Alain Juppe will bring a message that "peace has waited too long," Sarkozy told journalists at the G8 summit in the French resort of Deauville, adding that the current Middle East stalemate was untenable.

"The parameters for peace are perfectly well known and more time passing does not favour men of peace, it favours terrorists and extremists," he said, hailing the "good news" of a reconciliation deal between Fatah and Hamas.

The bitter Palestinian rivals earlier this month announced a long-anticipated deal to create a government of national unity and prepare elections in the Palestinian territories.

Juppe will ask the Palestinians if the new government will call into question recognition of Israel and its right to live in peace and security, Sarkozy said, and will urge Israel to relaunch stalled peace talks.

"The situation today is untenable," Sarkozy said, adding that he had "great harmony" with the position of US President Barack Obama.

In a key policy speech last week, Obama said the territorial lines in place before the 1967 Six Day War, combined with land swaps, should be the basis for talks on a peace deal with the Palestinians.

The idea was hailed by Palestinians but rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who told the Palestinians to tear up the pact as Hamas, which Israel considers a terrorist group, "is not a partner for peace."

Sarkozy said it was contradictory for Israel to reject talks with the Palestinians.

"There's a contradiction in saying for years that peace is not possible because the Palestinians are divided and now that they're trying to come together to say we won't talk to them because of the rapprochement," he said.

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been on hold since September 2010, when they ground to a halt over ongoing Israeli settlement construction on occupied Palestinian land.

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