Palestinian leader rejects Kerry’s plan for peace framework

After his two meetings in Paris with Secretary of State John Kerry, a Palestinian official said Friday that Chairman Mahmoud Abbas had rejected the Secretary’s proposals as the basis for a framework accord between the Palestinians and Israel on all the main issues. The plan did not take into account “the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people,” and its insistence on recognition of the state of Israel as the Jewish national-state, he called “unacceptable.” Furthermore, proposals for the future of east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim as the capital of their state, are “vague.” The Palestinian “right of return” issue is not addressed, said the official, rejecting the proposal to allow a limited number of refugees to return to Israel in accordance with its laws. Neither is Abbas's proposal for a third-party (NATO) military deployment in the future Palestinian state covered.