Israel and the Palestinians reach an agreement to reduce bloodshed

• Israeli and Palestinian officials said that they will work closely to prevent “future bloodshed.”
• Israel had pledged to suspend discussing setting up any new settlement units.
• The joint statement came at the end of a conference attended by American, Egyptian, and Jordanian officials.

Israel and Palestine: During meetings in Jordan, Israeli and Palestinian officials promised to put steps in place to de-escalate the escalating violence.

In a joint statement at the end of the conference in the Red Sea resort of Aqaba on Sunday, Israeli and Palestinian officials said that they will work closely to prevent “future bloodshed” and that they “reaffirmed the necessity of committing to de-escalation on the ground”.

Israel had pledged to suspend “discussing setting up any new settlement units for four months and stop approving any new settlements for six months”, a joint statement said.

The Palestinian and Israeli parties “reaffirmed the need to commit to de-escalation on the ground and to prevent further violence” following “thorough and candid discussions,” it said.

The joint statement came at the end of a conference attended by American, Egyptian, and Jordanian officials, who were concerned about an escalation of violence in the run-up to Ramadan, which begins in late March.

According to the statement, Israel and the Palestinian Authority emphasized their “joint readiness and commitment to work immediately to stop unilateral measures” for three to six months.

Jordan, Egypt, and the United States saw “these understandings as major progress towards re-establishing and deepening relations between the two sides,” according to the statement.

According to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the meeting constituted a “starting point” for the US.

“There is much work to do over the coming weeks and months to build a stable and prosperous future for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” Sullivan said of the Aqaba meeting. “Implementation will be critical.”

The two parties have agreed to meet again next month in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh.

The Hamas movement, which governs the constrained Gaza Strip, has attacked the Palestinian Authority, which is based in the West Bank. According to a group official, the meeting was “worthless” and would not change anything.

The conference has previously been defended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s ruling Fatah movement.

“The decision to take part in the Aqaba meeting despite the pain and massacres being endured by the Palestinian people comes from a desire to bring an end to the bloodshed,” it said on Twitter.

Israel’s Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who is also in charge of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, swiftly stated that he would not comply with any deal to halt settlement expansion.

“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).”

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