Deal sees 80% of settlers staying in West Bank
U.S.-brokered pact redraws borders for an Israel-Palestinian swap
MISHOR ADUMIM, WEST BANK — Up to 80 per cent of Jewish settlers would be allowed to remain in the West Bank under a proposed framework for the U.S.-backed Arab-Israeli peace deal, sources say.
Closely guarded details of how Washington sees the terms of a final settlement were disclosed in a meeting between American Jewish leaders and Martin Indyk, a senior U.S. official involved in the negotiations.
The outline envisions that settlers, whose presence is seen by the international community as an illegal incursion on Palestinian land, would remain where they are as part of a proposed land-swap deal with the Palestinians.
The deal would redraw borders so that about 80 per cent of settlers’ homes would be redesignated as being in Israel, while other parcels of land would be handed back to Palestinian control.
Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, is reported to have said that any final peace treaty could provide compensation for victims on both sides of the historic conflict. Sources at the meeting said he had told them that as well as compensation for Palestinian refugees, it would look at a similar package for Jews who fled Arab persecution. Many Jews relocated to Israel from other parts of the Middle East after the establishment of Israel in 1948.
Israel would be allowed to retain a role in maintaining security along the West Bank’s border with neighbouring Jordan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to control any Palestinian state’s outer border to keep it from becoming another Gaza-like threat to Israel. Under the new security arrangements, a zone would be created with high-tech fences equipped with sensors and drone surveillance planes flying overhead.
Details of Indyk’s conversations were reported Friday in the Israeli press, which quoted sources present at the meeting.
However, Indyk later denied giving any specific figures about the percentage of Jewish settlers whose homes would be declared to be part of Israel.
The fact Indyk gave the details to Jewish leaders in the U.S. has been interpreted as one aspect of a drive to gain greater international support for the U.S.-led peace effort, which is headed by John Kerry, the U.S. secretary of state.
Kerry hopes to win backing for the framework from both sides within the coming weeks. He has drawn up the proposals after consultation with officials working for Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority. The fact it is a U.S.-drafted document allows both sides to avoid seeming like they have endorsed sections that may be politically unpalatable to their constituencies.