Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry address reporters in Jerusalem, on December 5, 2013. Photo: GPO.

The United States intends to unveil a formal framework peace agreement to Israel and the Palestinian Authority by the end of the month, senior Arab League sources revealed to the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. According to these sources, cited by Israeli daily Ma’ariv on Sunday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said during a meeting of the League held over the weekend in Cairo that the Americans are trying to salvage the talks between the parties through the framework agreement.

Israel’s Israel Hayom newspaper said that Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah confirmed the report.

United States Secretary of State John Kerry will announce the framework deal during his next visit to the region, according to the report. The hotels that are expected to host the American delegation during the event have already been booked, according to the Arab League source.

“The Americans are determined to present an agreement by the end of December and have already chosen a location for the signing ceremony for the framework agreement,” Abbas reportedly told Arab diplomats, according to Israel Hayom.

Abbas, while updating foreign ministers of the Arab League and League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi regarding developments in the negotiations with Israel, made “‹”‹it clear that the nine-month time frame for the completion of peace talks must not be pushed back past the April, 2014 deadline, Ma’ariv reported.

Meanwhile, the Arab League rejected on Saturday a reported U.S. proposal that would allow for a continued Israeli military presence on the eastern border of a future Palestinian state. An Arab League report on the issue called Kerry’s proposal “dangerous to the Palestinians,” saying it “achieved Israeli security expansionist demands, and guaranteed [Israel’s] continued control of [the Jordan Valley] on the security pretext,” Israel Hayom reported.