Beijing, 27 Feb (Xinhua) -- Palestinian and Israeli government officials held talks in the southern Jordanian city of Aqaba on 26 February and agreed to curb violent activities, stop unilateral actions for a period of time, and reaffirm their commitment to the previous agreement.
The Palestinian-Israeli situation has recently intensified tensions. On the day of the talks, bloodshed resumed in the West Bank. There are voices of opposition within Palestine and Israel to this talk, and the implementation of the latest commitments may face considerable resistance.
Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli soldiers in the eastern village of Beit Dejan, a West Bank city of Nablus, on January 27. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Nidal)
Small progress
The talks were held in a multilateral format, with the participation of U.S., Jordanian and Egyptian officials, in addition to the Palestinian and Israeli sides. According to a joint statement issued after the meeting, the two sides agreed to stop the escalation of violence and "reaffirm the need to abide by (promote) the commitment to de-escalate the situation."
Jordan, Egypt and the United States said the Palestinian-Israeli understanding on the issues was "significant progress in rebuilding and deepening relations." Participants are scheduled to meet again in March in the Egyptian Red Sea coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh.
In the joint statement, Palestine and Israel agreed to "take immediate action to stop unilateral actions within three to six months." This commitment includes four months from Israel discussing any new settlement construction and six months from authorizing any "illegal" settlements.
The issue of Jewish settlements is one of the main obstacles to the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. Israel occupied East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank in the Third Middle East War in 1967 and began building Jewish settlements in those areas. The international community generally believes that these settlements, whether authorized by the Government of Israel or not, are contrary to international law.
This is a house photographed on February 23 in the Jewish settlement of Jivatzef in the West Bank. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Muamar Awad)
The violence continues
On the same day that Palestinian and Israeli government representatives met in Jordan, a Palestinian gunman opened fire on an Israeli license plate vehicle in the town of Huwara, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, killing two people inside. The deceased were residents of Jewish settlements.
The incident sparked retaliation when several Israelis living in West Bank settlements traveled to the vicinity of the town of Huwara and set fire to Palestinian homes and vehicles. The Israeli military said dozens of Palestinians affected by the fire had been evacuated. The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed that a Palestinian had died in the clashes.
The West Bank Jewish Population Statistics, a non-governmental organization that focuses on Jewish settlement activities in the West Bank, recently released a report that as of January 1 this year, the number of Jewish settlements in the West Bank has exceeded 500,000, an increase of more than 2.5% in one year and nearly 16% in five years. The continuous expansion of settlements has intensified the contradictions between the Palestinian and Israeli people.
Since the new Israeli government took office last December, it has promoted high-profile settlement construction and intensified raids in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank, triggering a series of Palestinian retaliatory attacks. The Israeli military launched a raid in Nablus on the 22nd, resulting in the death of 11 Palestinians.
Reuters quoted data released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the Israeli Foreign Ministry on the 25th that since the beginning of this year, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has killed at least 62 Palestinians, 10 Israelis and 1 Ukrainian.
This is the scene of the meeting filmed on February 12 at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt's capital. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said on the 12th that the tension facing Palestine will endanger regional security and stability and hinder the implementation of the "two-state solution". Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Muhammad Ali)
There is a lot of resistance
There is no monolithic question as to whether talks should be held with Israel. The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which controls the Gaza Strip, considered the talks "worthless". Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the talks "will not change anything."
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (Jihad) is similarly opposed to talks with Israel. The group said the attack on two Israelis on the 26th "sends a strong message to the Aqaba talks that our [Palestinians'] resistance is now underway."
Some elements of Israeli politics are also not waiting for this talk. After the attack on the 26th, the Israeli Minister of National Mission, Oreit Strek, demanded that "the Israeli delegation return immediately." The Minister of Finance, Bizarel Smotrikh, made it clear that he would not abide by any agreement on settlements.
Smotrich tweeted: "I don't know what they talked about in Jordan, but one thing is clear to me, and that is that the construction and development of settlements will not freeze, not for a day. ”
Regarding Israel's decision to agree to suspend settlement construction in a joint statement, Reuters believes that it may "cause trouble" for the Israeli government. The current Israeli government, which is made up of six right-wing or far-right parties, has been described by public opinion as "the most right-wing government ever."
On the 12th, the Israeli government approved the "legalization" of nine "illegal" Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and announced large-scale new housing in the original settlements. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on the 26th that the previously approved settlement plan "will not have any freezing." (Liu Xiuling)