France puts Israel-Palestine conflict back in focus

Neither Israel nor Palestine has been invited to the Paris conference

Paris meeting of foreign ministers aims to find common ground to bring two sides back to negotiating table before 2017.

France is hosting foreign ministers from major powers to put Israel-Palestinian peacemaking back on the international agenda and find enough common ground to bring the two sides back to the table by the end of the year.

With US efforts to broker a deal on a Palestinian state on Israel-occupied land in deep freeze for two years and the administration focused on its November presidential election, France has lobbied key players to hold Friday's conference that would aim to stir new diplomatic momentum.

In his opening speech, French President Francois Hollande urged Israelis and Palestinians to make a "courageous choice for peace", adding that the solution had to involve the "whole region".

"The discussion on the conditions for peace between Israelis and Palestinians must take into account the entire region," Hollande said.
"The threats and priorities have changed. The changes make it even more urgent to find a solution to the conflict, and this regional upheaval creates new obligations for peace. We must prove it to the international community."
France has grown frustrated over the absence of movement towards a "two-state solution" since the collapse of the last round of talks in April 2014, arguing that letting the status quo prevail is like "waiting for a powder keg to explode".