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Monday 01 Feb 2016 - 10:56 Makkah mean time-22-4-1437
Bethlehem, (IINA) - The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) welcomed calls made by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius regarding a new peace initiative to end the ongoing Israeli military occupation, the failure of which would result in France's recognition of Palestine as a state, Ma’an News Agency reported.
“We welcome the call made by France for an inclusive and serious international involvement towards ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967”, PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat said in a statement, calling on the international community to participate in France’s efforts.
The initiative was rejected shortly after by Israeli officials due to France’s pledge to recognize Palestine as an independent state if the new plans failed, according to Israeli media reports.
Palestinian ambassador to France Salman Al-Harfi confirmed to Ma'an that France would recognize Palestine if the conflict was not resolved through the new bid, which would reportedly kick off with an international conference held within the next few weeks to renew diplomatic relations between the two sides.
It is noteworthy that Fabius pushed a UN resolution in 2014 and 2015, which laid out parameters for peace talks that failed after Palestinian leadership disagreed with the resolution's final amendments and the US and Israel pressured France to halt its efforts.
The UN resolution proposed by Fabius was slammed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who had said in June 2015: "The only way to reach an agreement is through bilateral negotiations, and we will forcibly reject any attempts to force upon us international dictates”.
Fabius’ efforts last year fell within months of declarations due to Netanyahu insisting that he would neither allow a Palestinian state nor a Palestinian capital in occupied East Jerusalem.
AG/IINA
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