France has condemned the attack in Israel on Sunday which injured 27 people in Netanya, north of Tel Aviv, one day before the opening of talks on the final status of Palestinian territories by Israel and Palestinian authorities.

The spokeswoman of the French Foreign Ministry Anne Gazeau-Secret Monday accused the "adversaries of peace" of trying to "lock" the peace process with attacks.

She called on Israel and Palestine to carry forward with "the greatest ever" determination their talks, which began on Monday.

"We hope that the talks which have begun will allow all the sides to bring to a successful conclusion all the questions of the definite status of the Palestinian territories in the fixed time limit," said the spokeswoman.

Israeli and Palestinian officials began Monday morning in Ramallah, West Bank, their talks on the final status of Palestinian territories.

The talks are focused on the status of Jerusalem, including the eastern part of the city occupied by Israel since 1967, the right of returning to their homeland of some 3 million Palestinian refugees driven out of home from 1948 to 1967, and the creation of a Palestinian state on a part of West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat Monday urged Israel to respect the United Nations Security Council resolution 242 which asks Israel to withdraw from Palestinian territories of West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Arafat, who was in Paris to attend a Socialist International congress, said that the UN resolution 242 served as the foundation of the early stages of the peace process which began with the Madrid conference and the Oslo talks.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said on Sunday that the UN resolution 242 was not suitable for West Bank and Gaza Strip.