Special to WorldTribune.com

JERUSALEM — Israel is said to have rejected a U.S. security regime in the West Bank as part of the establishment of a Palestinian state over the next year.

Israeli sources said Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon dismissed a plan by U.S. Gen. John Allen that envisioned an interim Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley.

After several years, the U.S. plan called for Israel to rely on satellites and radars to monitor the border with Jordan.

“Ya’alon made it clear that this was a non-starter,” a source said. “He didn’t even make promises that the Allen plan would be seriously considered.”

The sources said Ya’alon relayed his refusal in meetings with senior U.S. officials. They cited U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, both of whom coordinated to lobby for the Israeli withdrawal plan.

Amir Rapaport, a leading Israeli defense analyst, said Ya’alon’s rejection marked a departure from that of his predecessor, Ehud Barak. Rapaport, editor of the influential Israel Defense magazine, said Barak had raised hopes in Washington that the Defense Ministry and military would eventually agree to a withdrawal from the entire West Bank.

“Israel’s previous defense minister, Ehud Barak, was willing to consider
such ideas,” Rapaport said. “The current minister, Moshe Ya’alon, has
bluntly declined.”

The sources said Kerry and Hagel have turned to Israeli military
commanders as well as former senior defense officials to help support the
U.S. plan. They said after several meetings, Ya’alon warned Chief of Staff
Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz to avoid discussion of details with U.S. officials.

In February 2014, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy reported
on a delegation that met Israeli military commanders and defense officials.
In a report, institute director Robert Satloff asserted that the Israeli
security establishment was moving toward support of a unilateral withdrawal
from most of the West Bank.

The sources said Ya’alon has also dismissed a U.S. missile defense
concept to stop attacks from any Palestinian state. They said Ya’alon does
not regard U.S. funding of the Iron Dome missile and rocket defense system
as facilitating a military withdrawal from areas in the West Bank near
Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport.

“Ya’alon has made his mark in the negotiations with the United States by
rejecting many of the ideas accepted by Barak that technology could replace
an Israeli military presence,” the source said.

  Chuck Hagel, Ehud Barak, Israeli dismisses U.S. security proposal for W. Bank as ‘non-starter’, John Kerry, Moshe Ya’alon