The whirlwind visit to Paris came as a French parliamentary report raised new warning signs about Iran's progress toward a nuclear weapon, and amid revelations about a budding European Union peace initiative for the Middle East. French Foreign Ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier, confirming some details of a report yesterday in the daily newspaper Le Figaro, said EU foreign ministers had discussed earlier this month a "working document" to ease tensions between the Palestinians and Israel.
The document, which had not been previously made public, mentions the prospect of making an international force "available" for Palestinian areas if both sides agree, and setting up "an international mechanism" that could give financial help to Palestinian refugees, he said.
The document raises the possibility that Jerusalem could be "the capital of two states" side by side - Israel and a future Palestinian state, Chevallier said. He said the proposal is still in the works.
Netanyahu said he made his position on those issues clear to Sarkozy. "We want a united Jerusalem under Israel, with access to the religious sites, to all the three great faiths," he said. "Our position on refugees is also unchanged: We'll seek a solution to the problem of refugees but not in Israel - we will not entertain refugees, Palestinian refugees, inside Israel."
The meeting also came two days after the Foreign Affairs Commission at France's National Assembly published a report on Iran, detailing concerns that Tehran could achieve a nuclear bomb sometime between 2009 and 2011. Drawing on testimony from dozens of academics, defense experts, diplomats, intelligence chiefs, and officials from Iran, Israel and elsewhere, the report said, "Iran's access to the nuclear bomb is seen as inevitable and very dangerous, notably because of the risks of escalation with the United States."
