Israel has said that the French initiative to restart peace talks between Israel and Palestine is 'doomed to fail.' Dore Gold, director-general of Israel's Foreign Ministry compared the French initiative to the unsuccessful 1916 colonial effort to carve up the Middle East. He said Israel prefers a 'regional initiative' that would include Arab states. 

"The only way to make peace is by means of direct negotiations without prior conditions, with the full backing of the Arab states and not by means of a conference in Paris. So let's try and build from this regional initiative rather than run to Paris and come up with alternatives to direct negotiations," Gold said.

Foreign ministers from around the world will convene in Paris on Friday to discuss how to get a peace conference in Paris going by next fall. However, it will not include representatives from Israel or Palestine. On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the French efforts of organizing a peace summit, saying that peace is not achieved with international conferences.