Israel: Paris Mideast Summit Doomed to Fail 'Completely'

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel says a Middle East summit taking place on Friday in Paris is doomed to failure. It aims to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process without including the two main players.
 
The Palestinians welcomed the conference that's focused on discussions with the Americans. But one of the top aides to Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, says the Paris peace talks are a waste of time.  
 
"It's either a show or they're going to try to impose – impose may be too strong a word – but try to 'strongly urge' the sides, or Israel I should say," Jason Greenblatt told the Jerusalem Post.
 
"So where does that get anybody? It's not going to happen unless the sides want it to happen," Greenblatt said.
 
Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General Dore Gold agreed, saying the Paris summit is not the way to go.
 
"One hundred years ago two officials by the name of Mark Sykes and Francois Georges Picot tried to dictate a new order in the Middle East. It was at the apex of the era of colonialism in our area," Gold told reporters ahead of the conference. "This effort utterly failed then and will completely fail today."
 
Gold said there's only one way to make peace.
 
"The only way to make peace is by means of direct negotiations without prior conditions, with the full backing of the Arab states and not by means of a conference in Paris," he said.
 
Against the backdrop of the rise of ISIS and Middle East violence, Israel has drawn closer to some regional players, including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. That's revived the possibility of working with an Arab initiative from more than 10 years ago.  

Gold said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "was very precise on the issue of the Arab peace initiative," saying, it "requires a negotiation between Israel and the Arab states."
 
"Also, things have changed since the initiative was first conceived in 2002, but the initiative has in it elements that we can work with," Gold added. "So let's try to build from this regional initiative rather than run to Paris and come up with alternatives to direct negotiations."