French President Francois Hollande opened the Paris peace summit this morning by saying that discord in the rest of the Middle East is not a reason to “abandon the Israeli-Palestinian issue”.
Twenty nine countries are participating in the summit, but there are no Israeli or Palestinian delegates . The meeting aims to set a date for an international peace conference by the end of the year.
“This initiative has one aim,” Mr Hollande told the delegates, “to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process." He said that the only way to achieve this is via a two-state solution.
He said: “The only ones to benefit from the continuation of the status quo are the extremists who oppose peace. A peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians must include the countries of the region.
