France presents peace plan to Palestinian Authority

Jun 2, 2011, 9:48 GMT

Ramallah - French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Thursday presented a French plan to revive the moribund Middle East peace process to the Palestinian Authority (PA) while on a visit to Ramallah.

The peace plan, Juppe said, is heavily based on United States President Barack Obama's speech last month, which called for resuming Palestinian-Israeli negotiations on the basis of the 1967 borders with agreed land swaps.

While Obama focussed on guaranteeing Israel's security, the French plan talks about 'security for the two states (Israel and Palestine),' Juppe told a news conference with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in the central West Bank city.

The plan had already been shown to President Mahmoud Abbas in Rome Wednesday.

The plan also sets a one-year deadline for solving the issues of Jerusalem and refugees, which Obama had referred to without time-lines.

Juppe said he did not expect immediate answers to his proposal from the Palestinians, explaining he was scheduled to meet later Thursday with Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem to present the French plan to the Israeli premier as well.

'The situation here cannot continue,' he said. 'We are convinced that if nothing happens between now and September, the situation will be difficult for everyone,' he said.

Juppe was referring to Palestinian plans to address the United Nations in September, asking for full membership in the UN as a state with recognized borders.

He did not say openly whether France would support the proposed UN resolution, but reiterated the official French position, as stated by President Nicolas Sarkozy, that 'if nothing happens between now and September, France would act according to its responsibilities. All options are open.'

Juppe said he hopes the French plan, which he said has European Union and US backing, will get a boost during a proposed international peace conference France wants to host in late June or early July.

The conference would be an expansion of a planned economic conference, also referred to as Paris II. France wants to host the economic conference in June to enlist aid for the Palestinian Authority for the next three years, according to Fayyad.

The Paris II conference 'is primarily a Palestinian interest,' said Fayyad in response to a question if the PA would accept an invitation to the proposed international peace conference.

'We also want it to have very clear political dimensions that would lead to the one thing we all want, and that is an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders,' he said.

Juppe said he expected Palestinians and Israelis to take time to discuss the French peace plan before responding to it.

Official Palestinian sources told the German Press-Agency

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