Nimr Hammad, a political adviser to Abbas, said the President had told French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe that he agreed officially to a French proposal to host a peace conference in Paris before July.

Juppe raised the possibility of the conference during a visit to Israel and the West Bank this week.

"President Abbas told foreign minister Juppe that he agrees officially to the French initiative of holding an international peace conference in Paris," Hammad said.

"Palestinian agreement is contingent on Israel also agreeing... to start negotiations on the basis of the 1967 border of the Palestinian state."