BICOM

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Israel last night, returning to the region just days after his last visit, in an attempt to reach an understanding on West Bank security in the wake of a peace agreement.

Kerry brokered the resumption of peace talks in July, but no significant breakthrough has been made and tensions between the two sides have increased in recent weeks. Last week, Kerry presented new ideas on West Bank security arrangements under a peace accord, in particular in the Jordan Valley and is expected to try to forge agreement on such plans during his current visit.

Kerry and retired Gen. John Allen travelled directly to Ramallah yesterday evening to discuss the plans with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, which are thought to include an IDF presence in the Jordan Valley for several years. However, Abbas was quoted yesterday by Sky News Arabia saying “If America wants to protect the security of Israel, they can go there [to the Jordan Valley], but we will not accept Israel being there.”

Kerry is scheduled to meet Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem today. Israel’s Channel Two speculates that Kerry will use this visit to push for a three way meeting with Netanyahu and Abbas in an attempt to reach a “framework agreement” by the end of January to address core issues for a final deal. The idea was floated by both Kerry and President Obama last weekend and the US State Department was careful to clarify this week that it would not be an interim deal, which the PA has said it would not accept.

Meanwhile, Haaretz reports this morning that the European Union (EU) will announce on Monday an unprecedented assistance package for Israel and the PA if the two sides sign a final status accord. Political and economic relations would be upgraded to the highest possible level for non-member states as an incentive for a deal.