French President Francois Hollande on Monday received full support of the 28-member European Union for his peace initiative to broker an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, including his call for an international peace conference to be held before the year’s end. In an effort to cajole the parties to participate in the effort, a package of incentives is being drawn up in coming days. Israel has rejected the French initiative while the Palestinians have embraced it. The support for the Hollande plan comes days before the Quartet – US, United Nations, European Union and Russia – issue a new report on its efforts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians that is said to be strongly critical of Israel. The Israelis remain adamant that the only path to peace leads through bilateral negotiations between the parties and specifically not an international affair that allows the Palestinians to continue to avoid talking face-to-face. A foreign ministry spokesman said the international conference is “an unfortunate step that reverses the efforts to achieve peace, to which Israel is committed.”
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