PARIS, Jan 11 (KUNA) — France said on Friday that it was in favour of the implementation of pertinent UN Security Council resolutions within the efforts to find a solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, whom it urged to engage in dialogue towards peace.
Asked to respond to statements made Thursday on the resolutions by US President George W. Bush, a senior French official said that France still wanted the UN resolutions applied.
The UN rulings apply in particular to the occupation of Arab lands after the 1967 war with Israel and the need to evacuate these as called for in resolution 242 of the Security Council.
“We must apply the resolutions and we must have discussions between the parties,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pascale Andreani said at a briefing.”This is what was understood at Annapolis,” she added.
Andreani was responding to questions on remarks by Bush in Israel, where he said that the UN resolutions had failed to bring a solution and he intimated other things must be tried.
The French official said that it is up to the two parties to work towards a settlement and address the issues that remain to be settled.
She said this would require “strong political will” from the parties.
The most contentious issues remaining include the ongoing construction of illegal settlements by Israel, the blockade and stranglehold on Palestinian areas, where the economy is suffering badly.
Also problematic is the question of Jerusalem as Palestinian capital, the construction of the separation wall that is dividing Palestinian areas and the issue of more than nine million Palestinian refugees stranded outside of their country.