Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has rejected U.S. proposals for Israel to keep troops in a future Palestinian state along its strategic border with Jordan, Agence France-Presse reported a Palestinian source as saying on Friday.

Following a meeting on Thursday evening with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in the West Bank city of Ramallah, “President Abbas has rejected the ideas presented by the secretary of state,” AFP quoted the source as saying.

Abbas also gave Kerry a letter laying out “Palestinian red lines,” the source added.

However, no public details were released on the content of the Kerry-Abbas meeting, which took place immediately after Kerry’s arrival in the region.

Kerry had to amend his plans to travel from Jerusalem to Jordan amid fierce snowfall and rain storms, opting instead to head later straight to his next stop, Vietnam.

“I’m delighted to be here. I’m on my way to Asia, heading to Vietnam and the Philippines, which is a long-promised trip,” Kerry told reporters as he went into his talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

It was Kerry’s ninth trip to Israel and the West Bank since March, and his second in less than a week.
(With AFP)