Palestine did not expect any "magic results" from the international meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian settlement in Paris, but thought it could trigger a process to restart the negotiations between the conflicting sides, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Maliki told Sputnik on Wednesday.





MOSCOW (Sputnik) � Last week, the French capital hosted an international conference aimed at�the resumption of�the stalled Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The conference's participants assessed the situation that involved possible risks for�a two-state solution to�the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"We didn�t expect that this meeting [in Paris] will do wonders and bring magic results <�> We didn�t expect much and thought that it could be a beginning of�the process that will turn to�an active mechanism to�restart the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations again," Maliki said.


The settlements issue is considered to�be one of�the major irritants in�the relations of�Israel with�the international community and one of�the main obstacles to�reach peace with�the Palestinians.


The Arab Peace Initiative for�resolution of�the Israeli-Palestinian crisis is not up�for negotiations or alterations, Israel must either accept it or come up�with a new proposal, the foreign minister stressed in�an interview with�Sputnik.

Maliki�s comments came after�Israel�s Jerusalem Affairs Minister Zeev Elkin said that the country was interested in�rapprochement with�the neighbors in�the region, but�was not ready to�implement all the requirements stipulated in�the Arab Peace Initiative as�some of�them cannot be accepted.

"Either Mr. Elkin will take the Arab peace initiative as�it is or he needs to�offer something else but�the Arab Peace Initiative is not for�negotiations and is not for�alteration and is not for�Israeli politician here and there to�give his opinion about�it. It is an integral offer, either Israel takes it or you leave it," Maliki said.

The Arab Peace Initiative, also known as�the Saudi Initiative, is a 10-sentence proposal for�an end to�the Arab�Israeli conflict that was endorsed by�the Arab League in�2002. The initiative offers Israel normalization of�relations with�the Arab world in�return for�withdrawal from�land occupied in�1967, the recognition of�a Palestinian state with�its capital in�East Jerusalem and a fair solution to�the issue of�Palestinian refugees.

According to�the minister, Palestine considers the approach of�direct negotiations with�Israel useless and wishes to�create an international format to�resolve the Middle East crisis, similar to�the format used to�resolve the Iranian nuclear issue.

"For us, the idea is to�forget a direct negotiations that has been proven useless and to�move towards�a multilateral approach inspired by�5+1 Iran talks, to�create a small committee, a group out�of 28+2 that will lead the negotiations and will help the parties to�overcome differences," Maliki said.

Last week, Paris hosted an international conference of�some 28 delegations aimed at�the resumption of�the stalled Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The conference's participants assessed the situation that involved possible risks for�a two-state solution to�the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestinians seek diplomatic recognition for�their independent state on�the territories of�the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by�Israel, and the Gaza Strip. Israel has been building settlements on�the occupied territories despite�objection from�the United Nations.

By Sputnik News