French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault admits that while not being na�ve, he is aware that Israel and the PA (Palestinian Authority) are far apart and he is acting in �good faith� in the hope of bringing the sides closer together.

Ayrault announces his country plans to host a Mideast peace conference on May 30th with the goal of jumpstarting talks between Israel and the PA by the end of 2016. He emphasizes �There is no other alternative to the two-state solution, with Israel and the PA living side by side with a shared capital�.

Back in January 2016, Israel announced it was rejecting France�s call for an international peace conference. It remains to be seen how Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will react to this latest French initiative.

(YWN � Israel Desk, Jerusalem)