French President Francois Hollande
© REUTERS/ Philippe Wojazer
The ministerial meeting scheduled for May 30 on the peace process in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine will be postponed, French President Francois Hollande said Tuesday.

Last month, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault announced that ministers of 20 countries would take part in a meeting in Paris on May 30 aiming to relaunch the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Neither Israeli nor Palestinian officials will be attending the event.

"The ministerial meeting, which was scheduled on the 30th of this month on the peace process in the Middle East between the Israelis and Palestinians will be postponed, but it will happen soon," Hollande said in an interview with Europe 1 radio station.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called the French-proposed international conference on Palestinian-Israeli reconciliation the "only alternative" to the deadly stabbings and retaliatory attacks that escalated in the fall of 2015 and continue to date.

Palestinians seek diplomatic recognition of their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip. Israel has been building settlements on the occupied territories, despite objection from the United Nations.

The State of Palestine is recognized by 137 countries, including Russia, according to the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations.