Kerry arrives in Israel to revive faltering peace talks

US Secretary of State John Kerry today arrived in Israel on his tenth visit to re-energise peace talks and nudge pessimistic Israeli and Palestinian leaderships towards a "framework" for a final deal over core issues, including security, borders and Jerusalem.
The top US diplomat touched down at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv for a four-day visit to the region.
During his visit, he will separately hold talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas to discuss his ideas for the "framework" towards a final peace agreement by April when a nine-month negotiating period agreed in July would end.

The guidelines for the framework document are expected to call for the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 lines, with mutually agreed upon land swaps, and for Palestinian recognition of Israel as the national home of the Jewish people.
The guidelines would also contain formulae for other core issues such as Palestinian refugees and Jerusalem, which is claimed by both sides as their capital.
The Palestinians want borders based on the pre-1967 lines when Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem during the Six-Day war.

Abbas has said: "We are negotiating to reach a solution that would immediately lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital, on all the lands that were occupied in 1967."

He reiterated his threat to seek UN recognition of a Palestinian state should Israel pursue construction in the West Bank settlements.
Netanyahu is also facing fierce opposition from his Likud party members and coalition partners, with deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin saying the government should reject any bridging proposals that entail Israeli recognition of the pre-1967 ceasefire lines as the basis for a final deal.
With both sides refusing to make any compromise on mostly irreconcilable demands, Kerry, who is here on his tenth visit since taking office in March, faces an uphill task to achieve consensus and have the framework in place soon.

On the issue of security, Israel wants to maintain a military presence in the Jordan Valley under any peace deal.
"The Jordan Valley must be under Israeli sovereignty forever," Elkin said, referring to the border area with Jordan.
The Palestinians, however, rejected the demand and sought instead an international force there to guarantee security.
On the issues of refugees and Jerusalem, leaders from both sides have sounded far apart and questioned each other's commitment to ending the decades-old conflict.