Representatives from nearly 30 countries were meeting in Paris on Friday to begin talks on pursuing peace in the Middle East - without the Israelis and Palestinians.

    The French-led negotiations are an attempt to build support for conditions that would eventually bring the sides together, a little more than two years after the last bid to broker a long-lasting truce collapsed.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blasted the effort, saying that direct negotiations without preconditions are the only way to move forward in a conflict that has been the subject of repeated peace deal attempts over the decades.

    Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah has called for parameters like a stricter timetable for the implementation of any agreements. He also expressed scepticism about the outcome of direct bilateral talks with Israel. "We have been talking with the Israelis for 20 years and nothing has been achieved," Hamdallah said last month. 

    Yet observers have expressed tentative optimism about the latest efforts spearheaded by the French, if only because the aims have been kept so modest. French Foreign Ministry sources have said the goal is simply to begin a process that will bring everyone back to the table by the end of the year.

Source: QNA