No Compromise on Jordan Valley Security, Says Israel Official
Israel's deputy defense minister ruled out Thursday any security compromise in the Jordan Valley, saying the Jewish state would not give in to U.S. pressure to accept "a bad deal".
Danny Danon, a hardline member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rightwing Likud party, said Israel would never accept a Palestinian presence at the border crossing with Jordan.
"Israel will not outsource its basic security needs to the Palestinians," he said in a statement.
Israel has always insisted that in any final agreement, it would have to maintain a military presence in the Jordan Valley, which runs down the eastern flank of the West Bank, bordering Jordan.
Danon said Israel would not be pressurized by the Americans into accepting another deal along the lines of the initial nuclear agreement world powers struck in Geneva with Iran, which the Jewish state openly denounced as a "historic mistake".
"After the debacle in Geneva, we will not allow Secretary Kerry to pressure us into another bad deal. We have been down this road before," he said referring to the persistent rocket fire on southern Israel following its withdrawal from Gaza in 2005.
"We will never compromise on our security, even if it means saying no to our closest ally," said Danon, an outspoken member of the far-right faction within Likud.
Kerry was in Israel on Thursday in his latest attempt to drive forward faltering peace talks which have almost reached the halfway point with very little visible progress.
U.S. officials have said the focus this time would be on Israel's security arrangements, although they have refused to confirm reports Kerry was to present Netanyahu with a plan of how this could look in the context of a peace deal.
Maariv newspaper said U.S. General John Allen was to present Netanyahu with a "bridging proposal" which would enable Israel to reduce, as much as possible, its military presence in the Jordan Valley.
The plan would outline arrangements for a transitional period and a permanent status arrangement and may include "guarantees, advanced technological equipment and unique weaponry" which would enable Israel to either "reduce or to replace its military presence along the Jordan River," said Maariv.
A central part of the plan would address early warning stations and security over air space, particularly around Israel's main international airport near Tel Aviv.
Haaretz newspaper reported Wednesday that Washington was now focusing on resolving Israel's security needs in the hope it will allow them to push Netanyahu on other aspects, such as the borders of a future Palestinian state.
"The Americans have concluded that Netanyahu will not agree to move forward on other elements (of a peace deal) such as the borders of a future Palestinian state without an arrangement on security," it said.
Netanyahu has said Israel would only accept the emergence of a Palestinian state if it was demilitarized, with Israeli troops deployed along the Jordan Valley -- an option the Palestinians completely reject.
Source: Agence France Presse
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