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Report: US rejects Palestinian plan for West Bank withdrawal
The United States Administration has reportedly rejected a plan proposed this week by a senior Palestinian Authority (PA) delegation, to demand an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.
The delegation of senior Palestinian leaders met with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington on Wednesday. US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said that, “Kerry met with [chief negotiator] Saeb Erekat and [intelligence chief] Majed Faraj for about two hours.” She added that, “It was a constructive conversation that covered a range of issues, including Gaza, Israeli-Palestinian relations, and recent developments in the region.” Psaki said that they would talk again in the coming weeks.
Unnamed State Department officials told AFP that the PA had requested this week’s meeting “to brief the Secretary on current Palestinian plans on the way forward.” Widespread media reports said that this comprised a suggestion to resume peace talks on the basis that Israel will withdraw from the West Bank to the pre-1967 borders within three years. Should Israel refuse to do so, then the PA would turn to the United Nations to impose such a move and then approach the International Criminal Court if no progress were made. Erekat appeared to confirm the plan, saying that he had delivered a letter to Kerry from PA President Mahmoud Abbas, over the “needs to end the Israeli occupation within a specific timetable.”
According to the Jerusalem Post, Washington has rejected the Palestinian plan. An unnamed official is reported to have said that the United States is opposed to any unilateral plan which would harm the peace process between Israel and the PA. Kerry’s attempts to broker a peace deal between the two sides collapsed in April.
However, this week it has been widely reported that Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Finance Minister Yair Lapid are pushing within the cabinet for Israel to return to peace talks with the PA. They are apparently facing opposition from Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon and other more right-wing members of the cabinet.