RAMALLAH, Monday, November 12, 2018 (WAFA) - Palestine’s ambassador to France, Salman al-Harfi, stressed the importance of the visit of Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah to Paris as representative of President Mahmoud Abbas to participate in the opening ceremonies of the centennial of World War I in the presence of heads of state and government representatives from 130 countries.

Harfi told the official Voice of Palestine radio that France was keen on Palestine‘s participation in the Paris Peace Forum in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of the World War I, pointing to the continuous development of Palestinian-French relations. He expressed hope that the efforts of the Joint Governmental Committee between the two countries,, which will be held soon, will be successful.

Harfi added that Hamdallah met with a number of world leaders on the sidelines of his participation, led by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, and briefed them on the latest developments in the Palestinian territories, especially the escalation by the Israeli government to undermine the two-state solution.

He said that France has been active diplomatically for some time at the level of the European Union and the world because it believes the US administration is not going to offer anything  new that will be accepted by the parties to the conflict, especially the Palestinians. Therefore France finds itself a candidate to play a role in the peace process, he added.

Harfi said that Paris held talks with the United States, Russia and the European Union in this regard and is in constant contact with the Palestinian leadership, expressing hope that these efforts will produce a solution leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

M.K.