France warns of ‘explosion’ if no Mideast peace

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius warned Sunday of an “explosion” in the absence of Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts during a visit to the region Sunday, after Paris said it would propose a U.N. Security Council resolution to set a framework for negotiations.

 

The Palestinians have welcomed the initiative, hoping the international community will assume a greater role in resolving the conflict after more than two decades of failed U.S.-led peace efforts.

 

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he would “fiercely reject” any international demands on the talks.

 

Palestinian officials and French diplomats say the proposal would call for basing the borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state on the lines that existed before the 1967 war, in which Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. It also would set a two-year deadline for an agreement.

 

Israel rejects a return to its pre-1967 lines, saying they are indefensible, and does not want to set a deadline for an agreement.

 

“The most important thing for us is again to seek peace and security and the necessity to have two states,” Fabius said Sunday after meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “Let’s take the lessons from the past and try to move forward.”

 

Fabius said he had spoken recently with Egypt’s president and Jordan’s king, and “they both told me the same thing, there is a great concern that if things continue to be frozen like this then an explosion could happen.”

 

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