Talking to Terrorists
Jean-Marc Ayrault. (Photo credit: AFP)
Once again a French government official has met representatives of Hezbollah, despite the organisation’s terrorist status. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault is reported to have met with the group, including Ali Fayyad and Ammar al-Musawi, as part of his two-day visit to Lebanon.
At the French-led conference in Paris on 3rd June, Mr Ayrault said that hopes of a ‘two-state solution’ in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are in serious danger, giving rise to the need to act urgently.
Understandably, Israel has reacted with anger to this meeting with Hezbollah, going so far as to suggest that the move was comparable to meeting with representatives of the Islamic State group.
In contrast to the French initiative, Israeli leaders favour a more direct approach to peace negotiations. At a meeting with Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu described the peace treaties between Israel, Egypt and Jordan as a "cornerstone of stability for the region."
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