Kerry To Offer Outline Of Mideast Peace Deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry will propose a framework for a final-status agreement between Israel and the Palestinians when he travels to the region this week.

State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said Monday that Kerry will discuss with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a framework that could serve as a guideline for addressing all core issues in the decades-long dispute.

Harf says it's not clear whether any agreement on the proposed framework would be reached during the trip, which begins on Wednesday.

The two sides resumed peace talks in July.

As a precondition, the Palestinians dropped a demand for a halt in Israeli settlement construction, and Israel agreed to release 104 Palestinian prisoners, including 26 it plans to free this week.

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