French-Saudi Palestine conference to push Palestinian statehood as prerequisite to peace talks

A conference sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia is set to push for recognition of a Palestinian state as a precondition for peace talks with Israel, a policy document distributed to UN member states has indicated.

The document, distributed ahead of the conference at the UN General Assembly in New York next week, said that "Palestinian statehood should not be a result of peace, but rather its prerequisite".

"It is clear that the primary responsibility for solving the conflict still lies with the parties, but the events of the last few years prove that without strong international resolve and involvement in ensuring they move towards the internationally recognized endgame, the conflict will escalate further and peace will become more elusive than ever," it said.

Hopes have been raised that France will recognise Palestinian statehood at the conference, with French officials indicating that President Emmanuel Macron is leaning towards that decision. Israel and the United States fear that such a move would spur other Western states, including the United Kingdom, to follow suit.

On Tuesday, the Elysee announced that Macron had received fresh assurances from the Palestinian Authority on its planned reforms.

"Hamas will no longer rule Gaza and must hand over its weapons and military capabilities to the Palestinian Security Forces, which will oversee their removal outside the Occupied Palestinian territory, with Arab and international support," the French leader's office quoted Abbas as having written in the letter.

France had also assured Israel that garnering support for disarming Hamas would be an aim of the conference, however a report by Haaretz on Thursday said that the policy document made no mention of that goal.

A diplomatic cable obtained by the Israeli news outlet and Reuters sent by the US State Department to US diplomatic missions earlier this week criticised the conference proposal for omitting any mention of dismantling Hamas.

In the cable, the US also warned against unilateral recognition of Palestine, claiming that such a move would "reward Hamas".

While France and Saudi Arabia have moved to revive a two-state solution to the conflict, Israel's has long rejected the prospect of an independent Palestinian state — a stance that has been reinforced amid Israel's latest war on Gaza.

Last month, Haaretz reported that Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer had threatened to the UK and France that Israel would take several unilateral steps  — including annexing the occupied West Bank  — if the two states were to recognise Palestine.