US Secretary of State John Kerry at the Mideast peace conference. Photo: ReutersSeventy countries have reaffirmed that only a two-state solution could resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and warned against any unilateral steps by either side that could prejudge negotiations. But Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday that "this conference is among the last twitches of the world of yesterday ... A Foreign Office statement said the Paris conference risked "hardening positions" given Israel had objected to it and that the US administration is about to change. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who said on Saturday that moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem would kill off the peace process, said the Paris meeting would help at stopping "settlement activities and destroying the two-state solution through dictations and the use of force."

Source: Otago Daily Times January 15, 2017 21:03 UTC