Jewish organisations have called on France to cancel or at least prospone a Middle East peace conference expected to take place on January 15 in Paris.

Some 70 countries are expected to attend the summit, organized at the initiative of French President François Hollande but strongly opposed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who said last month he would agree to meet in Paris with Hollande and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for talks, but only if there is no international gathering. The meeting would be a follow-up of a similar conference held last June in the French capital.

France seeks with the conference ''to revive Israel-Palestinian talks and save the two-state solution,'' said French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.

Leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations called for France to cancel or, at least, postpone what they called an “ill-conceived, poorly timed and damaging” event.

“In the aftermath of the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which was a significant step backward in achieving direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, and Secretary of State John] Kerry’s speech on Middle East peace earlier this week, the international community should not plunge forward with the ill-conceived and poorly timed Paris conference,” CPMAJO Chairman Stephen M. Greenberg and Vice Chairman and CEO Malcolm Hoenlein said in a statment.

‘’Now is a time for serious reflection on how peace can best be achieved, not for another sham forum in which the usual one-sided outcomes against Israel are the likeliest result,” the group said in a statement.

“Given the significant issues that were raised in the past week which have long term implications for the prospects for peace, proper preparation after serious consultation is essential.”

According to the Conference of Presidents, there are a number of compelling reasons to postpone the Paris event, including the impending transition to the Trump administration, just five days later.

“It makes no sense that the next administration is precluded from participating in a discussion of an essential component of US foreign policy with which it will be engaged,” they explained.

“Possible outcomes would add further uncertainty that will harm future prospects while unnecessarily inserting a new element of instability to the region.”

The Conference of Presidents also urged the US to announce that it will not participate on January 15 in light of recent events, and further called on leaders of all the invited countries to “work to cancel the Paris meeting and refocus on the parties coming together for direct negotiations.

“Israel has long sought direct talks, it is time for the Palestinian leaders to stop evading their responsibility and seeking to use international fora to avoid the only true path to a lasting peace,” they added.

Hoenlein cautioned it was possible the Obama administration could — following the recent passage of the anti-Israeli settlement Security Council resolution — take a “further damaging step” against the Jewish state before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.