BICOM

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Israel last night and will meet today with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in an attempt to further peace talks which have yet to make significant progress.

Kerry brokered the resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in July following a three year hiatus. Although the two negotiating teams have met regularly since then, tensions have increased during the past few weeks. Kerry is set to meet this morning with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem before travelling to Ramallah to meet with PA President Mahmoud Abbas. It is thought Kerry could hold another session with Netanyahu on his return to Jerusalem.

Reports in the Israeli media claim Kerry will present Netanyahu with a proposal for security arrangements in the West Bank in the event of a peace deal, in the belief that Israeli agreement over security could pave the way for progress on other core issues. However, the Jerusalem Post says that Israeli officials are unaware of such a plan. Meanwhile, Maariv reports that Jordan will tell the United States that in the event of a peace accord, it will support Israel’s continued security presence in the Jordan Valley, which runs along its western border, as opposed to Palestinian forces or an international presence in the area.

Ahead of Kerry’s arrival, senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who is continuing in his role despite handing in his resignation last month, called on Kerry “to save the talks, to work to stop the deterioration of the talks,” which he blamed squarely on Israel. However, an unnamed Israeli official denied Erekat’s claims that negotiations were collapsing and told the Jerusalem Post that the Palestinians are not negotiating in good faith.

Meanwhile, former-Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin yesterday said publicly that the failure to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a greater existential threat to Israel than Iran’s nuclear development.