The "Kerry Plan" is likely to be unveiled soon, Thomas Friedman of The New York Times wrote on Tuesday in a column titled "Why Kerry is Scary."The “Kerry Plan,” writes Friedman, is expected to "call for an end to the conflict and all claims, following a phased Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank (based on the 1967 lines)."Friedman also said that there will be "unprecedented security arrangements in the strategic Jordan Valley."According to Friedman, some settlements will remain under Israeli control and Israel will "compensate" Palestinians for the land.The plan will set east Jerusalem as the capital of any future Palestinian state. It will also demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state. The plan, Friedman continues, will not include any right of return for Palestinian refugees into Israel.Friedman also claims that if Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is to agree to the terms of the "Kerry Plan," his coalition will collapse and Netanyahu will face many challenges.Last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Kerry said during a speech that the US remained committed to the Israeli Palestinian peace process but that at end of the day it is up to the Israelis and the Palestinians to reach an agreement on how to end the conflict.
The US Secretary of State met with Netanyahu at the conference in a closed-door meeting. Kerry said in his speech that if the peace talks fail, the Palestinians risk losing their last chance for an independent state. He said for Israel, failure would mean that demographics would not allow Israel to remain a democratic and Jewish state.Kerry stressed that the continuation of the status quo between the Israelis and Palestinians was not possible and that failure of the talks would empower extremists.
