According to an Arab League official, US Secretary of State John Kerry will present Palestinian and Israeli leaders with a framework peace agreement by the end of the month, the Ma’an News Agency has reported [Sunday December 22, 2013].Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has informed the Arab League of the upcoming proposal, saying that it would contain US suggestions regarding the borders of a future Palestinian state, said Mohammad Sbeih, secretary-general of Palestinian affairs at the Arab League.
Abbas told the League that ‘once he receives the American proposal, he will not respond but will present it to Arab nations to make a joint decision.’
Sbeih said that Abbas articulated his exact positions on the peace agreement, which were as follows:
– Abbas would accept a Palestinian state with the entirety of East Jerusalem as its capital, with limited land swaps as long as the lands being traded were of equal value.
– He would accept an incremental withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian land, allowing them up to three years to leave.
– He would reject the idea of any permanent Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley, but would welcome an international peacekeeping presence.
– He would refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
– He would reject any interim agreement, calling instead for a final solution.
– He would reject any proposal that required Palestine to be an unarmed state, but said he would not get involved in an ‘arms race.’
Sbeih said, in addition, that the Arab League sent to Kerry an urgent message which detailed the League’s vision of the peace process.
Negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians were relaunched in July, under US auspices, after a hiatus of nearly three years.
