Europe News Desk!! The Israeli government rejected most of the agreements that were reached at a meeting of senior Israeli and Palestinian security officials in Jordan. According to the news agency Xinhua, Jordan called the meeting on Sunday to reduce the tension before Ramadan. According to a statement issued by Jordan’s foreign ministry after the meeting in Aqaba, Israeli and Palestinian representatives agreed to reduce tensions between the two countries. The meeting was also attended by officials from Egypt, the United States and Jordan. The Israeli and Palestinian authorities reiterated their commitment to all previous agreements between them and to work towards a just and lasting peace. They also underlined the need to commit to reducing tensions on the ground and preventing further violence, and stressed their joint readiness and commitment to immediately end the unilateral measures for a period of three to six months.
The commitments include one by Israel to halt discussion of any new settlement units for four months and the authorization of any outposts for six months. The statement said Israelis and Palestinians agreed to maintain the status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. They also agreed to pursue confidence-building measures and strengthen mutual trust to resolve outstanding issues through direct dialogue. Officials from the five countries agreed to convene again in Sharm el-Sheikh in March to achieve the goals listed above. In the statement, Jordan, Egypt and the US said that the understanding reached during the Aqaba meeting is a major progress towards re-establishing and deepening ties between the two sides.
He also stressed the importance of the Aqaba meeting, which is believed to be the first such meeting between the two sides in years. However, soon after the meeting, Israel’s government repudiated most of the agreements. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on Twitter that the approval and construction of new housing units in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank would continue without any changes. . In a separate statement, the country’s national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said in the coming months Israel would legalize nine Israeli outposts and approve some 9,500 new housing units in the settlements. Several cabinet ministers also denied the deal. Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the meeting was futile. He said that construction in settlements will not be stopped even for a day. The meeting was held hours after a Palestinian gunman killed two Israelis in the occupied West Bank.
–IANS
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