BICOM

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas appeared to alter his ‘red lines’ over a framework plan for final status peace talks.

US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to present his eagerly awaited plan in the coming weeks to both Israeli and Palestinian leaders, with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to visit the White House in early March. There has been plenty of speculation over the details included in the plan, which Kerry hopes both sides will agree to and will serve as a basis for extending peace talks beyond their original April deadline.

Yesterday, Abbas’ spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh told official PA daily Al-Ayyam that Kerry’s plan must include an Israeli withdrawal “from all Palestinian territories occupied in 1967” within three to four years, in a comment which excluded any mention of land swaps. Abbas had previously indicated in an interview with the New York Times that an Israeli withdrawal could take place within five years. Abu Rudeineh also said that Kerry’s plan must explicitly refer to East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Speculation in the Israeli daily Maariv has suggested that the document will instead refer to Greater Jerusalem.

In addition, Abbas has reiterated on several occasions that he will not recognise Israel as a characteristically Jewish state, a key demand by Israeli leaders who view it as mutual recognition which is at the foundation of a two-state solution. Abu Rudeineh said, “These are the red lines of the Palestinian position, since without these principles there can be no just and comprehensive peace in the region.”

Meanwhile, Channel Ten says that US Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro has during the past few weeks conducted marathon meetings with Knesset members from Likud-Beitenu and Jewish Home in order to gauge their potential response to Kerry’s framework plan. According to the report, such meetings are set to continue in the coming weeks.