France to Consider Recognizing Palestinian State

France is planning to make make another push to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but has warned that if its efforts fail, it will recognize a Palestinian state.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told French diplomats on Friday that in the coming weeks, Paris will try to organize an international conference to «bring about the two-state solution» to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

U.S.-led efforts to broker peace for a two-state solution collapsed in April 2014 and there have been no serious efforts to resume talks since then.

«We must not allow the two-state solution to fall apart,» Fabius said, noting that Israel has not halted settlement activity on land the Palestinians want for a future state.

He said that if this last attempt to find a solution hits a wall, «we need to face our responsibilities by recognizing the Palestinian state.»

Fabius has repeatedly warned that letting the status quo continue risks killing off a two-state solution and playing into the hands of Islamic State militants.

In recent months, a wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks has killed 25 Israelis. Over the same period, 159 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, most of them while carrying out attacks, although some died in clashes and demonstrations.