A five-way security meeting kicked off in the Jordanian city of Aqaba on Sunday to discuss a truce in the Palestinian territories and to restore calm after escalating violence sparked fears of a wider conflict.
Senior security officials from both Israel and the Palestinians are attending the closed-door meeting for the first time in many years, along with representatives from Jordan and Egypt, as well as President Joe Biden’s Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk.
“The meeting will discuss and essentially adopt the plan developed by the US security coordinator between Israelis and Palestinians, Michael Wenslow.”
“The plan includes specific steps that both the Palestinian and Israeli sides must take, with an American commitment to assist the Palestinian security services in carrying out their tasks.”
The Palestinian presidency said in a statement on Sunday that “a high-level Palestinian delegation will participate, on Sunday, in the five-way meeting hosted by Jordan in Aqaba, which includes Jordan, Egypt, the United States (US), Palestine, and Israel.”
“The Palestinian delegation will reaffirm the commitment of the State of Palestine to the resolutions of international legitimacy as a way to end the Israeli occupation and materialize the establishment of a sovereign State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital on the 1967 borders,” it added.
“The Palestinian delegation will also stress the need to stop all unilateral Israeli actions and abide by the signed agreements to create a political horizon based on international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab peace initiative,” the statement said.
A Palestinian official had said that “the meeting comes at the request of the US to discuss ways of appeasement in the West Bank in light of the significant escalation resulting from the Israeli aggressions.”
“We told the US side that what is needed to stop the deterioration is an end to the Israeli incursions into the West Bank, a halt to settlement activities, a halt to the escalation in Al-Aqsa Mosque, a halt to the demolition and evacuation of Palestinian homes, and a political horizon based on the two-state solution,” the official added.
“We hope that the US side will be able to convince Israel to stop its violations because without that it is not possible to talk about security or stability in the region,” he said
“The meeting is the result of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to the region earlier this month.”
Blinken said he is leaving aides, led by Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Levy, in the region to work with the parties on positive ideas he has heard from both sides.
