French FM Laurent Fabius
French FM Laurent FabiusReuters

France on Wednesday called for a re-launch of the Middle East process based on a two-state solution, after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu won the election.

"Only the creation of viable sovereign Palestinian state... will ensure peace and prosperity in the Middle East," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement quoted by AFP.

Fabius called for negotiations to resume to achieve "a comprehensive and lasting peace accord".

Netanyahu declared in a series of interviews this week he would do everything in his power to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The United States later brushed off the comments, with State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki saying that “there are many things said leading up to elections.”

The United States has been a long-time proponent of a two-state solution to solve the Israeli-Arab conflict. In fact, on Saturday Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated that President Barack Obama is "committed" to a two-state solution.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) responded to Netanyahu’s landslide victory earlier on Wednesday and said it is willing to work with any Israeli government that accepts the principle of a two-state solution.

Hamas, however, called on PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas to abandon peace talks with Israel, saying the results of the elections “are enough to convince the (Palestinian) Authority to forget a continuation of the absurd peace talks.”