Abbas Rejects West Bank Border Security Plan


Abbas Rejects West Bank Border Security Plan

TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected US proposals for Israel to keep troops in a future Palestinian state along its strategic border with Jordan, a Palestinian source has said.

The day after Thursday's meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in the West Bank city of Ramallah, "President Abbas has rejected the ideas presented by the secretary of state", the source told AFP news agency.

Abbas also gave Kerry a letter on "Palestinian red lines", the source added, singling out "the refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state".

Abbas "rejected the ideas on security because there is not a third party".

This refers to a plan by former US national security adviser James Jones under which a third party would deploy along the Palestinian Jordanian border.

The Palestinian source said "all disputed issues must be settled". Israeli and Arab media reports say the plan envisaged by Washington would see Israel maintain a military presence on the border after a peace agreement with the Palestinians.

An international force would be acceptable to the Palestinians, but Israel opposes such a solution.

Abbas's comments were made public as Kerry met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Friday in his latest attempt at promoting an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

On his ninth trip of the year to the region, Kerry continued his furious pace of shuttle diplomacy amid a snowstorm that covered Jerusalem.

 

 

Most Visited in Other Media
Top Other Media stories
Top Stories