Occupied Jerusalem: The Israeli regime on Thursday reiterated its opposition to a planned French peace conference, calling instead for direct and unconditional negotiations with the Palestinians.
The statement comes after French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault announced Paris would organise a ministerial meeting on May 30, ahead of a potential peace conference.
The proposal has been welcomed by the Palestinians.
The last serious attempt at peace negotiations broke down two years ago.
The May 30 meeting will include representatives from 20 countries, plus the European Union and the United Nations, but not Israelis or Palestinians.
Paris is currently preparing invitations for the event, diplomatic sources said.
If successful, the meeting would lead to an international conference later this year in the presence of both Palestinian and Israeli leaders.
The Israeli regime has not explicitly ruled out involvement in the conference.
The French attempt comes at a time of polarisation and high tensions in Israel and the Palestinian territories, with 203 Palestinians and 28 Israelis killed since October 1.
Peace talks have been frozen since a US-brokered initiative collapsed in April 2014, after a year of intense shuttle diplomacy by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Both sides blamed the other for the talks’ failure.
