[An Nahar] U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you knowKerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a
lucky hat,conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
said Friday he hoped to help achieve a peace agreement encompassing Israeli security needs and Paleostinian illusory sovereignty, as he wrapped up his regional visit.
But Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...
dampened hopes by rejecting U.S. proposals for Israel to keep a military presence in a future Paleostinian state.
"We are working on an approach that both guarantees Israel's security and fully respects Paleostinian illusory sovereignty," Kerry told news hounds in Tel Aviv before boarding a plane to Vietnam.
Kerry insisted the goal remained for the sides "to reach a final status agreement - not an interim agreement," and said Israel will release as planned a new group of Paleostinian prisoners on December 29.
"Both parties remain committed to fulfilling their obligations to stay at the table and negotiate hard during the nine-month period that we set for that" when talks were launched at the end of July, said Kerry.