The United States and Israel will not participate in the conference hosted by France and Saudi Arabia on Israel and Palestine that is set to begin in New York, Al Jazeera reports.

A US State Department spokesperson described the conference as “a gift to Hamas, which continues to reject ceasefire proposals accepted by Israel that would lead to the release of hostages and bring calm in Gaza”, according to Reuters.

The spokesperson added that Washington voted against the United Nations General Assembly last year calling for the conference and would “not support actions that jeopardise the prospect for a long-term, peaceful resolution to the conflict”.

Israel is also not taking part in the conference, “which doesn’t first urgently address the issue of condemning Hamas and returning all of the remaining hostages”, said Jonathan Harounoff, international spokesperson at Israel’s UN mission.