From the Liveblog of
Sunday, March 19, 2023
At Sharm el-Sheikh summit, Israel, PA reiterate promise to curb violence, halt unilateral moves
Following a meeting between Israeli and Palestinian delegations in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, the sides agree to work toward de-escalation and the “prevention of further violence.”
In a joint communiqué from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan and the US, the parties state their “commitment to advancing security, stability and peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
The Israelis and Palestinians both “reaffirmed their joint readiness and commitment to immediately work to end unilateral measures for a period of 3-6 months,” including Israel’s “commitment to stop discussion of any new settlement units for 4 months and to stop authorization of any outposts for 6 months.”
The same commitment appeared in the joint communiqué following the last summit in Aqaba, Jordan, last month, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to vehemently deny agreeing to a settlement freeze.
The sides also agree to “establish a mechanism to curb and counter violence, incitement and inflammatory statements” and hold yet another meeting in April, following the two held so far.
The meeting — in the presence of the Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers and US officials — was aimed at calming tensions amid the upcoming overlap of Ramadan, Passover and Easter.
But as the sides met, violence reared its head yet again in the West Bank as a Palestinian gunman shot and wounded an Israeli man in Huwara.
The last time the two sides met in Aqaba last month, a Palestinian terrorist shot and killed two Israeli brothers in Huwara, prompting a settler rampage in the Palestinian West Bank town in response.
