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US secretary of state John Kerry held talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in his second visit to the region within a week amid reports that the Americans are intensifying efforts to break the logjam in peace talks.
The US is proposing a marathon three-way summit between the sides within a few weeks, with the aim of drawing up a framework for a final agreement covering all issues, according to Israel's Channel Two.
Kerry shuttled between Ramallah and Jerusalem in heavy snow to discuss ways of moving the talks forward, including proposals for an Israeli military presence lasting at least 10 years in the West Bank's Jordan Valley – which Israel wants as a security buffer – following the establishment of a Palestinian state.
However, the Palestinians have already rejected the plan. After meeting Kerry on Thursday evening, president Mahmoud Abbas said: “All the talk about an Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley is empty talk, because as long as there is a presence of the occupation army in the territory of Palestine there will be no solution, and all the settlements on Palestinian lands must be removed.”
Meanwhile, the European Union is reported to be offering a lucrative aid package to both sides if they reach an agreement.
EU foreign ministers will vote on Monday on a package to give both Israel and the Palestinians a special status which would provide access to European markets as well as valuable cultural and scientific links, Haaretz reported. Kerry is said to support the move.
Before departing for Vietnam, Kerry said he expected both sides to remain in negotiations for several months ahead. "Both parties remain committed to fulfilling their obligations to stay at the table and negotiate hard during the nine-month period that we set for that," he said. “We're not talking at this point about any shifts [in the schedule].”
The secretary of state, who turned 70 this week, has made 11 trips to the region this year in pursuit of a deal to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His journey from Ramallah to Jerusalem on Thursday night took around four times as long as usual because of weather conditions which he described as “very tough”.
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