France to postpone peace conference to January: Palestinian diplomat

A Palestinian diplomat said Tuesday that France has informed the Palestinians that it will postpone the international peace conference to January.

The Palestinian Ambassador to France Salman Al-Herfi said during a telephone interview with Xinhua that the postponing came based on the recommendation of the French Foreign Ministry to carry out more deliberations concerning the conference.

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Member Ahmad Majdalani told Xinhua that the contacts that France is making ahead of the international peace conference to guarantee wide international participation are "very difficult."

Majdalani highlighted that "the U.S. rejection to hold the international conference and the Israeli rejection are hindering Paris's efforts so far."

The Palestinian Presidency announced a few days ago that it approves all that France decides regarding the peace process and the efforts to hold the international conference in Paris.

PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat declared that France has informed the Palestinians that it will host the conference on Dec. 21 attended by 70 foreign ministers from around the world.

Paris hosted an international ministerial meeting on June 3, attended by the foreign ministers of 25 countries, including four Arab countries, which debated the revival of the stalled peace process between Israel and Palestine.

The meeting was held based on an initiative launched by France, a few months before, to hold an international conference to look into an international mechanism to end the Palestinian - Israeli conflict based on the two-state solution.

Israel declared it is against the French initiative and said it is committed to bilateral negotiations in order to realize peace without preconditions.

The peace talks between Israel and Palestine have been stalled since April 2014. The U.S.-sponsored talks that lasted for nine months achieved no tangible results. Endit