The long-tooted Mideast Peace Summit proposed by the French that was to have taken place in December — without the participation of the Israelis or Palestinians — looks like it will be cancelled. Rumors were rife that the European and Arab participants were ready to present Israeli with an ultimatum during the summit. French diplomats now say that French President Hollande is now calling it off because the new US administration is unlikely to view it favorably, as well as Israel's intransigence, and the lack of interest by the outgoing US administration.
One of the diplomats was quoted as saying that “officials in the US State Department told the special French envoy Pierre Vimont in a meeting in Washington last week that they were not enthusiastic about the idea of the summit and that they believed nothing would come out of it.”
However, Dr. Husam Zomlot, an advisor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the expected next Palestinian ambassador to Washington, insisted that the Élysée Palace had confirmed the date for the conference and that Paris was busy preparing for it.