This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen
on .
It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
JERUSALEM — Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Jordan on Friday to consult King Abdullah II about the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, even as the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, reiterated positions that underscore the challenge Mr. Kerry faces in shrinking gaps between the two sides.
JERUSALEM — Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Jordan on Friday to consult King Abdullah II about the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, even as the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, reiterated positions that underscored the challenge Mr. Kerry faces in trying to shrink gaps between the two sides.
Mr. Abbas told student activists from his Fatah faction that he would “not accept Israel’s demands to recognize it as a Jewish state despite pressure put on us,” and that he considers illegal all homes Israel built in the West Bank and East Jerusalem after seizing the territories in 1967. He said he considered all of East Jerusalem to be the capital of his future state, and would not accept a single neighborhood, like Beit Hanina or Abu Dis, as some have suggested.
Mr. Abbas told student activists from his Fatah faction that he would “not accept Israel’s demands to recognize it as a Jewish state despite pressure put on us,” and that he considers illegal all homes Israel built in the West Bank and East Jerusalem after it seized the territories in 1967. He said he considered all of East Jerusalem to be the capital of his future state, and would not accept a single neighborhood, like Beit Hanina or Abu Dis, as some have suggested.
Separately, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said in an interview broadcast Friday night on Israeli television that some Jewish settlements in the West Bank would not be part of his state if an agreement was finalized. “Everyone understands that,” he said, though it was a rare concession for him to make publicly, in Hebrew, to a domestic audience. “I’m going to make sure that that will be very limited.”
Separately, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said in an interview broadcast Friday night on Israeli television that some Jewish settlements in the West Bank would not be part of his state if an agreement was reached. “Everyone understands that,” he said, though it was a rare concession for him to make publicly to a domestic audience. “I’m going to make sure that that will be very limited.”
The statements from the two leaders come at a critical juncture in the nine-month peace talks Mr. Kerry initiated last summer. An American team is finalizing a framework of core principles for a final-status agreement that would extend the talks past their April 29 expiration date, and Mr. Abbas is scheduled to visit the White House to discuss the plan March 17.
The statements from the two leaders come at a critical juncture in the nine-month peace talks that Mr. Kerry started last summer. An American team is completing a framework of core principles for a final-status agreement that would extend the talks past an April 29 deadline, and Mr. Abbas is scheduled to visit the White House to discuss the plan March 17.
After spending the week in crisis-diplomacy mode on the conflict in Ukraine, Mr. Kerry took a 1,500-mile detour Friday morning from Rome to Aqaba, Jordan, for a two-hour meeting with the king, before heading back to Washington. Neither Mr. Kerry nor King Abdullah made any public statements after the meeting, one of a series Mr. Kerry has held in recent months with leaders throughout the Arab world, where skepticism over the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace remain high.
After spending the week in crisis-diplomacy mode on the conflict in Ukraine, Mr. Kerry took a 1,500-mile detour Friday morning from Rome to Aqaba, Jordan, for a two-hour meeting with the king, before heading back to Washington. Neither Mr. Kerry nor King Abdullah made any public statements after the meeting, one of a series Mr. Kerry has held in recent months with leaders throughout the Arab world, where skepticism about the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace remains high.
Mr. Abbas denied a Palestinian newspaper report that the Obama administration had presented copies of the framework this week to Mr. Netanyahu and the chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, during their visits to Washington. Palestinian leaders expressed serious doubts about the prospective framework in recent days, criticizing the Obama administration for adopting the Israeli position on key issues, particularly the recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.
Mr. Abbas denied a report by the Palestinian newspaper Al Quds that the Obama administration had presented copies of the framework this week to Mr. Netanyahu and the chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, during their visits to Washington. Palestinian leaders expressed serious doubts about the prospective framework in recent days, accusing the Obama administration of adopting the Israeli position on central issues, particularly the recognition of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.
Unlike some of his senior aides, Mr. Abbas did not say that he expected the talks to fall apart when the framework was presented. But during the meeting with Fatah students at his compound in Ramallah in the West Bank Thursday night, he seemed to take a harder line than usual on the issue of borders. He did not mention the concept of land swaps, under which most experts on the peace process expect large settlements housing perhaps 80 percent of the nearly 600,000 Jews living in East Jerusalem and the West Bank to be included in Israel, with equivalent amounts of territory now in Israel drawn into the Palestinian state.
Unlike some of his senior aides, Mr. Abbas did not say that he expected the talks to fall apart when the framework was presented. But during the meeting with students at his compound in Ramallah on Thursday night, he seemed to take a harder line than usual on the issue of borders.
“The negotiations resumed on the basis of the 1967 lines — thus, we emphasized from the beginning that Israeli settlement inside the 1967 lines is illegitimate,” Mr. Abbas said in remarks broadcast on Palestinian television and published by Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency.
“The negotiations resumed on the basis of the 1967 lines — thus, we emphasized from the beginning that Israeli settlement inside the 1967 lines is illegitimate,” Mr. Abbas said in remarks broadcast on Palestinian television and published by Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency. “When we sign the agreement, the Israelis should start gradual withdrawal. After the specific timeline, there must be no single Israeli in the Palestinian state.”
“When we sign the agreement, the Israelis should start gradual withdrawal. After the specific timeline, there must be no single Israeli in the Palestinian state.”
Regarding the estimated five million Palestinian refugees and their descendants, Mr. Abbas said some should be allowed to return to Israel and become citizens, while others should get compensation whether they stay or move.
Regarding the estimated five million Palestinian refugees and their descendants, Mr. Abbas said some should be allowed to return to Israel and become citizens, while others should receive compensation whether they stay where they are or move to a different country.
Mustafa Alani, an independent analyst in Saudi Arabia, where President Obama is scheduled to visit this month, said Arab leaders had watched with dismay as the talks focused on Israeli concerns over security in the Jordan Valley portion of the West Bank, and on a demand for recognition as a Jewish state.
Mustafa Alani, an independent analyst in Saudi Arabia, where President Obama is scheduled to visit later this month, said Arab leaders had watched with dismay as the American-brokered negotiations focused on Israeli concerns over security in the Jordan Valley portion of the West Bank, and on Mr. Netanyahu’s newly elevated demand for recognition as a Jewish state.
“For us, the most important issue is how far Mr. Obama is ready and able to pressure Israelis for concessions,” Mr. Alani said. Arab leaders “were ready to put pressure on the Palestinians, but they were expecting similar pressure from the Americans on the Israelis, and they don’t see this is happening. We look at Mr. Obama as somebody selling dreams, not reality.”
“For us the most important issue is how far Mr. Obama is ready and able to pressure Israelis for concessions,” Mr. Alani said. Arab leaders “were ready to put pressure on the Palestinians, but they were expecting similar pressure from the Americans on the Israelis, and they don’t see this is happening. We look at Mr. Obama as somebody selling dreams, not reality.”
