Israelis and Palestinians Prepare for Kerry’s Arrival and his “Framework Agreement”

US Secretary of State John Kerry is due to arrive back in Israel along with the New Year, at which time he will reveal to the Israelis and Palestinians his long-awaited “framework agreement.” When Kerry cajoled the two sides to commit 9-months to working with him in search of the elusive peace agreement, he said he would observe for the first few months and then present his own proposals based on his observations. Against a backdrop of speculation and skepticism, Kerry said he will be presenting a “framework agreement,” rather than specific details for a proposal. He is also expected to include his own decisions on what demands submitted by each side should become part of that framework. On the Israeli side, talk has been rife about Jerusalem’s demand to maintain a military presence on the eastern border of the new Palestinian state along the Jordan Valley – a demand rejected by the Palestinians; and how Kerry will deal with the Israeli insistence that the Palestinians recognize the Jewish character of the state of Israel. The Palestinians want reassurance that talks will be based on the 1967 borders with agreed-upon territorial compensation; while both sides are watching to see how Kerry will deal with the thorny issue of the Palestinian demand for a “right of return” for those who left what became Israel in 1948. Word around Jerusalem is that Prime Minister Netanyahu is busy taking the political pulse of his own coalition partners in an attempt to ascertain which party will bolt the government under what circumstances.