Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Thursday in Jerusalem with Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende, and took the opportunity to share his views about the upcoming Paris “peace conference” that is set for this Sunday.
Norway is one of the countries whose delegates will attend the conference.
“We’re all faced here with a great challenge against the forces of terrorism that not only seek to destroy Israel but seek of course to render any possibility of peace totally hopeless,” Netanyahu said.
“There are other such efforts that render peace hopeless and one of them is the Paris conference. It’s a rigged conference, rigged by the Palestinians with French auspices to adopt additional anti-Israel stances.
“This pushes peace backwards. It’s not going to obligate us. It’s a relic of the past. It’s a last gasp of the past before the future sets in.”
Foreign Minister Brende responded first of all with condolences for the horrific terror attack that left four IDF soldiers dead last Sunday.
He then acknowledged, “So we will be there [at the Paris conference] but we will make sure that there is a nuanced outcome,” he promised, “and I’m looking forward also to discuss future peace processes with you.”
The two men also signed a joint bilateral declaration of intent on research and development.
