MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Netanyahu offered direct negotiations on Monday as an alternative to France’s proposal for a multilateral June 3 conference in Paris.
"Direct negotiations with Mr. Netanyahu in the past have proven to be fruitless; why repeat the same mistakes," the Jerusalem Post daily quoted Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah’s director of communications Jamal Dajani as saying.
Dajani added that the Israeli prime minister’s "actions have shown that he's more interested in building illegal settlements than in reaching peace."
Hamdallah is reportedly due to meet French Prime Minister Manuel Valls in Ramallah early Tuesday.
In April, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault announced that the ministers of 20 countries would take part in a meeting in Paris to relaunch the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Neither Israeli nor Palestinian officials will be attending the event scheduled for June 3.
Palestinians seek diplomatic recognition for their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip. Israel has been building settlements on the occupied territories despite objection from the United Nations.
