Source: Kerry peace proposals ‘unacceptable’ to Palestinians

A Palestinian official said on Friday that ideas presented by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cannot serve as the basis of a framework accord between Israelis and Palestinians.

“The ideas proposed cannot be accepted by the Palestinian side as the basis for a framework accord between the Palestinians and Israel as they do not take into account the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people,” he told Agence France-Presse, speaking on condition of anonymity, after Abbas and Kerry met in Paris this week.

“The Palestinian position explained to Mr Kerry is that the proposed ideas, particularly the insistences on recognition of the state of Israel as the Jewish nation-state, are unacceptable,” the official said.

The official said that Kerry’s proposals for the future of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim as the capital of the state, remain “vague.”

“[Abbas] restated the Palestinian position and his vision of a solution based on United Nations resolutions and the positions of the Palestinian leadership and the Arab League,” the official added.

The top U.S. diplomat has spent months trying to get the Israelis and the Palestinians to agree on a framework for resolving their conflict, but the negotiations have shown little sign of progress, with each side blaming the other.

The U.S. State Department described the Paris meeting on Wednesday and Thursday as “constructive,” and said Kerry and Abbas had agreed to stay in touch in the coming weeks.

(With AFP)