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It was the closest they have been seen together publicly in years. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, neighbors and nemeses, were among roughly 50 world leaders at the front of Sunday’s march through Paris streets, not quite shoulder to shoulder but separated by just a few colleagues.

“These two leaders, with obviously a very checkered past, they are now side by side!” exulted an announcer on France 24 television, which live-streamed the march.

That the reunion took place in France made it more poignant. Less than two weeks ago, France was among eight members of the United Nations Security Council to support a resolution on Palestinian statehood that set a deadline for an end to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. Though the resolution was defeated, the French vote was seen as a critical victory for Palestinians and a betrayal by many Israelis.

Since the terrorist attack on Wednesday that killed 12 at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, both Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas have made repeated statements condemning Islamic extremism and expressing solidarity with France.

“At this solemn moment of tragedy, our hearts and minds are with you in the face of terrorism that has no religion,” Mr. Abbas told President François Hollande in a telephone call on Saturday, according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency. “The entire Palestinian people are pained by what has taken place.”

Mr. Netanyahu, who planned to join Mr. Hollande for an evening rally with the Jewish community of France, drew some criticism by saying Sunday morning, in light of the killing of four hostages at a kosher supermarket, “that any Jew who wants to immigrate to Israel will be received here with open arms.”

Neither man made public statements in Paris before the march. Aides to both said they were unaware of any special arrangements being made to engineer a handshake – or to keep them apart.

“The focus was not on them, the focus was on France,” said Majdi Khaldi, Mr. Abbas’s diplomatic adviser, who traveled with him to Paris. “They are not personal enemies, just the politics is not good between them.”

As the march began, Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas were stuck in the second row, but both worked their way to the front, each a couple of people away from Mr. Hollande, on alternate sides.

“That is an extraordinary image for the world to see: two individuals who represent two very different points of view in terms of solving what is probably the worst ongoing problem in the world,” observed another France 24 announcer. “I hope that sends a very clear message to people out there.”

Nervana Mahmoud, who blogs about the Middle East, had a different take on Twitter: “Abbas and Netanyahu are standing close to each others,” she posted, “but the distance between their mindset is not that close.”

— JODI RUDOREN