One day before the foreign ministers of 28 European nations meet to decide its collective stance on the French proposal for brokering peace between Israel and the Palestinians, it appears the Netanyahu government of Israel is in for its second major foreign policy defeat following its inability to prevent the Iranian nuclear agreement. Despite intensive lobbying by Israeli diplomats of each of the European Union member states, the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council is reportedly poised to pass a resolution supporting the French plan to hold an international peace conference – a move the Israelis vehemently oppose. The Israelis see the plan as a way for the Palestinians to avoid direct bilateral negotiations and the specter of attempts to impose a settlement. The Israeli efforts have apparently had little or no effect in derailing the French initiative which Paris hopes will manifest in an international conference before the end of the year and continue with international teams working to press Israel into offering a package of goodwill gestures and economic incentives that the Israelis believe will not be met with flexibility or reciprocal goodwill from the Palestinians. Meanwhile, on the eve of his departure to Europe where he is to address the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin was visited by European Parliament faction heads who threatened that if the “transparency bill” being discussed in Israel’s parliament passes it could mean a turndown in relations between the EU and Israel. The bill requires disclosure of foreign funding of NGOs, a measure widely viewed as an attack on left-wing organizations by the right-wing government.