Group of Eight leaders will give "strong support" to U.S. President Barack Obama's call for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal to be based on the 1967 borders, the French Press Agency AFP reported on Friday.

In a draft statement formulated at the G8 summit in France, leaders called on both parties "to return to substantive talks with a view to concluding a framework agreement on all final status issues".

Open gallery view U.S. President Barack Obama Credit: Reuters

"Aspirations of the peoples in the region need to be heeded including that of the Palestinians for a viable and sovereign state and that of Israelis for security and regional integration," the statement quoted by AFP read.

The G8 leaders urged both sides to abstain from unilateral steps and called "for the easing of the situation in Gaza."

In a Middle East policy speech last week, Obama said a future Palestinian state must be based in territories captured by Israel in the Six Day War in 1967, with minor adjustments reached through negotiations.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the idea of 1967 borders, calling them "indefensible."