French Prime Minister to visit Israel, Palestine for peace talks

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls will start Saturday an official visit to Israel and Palestine ahead of the planned ministerial meeting in Paris to revive peace talks in the Middle East.

The visit is meant to hold diplomatic talks in light of French efforts to reach a peace deal based on the two-state solution, the French Cabinet said.

In Israel, Valls will meet with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, former president Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Isaac Herzog.

Valls is expected to head for Ramallah to meet with his Palestinian counterpart Rami Al Hamdallah. 

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Thursday the Middle East peace conference will be held in Paris on June 3.

Source: MENA