Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, met with his French counterpart, Francois Hollande, Thursday evening at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Wafa reported.
President Abbas reportedly made a point to condemn the attack in Nice, France last week that left 84 dead and some 303 injured, reiterating his support for the French people and their leadership in the fight “against terrorism”.
Abbas additionally thanked Hollande for the international conference held in Paris last month to prepare for the French-led peace summit expected to be held by the end of the year.
Abbas, Hollande hold meeting in Paris | Maan https://t.co/lqUHHt9yPt #Palestine pic.twitter.com/k4KYkKTvYN
— al whit (@soitiz) July 22, 2016
Abbas also restated his disapproval of the Middle East Quartet report released last month, which he said failed to hold Israel accountable for its continued occupation of the Palestinian territory, soon entering its 50th year.
The two leaders reportedly discussed bilateral relations between Palestine and France, as Hollande underscored France’s support for Palestine’s international political efforts and assured Abbas that France’s diplomatic ties and economic support for Palestine would continue.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called on the UN Security Council on Wednesday to reject a key report by the diplomatic Quartet that
— Mabel Pinto (@odayterrell) July 15, 2016
France has engaged in peace efforts between Palestine and Israel with the aim of solving the decades-long conflict between the countries.
However, Netanyahu staunchly rejected the French initiative in April, saying the “best way to resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestinians is through direct, bilateral negotiations”.
Netanyahu instead voiced his support for Egyptian President, Abd al-Fatah al-Sisi’s trilateral initiative aiming to bring Israeli and Palestinian leaders face-to-face and create steps towards the unification of Palestinian political factions.
(PC, MA’AN)
