Jordanians protest Kerry peace plan

AMMAN 

Hundreds of Jordanians on Friday staged a rally in central Amman to protest a "framework" agreement between the Palestinians and Israel proposed by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

The rally was staged outside Amman's Al-Husseini Mosque at the invitation of the "Popular Forum for Protecting Jordan and Palestine," a campaign launched last month by Jordanian dignitaries who accuse Kerry of trying to "liquidate the Palestinian cause and threatening the interests of the Jordanian and Palestinian people."

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Salem Falahat, former leader of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood, called on Jordanians and Palestinians to reject Kerry's peace plan – or any deal that threatened Palestinian interests.

Direct US-brokered peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators resumed last summer after a nearly three-year hiatus.

The current round of talks is focused on Kerry's "framework" for an eventual deal that would address so-called "final-status" issues – namely, borders, security, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Al-Quds (occupied East Jerusalem).

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly said his Palestinian Authority would neither compromise on unalienable Palestinian rights nor recognize Israel as a "Jewish state."

Palestinian negotiators insist that the issue of Jewish settlements must be addressed before a comprehensive final-status agreement can be agreed upon.

Palestinians want the West Bank and Gaza Strip for their future state, with Al-Quds as its capital.

Tension has also simmered between Amman and Tel Aviv since an Israeli lawmaker proposed legislation that would revoke Jordanian oversight of Palestinian holy sites in violation of a 1994 peace treaty between the two countries.

Jordanians were further angered by the recent killing of a Jordanian judge by Israeli border guards.

Earlier this month, Judge Raed Zeiter was shot dead by Israeli soldiers near the King Hussein Bridge (also known as the Allenby Bridge) linking Jordan to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

According to the Israeli media, Zeiter, 38, had attempted to grab the gun of an Israeli border guard, forcing the latter to shoot him dead.

Israeli President Shimon Peres later apologized to Jordan's King Abdullah II and agreed to a Jordanian request for a joint investigation into the incident, Jordan's state-run Petra news agency reported.

By Saddam al-Yahiya

 englishnews@aa.com.tr