Abbas writes to Obama protesting West Bank security plan

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama that reportedly included his reservations on a security plan for the West Bank raised by Washington. Nabil Abu Rdineh, spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency, stressed that the letter to Obama doesn't sidestep U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry who formalized the plan and presented it to Israel and Palestinians earlier this month. Abu Rdineh declined from revealing the points in the letter that discuss Kerry's plan, but said it emphasized that negotiations with Israel must lead to an independent Palestinian state with full sovereignty on pre-1967 lines, a reference to the territories Israel has occupied that year. In his letter, Abbas stressed that the Palestinian side is committed to the negotiations' nine-month tenure, according to Abu Rdineh. Abu Rdineh told Xinhua that the Palestinian leadership was still studying Kerry's security ideas, though several Palestinian officials said they reject the plan because it adopts the Israeli point of view for settling controversial security issues. Kerry guided Israel and the Palestinians to the negotiation table in July, ending a three-year breakdown, but Palestinians have voiced concern over any plan that allows an Israeli presence or indirect control on the borders of their future state. Kerry's plan includes an Israeli military presence in Jordan Valley, the eastern borders of the West Bank with Jordan, for 10 to 15 years. Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported Thursday that Abbas was very disappointed with Kerry's ideas, thus decided to write directly to Obama.