French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Sunday said that France has a deep, friendly connection to Israel and for the Palestinians as he addressed press following the end of a Paris conference on Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from Paris that the United States was taking action to soften the final text of the statement expected to come out of the conference on Mideast peace taking place in the French capital.

Netanyahu told Kerry that the damage was already done by the Obama administration's decision not to veto United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2334, which condemned Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem as illegal, and said further damage must be prevented.

Kerry assured Netanyahu that there would be no follow-up to the conference and that the US will oppose any related resolution that may be pushed at the UNSC.

At the conference, French President Francois Hollande warned that the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was threatened by Israeli settlements and "terrorists who were always afraid of peace" as he addressed representatives of some 70 nations at a Paris conference on Mideast peace.

Hollande further said that cynicism and skepticism towards the peace process are bolstering extremism and insisted that his country's peace initiative did not seek to impose a solution, unlike what "some argued" in what appeared to be a response to Netanyahu's criticism.

The French premier also seemed to hit back at another statement by Netanyahu by saying that the two-state solution is not a dream of yesterday but the only solution for the future.

Netanyahu earlier said that the conference represented "the last attempts by the world of yesterday." In a possible reference to the imminent inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, he added: "Tomorrow will look different. And tomorrow is very soon."

French FM says embassy move would have 'extremely serious consequences'

Earlier Sunday, France warned that moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would result in "serious consequences."

Trump during his campaign pledged to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and to relocate his country's embassy there.

Palestinians view the move as being severely destructive and a unilateral action, as the status of the city is still contested.

"Of course [it's a provocation]. I think he would not be able to do it," French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in an interview with France 3 television on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Conference. "It would have extremely serious consequences and it's not the first time that it's on the agenda of a US president, but none have let themselves make that decision."

"One cannot have such a clear-cut, unilateral position. You have to create the conditions for peace," Ayrault added.

At the conference, Foreign ministers and representatives from around 70 countries, the United Nations, European Union, Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation, seek to revive the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process, five days before Trump is to assume office.

Neither Israel nor the Palestinians will be represented at the conference and Netanyahu has dismissed the talks as "rigged" against Israel.

The Palestinians, in contrast, have welcomed France's bid for the conference to reaffirm global support for a two-state solution to the seven-decade-old conflict.

Peace efforts have been at a standstill since April 2014.

Thomas Saint-Cricq, Laurence Saubadu (AFP)
"Israel and the Palestinians: peace efforts"