The talks in Egypt emphasized the need to prevent any disruptive action on Jerusalem’s holy sites during Ramadan.
Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed at a meeting in Egypt take steps to reduce tensions ahead of the Muslim holy month of ramadan.
Talks in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh stressed on Sunday the need to prevent any disruptive action on Jerusalem’s holy sites when Ramadan begins later this week.
In a joint statement following talks attended by US, Egyptian and Jordanian officials, the sides also reconfirmed commitments made at a meeting in Aqaba last month, including an Israeli promise to stop discussion of any new unit of settlement for four months.
The Israeli pledge was largely symbolic. Israel recently approved the construction of thousands of new settlement homes and there were no immediate plans to approve additional construction.
Still, even talk of slowing settlement activity could provoke a backlash from Israel’s right-wing coalition government, which is dominated by settler leaders and supporters.
A similar meeting in Jordan on February 26 ended with promises to de-escalate tensions. It was quickly derailed by several new outbreaks of violence.
A Palestinian gunman shot dead two israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and Jewish settlers razed the Palestinian city of model to followkill a Palestinian man and destroy property in what has been described as a pogrom.
An Israeli raid on Nablus too killed 11 Palestinianswhich makes expectations for the second installment low.
As talks were taking place on Sunday, a Palestinian gunman opened fire on a vehicle in Huwara, seriously injuring an Israeli manthe doctors said. The man’s wife was treated for shock.
The Israeli army said the wounded man and Israeli troops opened fire, hitting the assailant. The man was later arrested, the army said. His condition was not immediately known.
Huwara is on a busy road in the northern part of the West Bank used by Israeli settlers, many of whom are armed.
Over the past year, Israeli forces have made thousands of arrests in the West Bank and killed more than 200 Palestinians, while more than 40 Israelis and three Ukrainians have been killed in Palestinian attacks.
The Israeli-occupied West Bank has witnessed a wave of fighting in recent months, with almost daily Israeli military incursions and escalation of violence by Israeli settlers.
Mechanism to stop violence
“The two parties agreed to establish a mechanism to curb and counter violence, incitement, and inflammatory statements and actions,” the joint statement said. The parties will report on progress at a follow-up meeting in Egypt next month, he added.
He did not elaborate on the mechanism.
The parties to the talks also “emphasized the need for both Israelis and Palestinians to actively prevent any actions that disturb the sanctity” of Jerusalem’s holy sites during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to the statement.
Large numbers of Jews are also expected to visit a key Jerusalem holy site, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount: an act that the Palestinians see as a provocation.
Under longstanding agreements, Jews are allowed to visit the site but not pray there. But in recent years, the number of visitors has grown, and some pray in silence. Such scenes have raised fears among Palestinians that Israel is trying to to upset the status quo.
Clashes at the site in 2021 helped spark an 11-day Israeli war in Gaza.
