Several hours before he is scheduled to meet French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked the French government's initiative to promote a UN Security Council resolution attempting to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Netanyahu called Fabius' initiative "a dictate" that would harm Israel's security. "In these international proposals, there is no real reference to Israel's security needs," Netanyahu told the cabinet meeting Sunday morning.

"They are trying to push us to borders that aren't subject to protection while completely ignoring what will be on the other side of the border," Netanyahu said. "We're unfortunately experiencing these outcomes from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon."

"We firmly reject attempts to impose international dictates on us, for the sake of security and peace."

The French draft resolution calls for an immediate renewal of talks between Israel and the Palestinians, and sets a time frame of 18 months for reaching a permanent agreement. If a permanent agreement is not reached within that period of time, French diplomats say the French government will recognize a Palestinian state.



The draft resolution calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state “based on the June 4, 1967 lines, with mutually agreed and equal land swaps,” and for Jerusalem as the capital of both countries. It also calls for the positioning of Israel’s security requirements “at the center of the peace talks,” and that the peace agreement will embody “the principle of two states for two nations.”

The French would like to coordinate the move in the Security Council with the United States, as well as other countries. Fabius would like to formulate a text that is balanced enough so that, on the one hand, it would allow the United States to support it and not veto it; and on the other, would allow Arab countries to come out in favor of it, even if the Palestinians opposed parts of it.

Fabius' visit to Jerusalem comes at a tense moment in French-Israeli relations. French criticism of last summer’s war in Gaza, its condemnation of construction in settlements, the move toward a draft resolution in the Security Council and even the controversial remarks by Orange CEO Stéphane Richard have created the sense of a real crisis between the two countries.

French diplomats and senior officials at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem said Fabius pressured Richard to express regret for his remarks against the ties between the Israeli firm Partner Communications and Orange, which seemed to indicate his support for a boycott of Israel. Fabius also spoke out strongly against boycotts of Israel and encouraged Richard to visit Jerusalem to smooth things over.

However, it is doubtful whether Fabius’ actions involving the Orange crisis or his staunch positions regarding negotiations with Iran –including the need to avoid concessions in the emerging agreement between Tehran and the world powers – will prevent Fabius and Netanyahu from locking horns over the French move in the UN Security Council.