Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rejected the possibility of a meeting with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas at a France-led peace conference later this month, his office said.

Israeli officials have long opposed the initiative, which would involve an international summit in Paris aimed at restarting long-stalled peace efforts with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu told French President Francois Hollande in a Wednesday phone call however that he was willing to meet Abbas "directly, without preconditions," his office said in a statement.