Israeli and Palestinian officials pledged to de-escalate surging violence after meeting on Sunday, issuing a joint statement in which Israel said it would halt discussions about new settlement units in the West Bank for four months.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Attended by senior US, Jordanian and Egyptian officials in addition to the Israeli and Palestinian delegations, the meeting in Aqaba, Jordan was the first of its kind in years.
The Israeli and Palestinian sides said in their statement that they would work closely to prevent "further violence" and "reaffirmed the necessity of committing to de-escalation on the ground". They affirmed their commitment to previous agreements.
Jordan, along with its allies Egypt and the United States, said the understandings were "major progress towards re-establishing and deepening relations between the two sides". But underlining the challenges, Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, called the meeting "worthless", and condemned the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority for taking part.
The meeting was held as anxiety mounts of an escalation in violence in the run-up to the holy Muslim month of Ramadan that begins in late March. Israel and the Palestinian Authority "confirmed their joint readiness and commitment to immediately work to end unilateral measures for a period of 3-6 months", the statement said.
"This includes an Israeli commitment to stop discussion of any new settlement units for four months and to stop authorization of any outposts for six months."
That could cause trouble in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also has responsibilities over Jewish settlements in the West Bank, quickly said he would not abide by any such agreement.
"I have no idea what they spoke about or not in Jordan," Smotrich wrote on Twitter. "But one thing I do know: there will not be a freeze on the building and development in settlements, not even for one day (it is under my authority)."
Israel on Feb. 12 granted retroactive authorization to nine Jewish settler outposts in the West Bank and announced new homes within established settlements. A senior Israeli official said there would be no change to the previous decision regarding the authorization of those outposts and 9,500 housing units. Netanyahu seemed to downplay any commitment, saying Israel would continue settlement building along previous plans, and saying there "will not be any freeze".
The UN Security Council issued a formal statement on Feb. 20 denouncing Israel's plan to expand settlements on Palestinian territory, the first action the United States has allowed the body to take against its ally Israel in six years.
US President Joe Biden thanked Jordan's King Abdullah for "convening this historic gathering", US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement. "We recognize that this meeting was a starting point and that there is much work to do over the coming weeks and months to build a stable and prosperous future for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Implementation will be critical," he said.
The participants will meet again in March in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. They agreed to "maintain positive momentum and expand this agreement towards wider political process leading to a just and lasting peace", their statement said.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said the meeting would "not change anything". "It will not succeed to prevent our people from defending themselves and confronting the crimes conducted by the government of the occupation", he told Reuters.
In the latest violence, a Palestinian terrorist killed two Jewish settlers in their car in the West Bank on Sunday, Israeli officials said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Hamas said it was "a natural response to crimes conducted by the occupation, the last of which was the massacre in Nablus", where 11 Palestinians were killed – six terrorists and five civilians – in an Israeli raid on Feb. 23.
A Jordanian official warned of "a very difficult dynamic on the ground with the escalation happening ahead of Ramadan and Passover".
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
