Itongadol/AJN.- Palestinian official tells \’Al-Ayyam\’ US secretary of state offered Abbas Israeli presence that would focus on border passes and mountain tops; Palestinians reject proposal, accuse US of adopting Israeli viewpoint.
Itongadol/AJN.- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has reportedly shot down a proposal by US Secretary of State John Kerry to maintain Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley for ten years following the signing of an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, a Palestinian official told Al-Ayyam.
During this time, according to the paper, PA security forces would be trained to assume control over the Jordan Valley.
Quoting an unnamed Palestinian official, the paper said that Kerry’s ideas also include “invisible” Israeli presence at the border crossings between the West Bank and Jordan. In addition, the Americans would install early warning systems on hilltops in the West Bank, the official told the paper.
The Palestinians, however, rejected the offered American security "ideas," saying the arrangements proposed were totally unacceptable.
The official described the meeting between Kerry and Abbas last week as being “worse than bad,” and added that the American stance on the subject is a step back from proposals made in the past.
He added that the Palestinians “will never accept Israeli presence in the valley.”
The official accused the Americans of “abandoning” ideas previously presented by former US security coordinator Gen. John Allen. Those ideas, the official pointed out, talk about the deployment of US-led NATO troops in the Jordan Valley with no Israeli presence.
“The Americans are now talking about security arrangements that fully endorse the Israeli perspective, especially regarding the Jordan Valley, border crossings and airspace,” the official charged.