Judeh and Kerry
Reuters
According to Jordan’s official news agency Petra, Judeh underlined the importance of relaunching serious and effective talks between the sides within a set timeframe.
Such talks, he added, must lead to the two-state solution, entailing the establishment of a viable and independent Palestinian state with eastern Jerusalem as its capital, according to Petra.
The talks come as France is pushing an initiative for an international peace summit on May 30, in which ministers from 20 countries will prepare an international summit in the second half of 2016, which would include Israeli and PA leaders.
The French initiative aims to force discussions based on the 2002 peace initiative, which was rejected by Israel as it demands the Jewish state make enormous withdrawals and accept an influx of "Palestinian refugees," only to receive a paper promise of normalization from Arab states in return.
Back in January the French initiative was announced, and Paris threatened to unilaterally recognize the "state of Palestine" if the talks failed. But the new French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault backtracked on the threat in March, saying France would not “automatically” recognize a Palestinian state if its initiative fails.
Israel last week rejected the French peace initiative, saying it “adheres to its position that the best way to a solution of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is direct bilateral negotiations.”
Restating Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's frequent public offers to negotiate with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the statement from his office said, "Israel is prepared to start them (negotiations) immediately with no preconditions."
