Jordan is taking steps to halt a security breakdown that could fuel more violence in the occupied West Bank, hosting a meeting between top Israeli and Palestinian officials on Sunday in the Red Sea port of Aqaba. Representatives from the United States and Egypt will also be present.
The talks come after a deadly raid by Israeli forces in Nablus that killed 11 Palestinians, the highest death toll since the second Intifada of 2000-2005. Since the start of this year, 62 Palestinian adults and children have been killed, along with 10 Israelis and a Ukrainian tourist. The United Nations said last year was the deadliest period for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2006, with 171 Palestinians, including 30 children, killed by Israeli forces.
Jordanian government officials have said the meeting is part of ongoing efforts to end unilateral measures by Israel and ease the hardships of the Palestinian people. An unnamed Jordanian official told Reuters that “such a meeting has not happened in years … It’s a major achievement to get them together”.
Earlier this month, Jordan’s King Abdullah met US President Joe Biden and held talks with his Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, who will be attending Sunday’s meeting. During the talks, Washington warned of the threats to regional security and lobbied for a resumption of stalled talks on Palestinian statehood.
King Abdullah also met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Amman in January, stressing “the need to maintain calm and cease all acts of violence”. The king reaffirmed Jordan’s position in support of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians to end the decades-old conflict. Jordan has been concerned about stepped-up Jewish settlement building, and has accused Israel of trying to change the status quo in Jerusalem’s holy sites.
Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war, territories the Palestinians seek for an independent state. Talks on Palestinian statehood have been stalled for almost a decade.
In an effort to prevent further violence in the occupied West Bank, Jordan is hosting a meeting between top Israeli and Palestinian officials on Sunday in Aqaba. Representatives from the United States and Egypt will also be present at the talks, which come after a deadly raid by Israeli forces in Nablus that killed 11 Palestinians. Since the start of 2021, 62 Palestinian adults and children have been killed, along with 10 Israelis and a Ukrainian tourist. The UN reported that last year was the deadliest period for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 2006, with 171 Palestinians, including 30 children, killed by Israeli forces.
Jordanian government officials have said the meeting is part of ongoing efforts to end unilateral measures by Israel and ease the hardships of the Palestinian people. An unnamed Jordanian official told Reuters that “such a meeting has not happened in years … It’s a major achievement to get them together”. King Abdullah met US President Joe Biden and his Middle East envoy Brett McGurk earlier this month, warning of threats to regional security and lobbying for a resumption of stalled talks on Palestinian statehood. The king also met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Amman in January, stressing “the need to maintain calm and cease all acts of violence”.
Jordan has been concerned about stepped-up Jewish settlement building and has accused Israel of trying to change the status quo in Jerusalem’s holy sites. Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war, territories the Palestinians seek for an independent state. Talks on Palestinian statehood have been stalled for almost a decade.
Jordan is hoping that Sunday’s meeting will help halt a security breakdown that could fuel more violence and agree on security and economic measures to ease the hardships of the Palestinian people. The talks may be a major achievement in bringing together Israeli and Palestinian officials after years of stalled negotiations, but it remains to be seen whether they will be successful in achieving their goals.