Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar criticized France’s invitation to the Thursday meeting to discuss Gaza’s future, claiming it is an attempt to obstruct the implementation of the US plan to stop the war and exchange prisoners currently being negotiated in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

This was stated in a statement from Sa’ar’s office on Wednesday evening, ahead of the Paris meeting scheduled for Thursday to discuss the “day after” the war in Gaza, with participation from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his counterparts from Arab and European countries.

Sa’ar considered that “the new French government’s initiative, at this sensitive time of the Sharm El-Sheikh negotiations, is unnecessary and harmful like its predecessors.”

Since Monday evening, Sharm El-Sheikh has been hosting indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas regarding the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Sa’ar added: “I hope the current step by the French government does not harm the crucial negotiations to release the captives.”

He continued: “The fact that the ‘New York Declaration’ has been given a status equivalent to Trump’s plan in the invitations to the meeting is evidence of an attempt to obstruct the implementation of the US president’s plan.”

According to French sources, the meeting is a continuation of the French-Saudi initiative supporting the two-state solution, which culminated in the adoption of the New York Declaration last September regarding the recognition of the State of Palestine.

On September 12, the UN General Assembly adopted the “New York Declaration” on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue and the implementation of the two-state solution, with the approval of 142 countries.

Between July 28 and 30, the “Two-State Solution Conference” was held in New York, chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, with high-level participation and the presence of Palestine but absence of the US, to support the international recognition of the Palestinian state.

The Israeli Foreign Minister added in his statement: “The invitation of openly hostile governments to Israel, such as the government of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, to discuss its affairs is very shameful.”

He added: “Of course, participants can discuss any issue they want – but no arrangements in Gaza will be formulated without Israel’s approval.”

He said: “French hypocrisy is astonishing, especially since France formulated the principle ‘Ukraine’s future cannot be determined without Ukraine,’ which is another example of double standards.”

He concluded his statement saying: “Today we clarify: nothing about Israel will happen without Israel, and we will not agree to internationalize the conflict.”

Meanwhile, the Hebrew newspaper “Israel Hayom” said the Paris meeting “aims to discuss how to implement Trump’s plan and assess the collective commitments of countries towards the process.”

Among the countries participating in the Paris meeting Thursday are France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Indonesia, Turkey, and Canada.

On September 29, Trump announced a plan consisting of 20 points, including the release of Israeli prisoners in Gaza, a ceasefire, and disarmament of Hamas.

With US support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 8, 2023, resulting in 67,173 deaths and 169,780 injuries, mostly children and women, and famine has claimed the lives of 460 Palestinians including 154 children.

Israel has occupied Palestine and territories in Syria and Lebanon for decades, refusing to withdraw and to allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on pre-1967 borders.