US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Jerusalem on Wednesday -- New Year's Day -- to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the State Department announced on Saturday. "In these meetings, he will discuss the ongoing final status negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, among other issues," the announcement said. The Israeli-Palestinian negotiations announced by Kerry last July are scheduled to last nine months, ending in April.