Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called this weekend’s West Asia peace conference in Paris “rigged” on Thursday, with his government refusing to play any role in the meeting.
“It’s a rigged conference, rigged by the Palestinians with French auspices to adopt additional anti-Israel stances,” Mr. Netanyahu said while meeting Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende.
Sunday’s conference to be attended by some 70 nations is aimed at exploring ways to restart long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.
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Israel rejects the conference and calls for bilateral talks. The Palestinians have welcomed the multilateral approach, saying years of negotiations have not ended Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.
Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts have been at a standstill since a U.S.-led initiative collapsed in April 2014.
The conference comes on the heels of a landmark UN Security Council resolution passed on December 23 calling for a halt to Israeli settlement building in Palestinian territory.
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Israel fears this weekend’s conference will produce measures that could then be taken to the Security Council and approved before January 20 — when Donald Trump takes charge as U.S. President. — AFP