The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Jerusalem

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was expected to stress solidarity with Israel and press for the creation of a Palestinian state in an address to the parliament in Jerusalem Monday.

Sarkozy has repeated the two messages since the start on Sunday of his three-day visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank.

He underlined that Israel needed to make concessions to the Palestinians in order to guarantee its own security, and singled out the continued construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank for criticism. "As I have said on several occasions, freezing settlements which are the main obstacle to peace, is crucial," Sarkozy said in an interview with the Palestinian Al-Quds newspaper published on Monday.