Netanyahu does not expect to sign peace deal with Palestinians

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not uproot any Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley in the occupied Palestinian West Bank, Israeli newspaper Maariv reported.

He also said that he did not expect to sign a peace deal with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and described the efforts of US Secretary of State John Kerry in this regard as an American plan to simply run the negotiations.

“I have said in the past and I repeat today: I do not intend to evacuate any settlements, I do not intend to uproot any Israeli,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying on the sidelines of the Economic Forum, by Maariv.

Meanwhile, Kerry was quoted by Al-Arabiya news outlet as saying he was sceptical about reaching a framework deal within the coming few months before the end of the negotiation period on 31 April.

“I am not sure when it will be when we are finished with the work we have to do to get there,” Kerry said. “We are still negotiating. We are working in good faith with both of the parties.”

He added: “My hope is we can achieve the framework for final status negotiations. But it is very, very difficult and we have a lot of work to do.”