Israeli and Palestinian officials have pledged to “prevent further violence” and work towards “de-escalation,” according to a joint statement released today after the two sides met in Jordan.

“Senior Jordanian, Egyptian, Israeli, Palestinian and American officials” attended the meeting, held in the Red Sea city of Aqaba, and after “thorough and frank discussion” “reaffirmed the need to engage in de-escalation on the ground and prevent further violence” – said in an eight-point statement.

The “politics and security” meeting was aimed at discussing calm in the occupied Palestinian territories after days of deadly violence, according to Jordanian state television.

According to the same source, this was the first such meeting in recent years between Palestinians and Israelis with regional and international participation to discuss the situation in the Palestinian territories.

At the end of the talks, the Israeli government and the Palestinian National Authority “reaffirmed their common will and commitment” to act immediately to stop the unilateral measures for a period of 3 to 6 months.

This includes a commitment by Israel to stop discussions on the establishment of new settlements for 4 months and not to legalize “illegal” settlements for 6 months, the communiqué says.

During the meeting, two Israelis were killed in a Palestinian “attack” in the northern West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

The meeting was attended by Palestinian intelligence chief Mazed Faraz, Israeli internal security chief Ronen Barr, US National Security Council Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk, and Jordanian and Egyptian officials.

Source: RES