Israeli and Palestinian officials pledged to “prevent further violence” and work towards “de-escalation”, according to a joint statement issued after a meeting in Jordan on Sunday.
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“Senior Jordanian, Egyptian, Israeli, Palestinian and American officials”, took part in this meeting which was held in the city of Aqaba on the Red Sea, and, after “thorough and frank discussions”, “reaffirmed the need to engage in de-escalation on the ground and prevent further violence,” according to the eight-point statement.
The day-long “politico-security” meeting aimed to discuss a lull in the occupied Palestinian territories after several days of deadly violence, according to Jordanian state television.
This is the first of its kind in years between Palestinians and Israelis, with regional and international participation to discuss the situation in the Palestinian Territories,” according to the same source.
At the conclusion of the talks, the Israeli government and the Palestinian National Authority “confirmed their willingness and joint commitment” to act immediately to stop the unilateral measures for a period of 3 to 6 months.
This includes an Israeli commitment to stop discussing the establishment of new settlement units for a period of 4 months not to legalize “wild” settlements, for a period of 6 months, according to the text.
While the meeting was underway, two Israelis were killed in a Palestinian “attack” in the northern West Bank — Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967 — according to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
Palestinian intelligence chief Majed Faraj, Israeli domestic intelligence chief (Shin Beth) Ronen Bar, US National Security Council Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk, and security officials Jordanians and Egyptians took part in this meeting.