France revitalizes the notion that Israel-Palestine conflict is at the core of instability in the Middle East

The question of Palestinian terrorism is usually evaded by politicians and commentators in Europe.   The responsibility for the stalemate is always laid squarely at Israel's feet.  Another point, the French do not really trust President François Hollande - his approval ratings have reached a record low - only 11 per cent of the people were satisfied with his performance in May 2016. Under the circumstances, why should Israel trust the French government's initiative?

The Jerusalem Post reports:

Forget unrelenting terrorism, the Hamas-Fatah split, and the consistent Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel as the national home of the Jews. According to a French pre-summit paper published on Thursday, settlement activity is the main threat to a two-state solution.

The brief document put out by the French Foreign Ministry to explain the French initiative and the one-day Mideast summit to be held in Paris on Friday said the two-state solution was under increased threat, “particularly with regard to continued settlement activities.”

Foreign Ministry director-general Dore Gold said in response that what has disrupted the peace process more than any other factor since the 1993 Oslo Accords has been the “breakdown of security due to the Palestinian adoption of violence against Israel.”

Citing the suicide bombings, the rockets from Gaza, and the current wave of knife attacks, Gold said that “to ignore this recent history and focus on Israeli settlements is to completely distort what is going on in the Middle East.”

The document did not include a word regarding any Palestinian culpability for the current diplomatic logjam. It also seemed to seek to revitalize the notion, which lost much of its currency following the Arab Spring, that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was at the core of instability in the Middle East.

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