Washington calls on Israel to evacuate Jordan Valley settlements

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth revealed today, Friday, some details of the plan proposed by the United States (US) for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

US-sponsored negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority resumed in July after a three year hiatus with the purported aim of achieving peace through the establishment of a Palestinian state. The current plan being put forward by US Secretary of State John Kerry reportedly focuses on security arrangements in the West Bank, and will only move onto issues like Jerusalem and the Palestinian right of return once the security plan has been agreed.

The newspaper reported that the American plan requires for Israel to evacuate all the settlement blocs in the Jordan Valley within three to four years to make way for Palestinians to live in the area.

Yedioth Ahronoth also noted that the Jordan Valley constitutes six per cent of the West Bank, so the American plan stipulates that that if Israel insists on remaining in the area, then it must also concede six per cent of the land in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948.