US hopes security plan will advance Middle East peace talks

Secretary of state John Kerry hopes West Bank proposals will encourage Israel to take further steps towards resolving Palestinian statehood.

RAMALLAH // The United States will today present the outline of security arrangments for a future Palestinian state in a bid to soften Israel’s negotiating stance and push forward Middle East peace talks.

American officials said the US secretary of state John Kerry would present the plan in meetings with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Mr Kerry and his special adviser, Retired General John Allen, are to unveil the proposal to the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in Jerusalem today, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported.

The US officials hope that addressing Israeli security concerns could convince the Israel’s hardline premier to budge on other issues – in particular, defining borders of a Palestinian state.

The latest round of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks resumed in July but have faltered over issues such as Israel’s refusal to stop building settler homes.

“The security arrangements are the key vis-a-vis Netanyahu that can open a lot of doors on other issues such as the borders of the Palestinian state,” an American official told Haaretz. “If an understanding is reached with Netanyahu on security arrangements, it would be significant.”

The security proposal comes amid heightened tension between the White House and Mr Netanyahu over an agreement between the United States and other world powers and Iran over the latter’s nuclear programme.

The Israeli leader is expected to repeat his concerns over the agreement to Mr Kerry today. Mr Netanyahu insists Iran harbours intentions of developing nuclear weapons. Iran denies that accusation, saying its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

Gen Allen, who was appointed adviser in May after leaving his post last year as head of US military forces in Afghanistan, was tasked with developing the US security proposal. He has made several visits to the region recently, consulting with Palestinian and Israeli leaders over the issues that have dogged their two decades of peace talks. Those include security, borders, Palestinian refugees and dividing Jerusalem.

Although the details of his security plan have not been fully disclosed, Haaretz reported that they address of longstanding Israeli demands. These include maintaining a long-term troop presence deep inside a Palestinian state and some degree of control over West Bank airspace.

In return, the newspaper reported, they hope Mr Netanyahu would be more willing to draw borders.

Palestinian officials have rejected the idea of a long-term Israeli military presence in their future state.

Mr Kerry also plans to meet the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, whose negotiating team submitted their resignations last month over Israel’s continued construction on homes for Jewish settlers.

Since March, the anti-settlement group Peace Now says that Israel has promoted plans for more than 11,000 more settler homes, which pose a serious obstacle to founding a Palestinian state.

Despite the resignation of his negotiators, Mr Abbas has said the Palestinians would not back out of the talks, which are scheduled to last nine months.

* With additional reporting by Associated Press