SONNA – Jordan is set to host a meeting between top Israeli and Palestinian officials in a bid to halt a surge in deadly violence in the occupied West Bank that has stoked fears of a wider escalation, according to officials.
Jordanian official says the talks in the Red Sea port of Aqaba is part of an effort to halt ‘a security breakdown that could fuel more violence’.
The meeting on Sunday will be held in the Red Sea port of Aqaba and will be attended by representatives from the United States and Egypt.
The planned talks come days after Israeli forces carried out a raid in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus that killed 10 Palestinians. The death toll in Wednesday’s raid was the highest since the second Intifada of 2000-2005.
The intensifying violence has killed 62 Palestinian adults and children since the start of this year. Ten Israelis and a Ukrainian tourist died in the same period. The United Nations meanwhile said last year was the deadliest period for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2006, with Israeli forces killing 171 Palestinians, including 30 children, in that period.
A Jordanian government official, speaking to the AFP news agency, said Sunday’s “political-security meeting is part of stepped-up ongoing efforts by Jordan in coordination with the Palestinian Authority and other parties to end unilateral measures [by Israel] and a security breakdown that could fuel more violence”.
The talks aim to agree “security and economic measures to ease the hardships of the Palestinian people,” said the official, who requested anonymity.
Source: AlJazeera
