(VOVworld) – Israel has officially rejected France’s peace initiative to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The Israeli Prime Minister’s office announced Thursday that the best way to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is direct bilateral negotiations without preconditions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting at his office. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

According to the peace initiative proposed in January by former French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, France would convene a ministerial conference in May to restart the Middle East peace talks. The conference would be attended by delegates from 20 countries, the European Union (EU), and the United Nations (UN), excluding Israel and Palestine.

If that conference was successful, France would convene an international peace conference at the end of the year with the participation of Israeli and Palestinian representatives. France says if a new peace effort fails, it will recognize the Palestinian state.