DHAKA: Palestine president Mahmoud Abbas has reportedly shot down a proposal by US state secretary John Kerry to maintain Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley for ten years following the signing of an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord.

A Palestinian official told Al-Ayyam, reports The Jerusalem Post.

During this period, Palestinian security forces will be trained to replace the Israeli ones, the paper quoted the official as saying.

According to the report, Kerry suggested an Israeli presence that would focus on border passes and mountain tops.

The Palestinians, however, rejected the offered American security ‘ideas’, saying the arrangements proposed were totally unacceptable.

The official described the meeting between Kerry and Abbas last week as being ‘worse than bad’, and added that the American stance on the subject is a step back from proposals made in the past.

He added that the Palestinians ‘will never accept Israeli presence in the valley’.

BDST: 2133 HRS, DEC 10, 2013