Israel Matzav

US security plan included IDF troops in Jordan Valley

The US security plan for the Jordan Valley that was rejected by the 'Palestinians' included an IDF presence along Highway 90, 5 kilometers west of the Jordanian border (see map above) for ten years.

According to the TV report, the plan — formulated by retired US general John Allen and presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during a recent visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry — ensured a more significant Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley than previously reported. Earlier reports suggested that Allen’s plan stationed IDF troops on the Jordanian border, but Channel 10 cited “sources knowledgeable with the negotiations” as saying it entailed an IDF presence along Route 90, the major north-south artery five kilometers west of the frontier.

Last week, the Palestinians said they rejected any proposal that didn’t stipulate the removal of all IDF soldiers from a future Palestinian state.

A senior Palestinian official was quoted as saying that after Kerry pitched the proposal, the meeting between the secretary of state and Abbas turned to “worse than bad.”

The presence of Israeli soldiers in the Jordan valley in a final agreement is a point of contention between Netanyahu and his chief negotiator, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni.

According to a September report in the Israeli daily Maariv, Livni supports the introduction of international forces to the Jordan Valley, similar to the expanded role UNIFIL received in southern Lebanon under Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006, and which Livni was appointed by the government to oversee.

Netanyahu, however, adamantly opposes international forces, insisting on an Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley even within the framework of a Palestinian state.

 After all, Security Council resolution 1701 - negotiated by Livni - has just worked out so well.... Hezbullah only has about 100,000 more rockets now than it had in 2006....

Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Jordan Valley, secure borders, Tzipi Livni, UN Security Council Resolution 1701

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:16 PM