Israel rejected French President Francois Hollande’s invitation to convene a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas Haaretz Hebrew newspaper said.
Israel emphasized to France that it rejects the tripartite meeting proposed by Hollande in accordance with its general objection to the French peace initiative the paper quoted a senior Israeli official as saying.
According to Haaretz a senior Israeli official dismissed Hollande’s invitation as “an attempt to try and make us accept the framework of the French peace initiative.”
“We’re ready to meet with Abbas without preconditions and not as part of the French peace initiative” the official continued. “If the French were interested in hosting why didn’t they invite us a day before the foreign ministers’ meeting or a month after the summit.”
Earlier Wednesday French President Francois Hollande invited Netanyahu to meet with Abbas in Paris in two weeks’ time.
