Netanyahu rejects France peace bid, but says willing to meet Abbas in person

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday rejected the French initiative for an international conference to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, but told visiting French Prime Minister Manuel Valls that he is willing to meet Abbas in person for peace.

Netanyahu and Valls held a press conference before their meeting at noon on Monday. Valls was in Israel working to promote the French peace summit initiative.

"I will sit alone directly with President Abbas in the Élysée Palace, or anywhere else that you choose. Every difficult issue will be on the table: mutual recognition, incitement, borders, refugees and yes, settlements -- everything," Netanyahu said, reiterating that Israel prefers direct negotiations to an international summit.

The French initiative, which calls for an international peace conference, will not encourage peace, Netanyahu said.

"Peace just does not get achieved through international conferences, UN-style," he said. "It doesn't get to fruition through international diktats or committees from countries around the world who are sitting and seeking to decide our fate and our security when they have no direct stake in it."

He spoke of the importance of "direct negotiations" through which "the Palestinian leadership must face a stark choice and... recognize the Jewish state" and warned that the French initiative, in its current state, may push Palestinians to "avoid" direct talks.

On his part, Valls said he would discuss the various options for operation with French President Francois Hollande, following the meeting with Netanyahu.

Valls also said during Monday's press conference that France wishes to "recruit the international community in order to advance peace and the two-state solution."

Valls arrived in Israel late Saturday and will leave the area on Tuesday afternoon. In addition to Netanyahu, he has also met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, head of the Israeli parliament's opposition Isaac Herzog, and former Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Rivlin, with whom Valls met on Monday morning, also said Israel believes the only way to achieve peace with the Palestinians is through direct negotiations.

"We are convinced that the only way to bring an end to this tragedy of 150 years between us and our cousins the Palestinians, is through direct negotiations," Rivlin said, according to a statement from his office.

Valls is slated to visit the Palestinian Authorities and meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.

France proposed the initiative in January, and will hold a special conference of foreign ministers, including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, on June 3 in Paris. No Israeli or Palestinian representatives will be present.

Another conference is in the works for the upcoming fall, with the attendance of Israelis and Palestinians, with the eventual aim of restarting peace talks between the parties.

Israeli leaders said such a conference would encourage Palestinians to skip direct negotiations, while Palestinian leaders welcomed the initiative.

The last round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians took place between July 2013 and April 2014. In the past eight months, Israel and the Palestinians have been mired in a wave of violence that claimed the lives of 28 Israelis and 203 Palestinians. Endit