He said that since 1982 the French President François Mitterrand called for the establishment of a Palestinian state and in 2012 President François Hollande also pledged to support international recognition for the Palestinian state.

Araud stated that France could not miss this opportunity, which is a new step toward the two-State solution.

He affirmed that just few days after the war on Gaza, France refused to not grant its full support for the partners of peace.

France called on all parties to understand and acknowledge its critical importance and to respond by the resumption of negotiations and called on the international community – Americans, Europeans, Arabs –to unite in this view.

It urged the Palestinians “to build on this political success by contributing to the prospects for peace, resuming negotiations without preconditions and avoiding a new cycle of sterile confrontations within international forums.”

The international recognition for the project of a Palestinian state can become a reality only within the framework of a just and comprehensive peace, Araud said.

“This is a challenge facing not only the two governments and two peoples, but the international community as well,” he said. “France is prepared to meet it as a friend of Israel and a friend of Palestine.”

M.H./M.S.