In Jordan, Israelis and Palestinians pledge to 'prevent further violence'
Members of the Islamic Action Front protested the meeting between senior Israeli and Palestinian officials that took place in Aqaba.
Israeli and Palestinian officials pledged to “prevent new violence” and to work towards “de-escalation”, according to a joint statement issued after a meeting in Jordan on Sunday.
Senior Jordanian, Egyptian, Israeli, Palestinian and American officials attended this meeting in the Red Sea city of Aqaba and, after in-depth and frank discussions, reaffirmed the need to engage in de-escalating on the ground and preventing further violence, according to the eight-point final communiqué.
The one-day political-security meeting aimed to build trust between Israel and the Palestinians and achieve calming measures in the occupied Palestinian territories after several days of deadly violence, a government official said on Saturday. Jordanian who requested anonymity.
Palestinians condemned meeting held in Aqaba.
This is the first meeting of its kind in years between Palestinians and Israelis with regional and international participation to discuss the situation in the Palestinian Territories, according to Jordanian state television.
< p class="e-p">At the end of the talks, the Israeli government and the Palestinian National Authority confirmed their joint willingness and commitment to act immediately to stop the unilateral measures for a period of three to six months.
This includes an Israeli commitment to stop discussing the establishment of new settlement units for a period of four months and not to legalize outpost settlements for a period of six months, according to the text.
< p class="e-p">In this statement, the participants also agreed to help both sides build mutual trust for direct dialogue. The Palestinian and Israeli sides will work in good faith to fulfill their responsibilities in this regard, it reads.
The participants agreed to meet again in the city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, next March.
Palestinian Intelligence Chief Majed Faraj, Chief from the Israeli domestic intelligence service (Shin Beth), Ronen Bar, the coordinator of the American National Security Council for the Middle East, Brett McGurk, as well as Jordanian and Egyptian security officials participated in the meeting.
In the aftermath, King Abdullah II met with Mr. McGurk and stressed the importance of stepping up efforts for calm and de-escalation, according to the Royal Palace.
The talks come amid fears of uncontrollable violence as the conflict escalates sharply.
While the meeting was underway, two Israelis were killed in a Palestinian bombing in the northern West Bank — Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967 — according to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
Another demonstration against the Netanyahu government took place in Tel Aviv.
The decision to attend the Aqaba meeting, despite the pain and massacres that the Palestinian people are enduring, comes from the desire to stop the bloodshed, the official tweeted. Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, while other Palestinian factions have denounced the involvement of the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas thus condemned in a statement the participation of the Palestinian Authority, deeming the meeting with the Zionists as a break with the Palestinian national consensus, a contempt for the blood of the martyrs and an open attempt to cover up the crimes of the Palestinian Authority. #x27;occupation.
The Israeli army has increased its operations for nearly a year in the northern West Bank, a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups.
On Wednesday, it launched a new foray into the Old City of Nablus, in search, according to the army, of suspects involved in past or future anti-Israeli attacks .
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 11 Palestinians were killed and more than 80 were shot and wounded in the raid, the deadliest since 2005 in the West Bank.
Since the beginning of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 62 Palestinians (including mem members of armed groups and civilians, including minors) and 11 civilians (including three minors), an Israeli policeman and a Ukrainian woman, according to an AFP tally from official Israeli and Palestinian sources.
