the region to advance the French-led initiative, Mr. Netanyahu said: “Peace will only come from direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions. It will not come from U.N. resolutions that are sought to be imposed from the outside.”

Earlier on Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu had employed sharper language, telling his cabinet ministers in broadcast remarks, “We strongly reject attempts to force international diktat on us in regard to both security and peace.”

ADVERTISEMENT

These international efforts, Mr. Netanyahu added, failed to address “the security needs of the state of Israel and our other national interests.”

With peace talks stalled for more than a year, France has been sounding out the possibility of beginning the process with the help of Arab states, the European Union and Security Council members, supported by a Security Council resolution that would set parameters for new negotiations on Palestinian statehood and perhaps establish a time frame for them.

Mr. Fabius asked that his effort not be prejudged.

After meeting with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Mr. Fabius warned that lack of progress could result in an explosion of violence in the area. “If we are to succeed, we must discuss these ideas without prior judgment,” he said, according to the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, adding that the goal was “to achieve an independent Palestinian state and security for the state of Israel.”

Mr. Fabius said that the word “diktat” was not part of the French vocabulary or the French proposals.

In Jerusalem, Mr. Fabius tried to soften the tone of the disagreement, emphasizing that there was no substitute for bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. But he added that international organizations have an important role to play in promoting new peace talks.

Underlining the deep rift between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, Riad al-Malki, the foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority government, said the Palestinians welcomed the French effort and would do whatever was necessary to help it succeed.

Mr. Fabius met on Saturday in Cairo with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt and with a committee of Arab foreign ministers.

On Sunday, Egypt announced that it was sending a new ambassador to Israel; the last one was recalled in late 2012. Mohamed Morsi, the Islamist president of Egypt who was deposed in 2013, withdrew the ambassador to protest an Israeli offensive against militant groups in Gaza.

Mr. Netanyahu described the Egyptian announcement as “an important piece of news,” saying that it was “deeply welcomed in Israel.”

In a reminder of the simmering tensions in the area, a Palestinian resident of the West Bank stabbed an Israeli paramilitary police officer in the neck and chest, severely wounding him, at a busy gateway to the Old City in East Jerusalem on Sunday. The wounded officer shot the assailant, who was said to be about 18 years old. Both were taken to a hospital in critical condition, according to the police.

The episode came two days after an Israeli man was killed and another injured by a Palestinian gunman in the occupied West Bank, adding to fears of an uptick in violence during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which began Thursday.

In an effort to reduce some of the pressure on the Palestinians, Israel said it was relaxing some restrictions on their movement during Ramadan, providing shuttle buses from West Bank cities to bring Muslim worshipers to Friday prayer at Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and assisting in family visits among Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Israel.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.

(via NY Times)

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT
Just in:
Party Nominees Refusing To Contest: Major Perception Threat For BJP // Experts come together to support updating the city’s nature conservation masterplan // Sharpening the Focus: Sharjah Health Department Refines Evaluation Criteria for “Healthy Schools Programme” // Infineon and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering jointly develop ship electrification technology // Superland Announced Annual Results for 2023, 2023 Net Profit Increased approximately 39.5% to approximately HK$22.2 million as Compared to the 2022 Adjusted One // US reiterates concern over Kejriwal arrest, Cong accounts // German Job Market Resilience Bodes Well for Economic Recovery // No running of govt from jail, says Delhi Lt Governor // Renewables Surge Sets Record, But Global Equity Lags // Hullabaloo About Electoral Bonds May End Up As A Whimper Pre And Post Poll // Emirates Post Speeds Up Deliveries for GCC with Special Day // Konica Minolta is named ASEAN 2023 Market Leader in Colour Light and Mid Digital Production Printers // Sunshine’s Debut Features Leave Tech World Scratching Its Head // Arvind Kejriwal Was Used By BJP In 2011 Movement To Take On The Congress // Near Miss at Kolkata Airport: IndiGo Plane Makes Contact with Stationary Air India Express // AIA Hong Kong Wins More Than 20 Accolades at MPF Ratings MPF Awards, BENCHMARK MPF of The Year Awards and Bloomberg Businessweek Top Fund Awards // Meta Earth Official Website Launch: The Pioneer Explorer in the Modular Public Blockchain Domain // Arvind Kejriwal Gets International Heft Against The Deshi Vishwaguru // HSBC Streamlines Gold Investment for Hong Kong Residents with Tokenized Product // Andertoons by Mark Anderson for Thu, 28 Mar 2024 //