Paris Mideast conference not very successful for peace - but perhaps helpful for French Socialist Party

A year ago, in January 2016, France announced its intensions to push for new negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel, and in June the country hosted diplomats from the west and the Arab world to work on organising a peace conference by the end of the year that would launch long-dormant Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

The peace conference was held in Paris yesterday, with participation from around 70 countries and organisations. But neither Israel or the Palestinians were present. 

The conference is widely seen as a last-ditch attempt to save the two-state solution ahead of Donald Trump's investiture as US president. Dispite a joint declaration which reaffirmed that a negotiated solution with two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, is the only way to achieve enduring peace, the initiative will hardly stimulate the peace process. For example the requirement that Israel should fully end end the occupation that began in 1967 seems unrealistic. UK did not back the communique and also the Australian government has distanced itself from the concluding statement. The statement might be the basis for a UN resolution this week, without the hope of peace thus become larger.

Perhaps the conference will be of greater importance for the organizer. With a Muslim share of 8 % of France´s population, yesterdays event and a possible UN resolution can be helpful for the Socialist Party in the forthcoming presidential election.