Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday slammed a France-backed initiative to settle the long-drawn Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The initiative intends to help restore long-stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, and establish a Palestinian state within 18-months' time.
Netanyahu, who made the statement on Sunday at the weekly cabinet meeting, was to meet later in the day French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who was in the region for a two-day visit to promote the Paris-sponsored initiative, Xinhua reported.
The Israeli premier described the French proposal as a "diktat", which doesn't take into consideration Israel's "security needs", according to a statement from the prime minister's office, adding that Israel "strongly" rejects such an international diktat.
The statement also said that peace can only be the result of negotiations rather than unilateral moves.
