Israelis, Palestinians pledge to curb violence
(VOVWORLD) - Israeli and Palestinian officials pledged to de-escalate surging violence at a meeting on Sunday, issuing a joint statement in which Israel said it will halt discussions about new settlement units in the occupied West Bank for four months.
 Palestinians and Israeli forces during clashes in Nablus, May 15, 2022. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
The meeting in Jordan, the first of its kind in years, was also attended by senior US, Jordanian and Egyptian officials including US President Joe Biden’s top Middle East advisor Brett McGurk.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement the US recognized the meeting was a “starting point.”
According to the statement, 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". This includes an Israeli commitment to stop discussion of any new settlements for four months and stop authorization of any outposts for six months.
Participants agreed on security and economic measures to help solve the difficulties of the Palestinians.
They also agreed to hold another meeting in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh before Ramadan begins in late March to assess the progress.