Kerry in Jordan Visit to Shore up Mideast Peace Talks

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Jordan's King Abdullah II Wednesday in a fresh bid to keep his Middle East peace bid on track, amid fears Israel may renege on a vow to free Palestinian prisoners.

Flying in from an interrupted visit to Rome, Kerry was also to hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in Amman in a bid to "continue to narrow the gaps" between the two sides, his spokeswoman said.

Under a July deal for the relaunch of the talks, Israel said it would release 104 Arabs held since before the 1993 Oslo peace accords in exchange for the Palestinians not pressing their statehood claims via the U.N.

Israel has so far freed 78 prisoners and is due to release the fourth and final tranche on March 29, but there are growing fears Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet may refuse to approve the move.

Palestinian leaders are threatening to renew their diplomatic push at the United Nations if the prisoners are not freed as scheduled this weekend.

The Palestinians also won key backing Wednesday from the Arab League for their refusal to bow to Netanyahu's demand to recognize Israel as "the Jewish state."

"We express our total rejection of the call to consider Israel as a Jewish state," said the Arab League declaration, issued at the end of the two-day meeting in Kuwait City, which was also attended by Abbas.

A senior Palestinian source said Kerry, who has been accompanying President Barack Obama on a trip to Europe, had asked Abbas to send Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat to Rome to meet with him, but the Palestinian president had refused.

Kerry, who coaxed the two sides back to the negotiations last July after a three-year freeze, is seeking to keep up the pressure to reach an agreed framework to guide the talks going forward as an April 29 deadline for a deal looms.

But Abbas has told the chief U.S. diplomat that he will not discuss the framework accord until after the prisoner releases have taken place, the Palestinian source said.

Abbas has so far held off on efforts to use the U.N.'s November 2012 recognition of Palestine as a non-member observer to press for membership in international bodies where it could fight Israeli occupation.

But Palestinians are warning they may drop that pledge if Israel breaks its side of the deal by not freeing the prisoners.

"We shall turn to the U.N.'s international organizations if Israel does not release the fourth and final group of prisoners," Yasser Abed Rabbo, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee, told Voice of Palestine radio.

Israel also wants the Palestinians to agree to extend the talks beyond April 29, warning a failure to do so would scupper the final prisoner release.

Kerry will make long-delayed visits to Algeria and Morocco next week, his spokeswoman said on Wednesday, marking his first trips to both countries.

The top U.S. diplomat will first travel to Algiers for meetings with top Algerian officials ahead of similar talks in Morocco, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

Kerry had originally planned to visit both countries late last year, but had to change his schedule at the last minute.

While in Algiers, Kerry will also co-chair the U.S.-Algeria Strategic Dialogue with Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra, Psaki said in a statement.

The dialogue, launched in October 2012, covers a range of bilateral and regional issues, "including political and security developments, boosting economic ties, and strengthening civil society," Psaki said.

While in Rabat, Kerry will co-chair the U.S.-Morocco Strategic Dialogue with Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar.

He will also meet with senior Moroccan officials "to discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues".

Psaki did not give precise dates for the visits but said Kerry's trip, which also takes him to Brussels to join NATO talks on the crisis in Ukraine, will span April 1-5.