New York Times Columnist Tom Friedman. Photo: Screenshot.

JNS.org – After months of tireless diplomacy, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry may be set to outline his framework for a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians, according to prominent New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman.

In a Jan. 28 column titled “Why Kerry Is Scary”, Friedman writes that the “Kerry plan” will be revealed soon.

According to Friedman, the plan will “call for an end to the conflict and all claims, following a phased Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank (based on the 1967 lines), with unprecedented security arrangements in the strategic Jordan Valley.”

Friedman added that the plan will not force Israel to withdraw from “certain settlement blocs” and will allow Israel to compensate the Palestinians with Israeli territory. It will also call for the establishment of a Palestinian capital in eastern Jerusalem and for the Palestinians to recognize Israel as the “nation state of the Jewish people,” wrote Friedman.

The plan will not include the right of return for Palestinian refugees into Israel proper, according to the columnist.