A top Israeli official has denied reports that the Israeli delegation has agreed to freeze the construction of new West Bank settlements for four months at the one-day Israeli-Palestinian summit held in Jordan.
National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, the most senior Israeli official to participate in the summit in Aqaba, added that Israel will authorize nine outposts and approve the construction of 9,500 housing units in the West Bank in the coming months.
The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, agreed to consider resuming the security coordination with Israel.
After “thorough and frank discussions” that included officials from Egypt as well as the United States, the Palestinian and Israeli sides “reaffirmed the need to commit to de-escalation on the ground and to prevent further violence”, a joint statement after the meeting said.
The two sides agreed to meet in Egypt at a later date.
The first Israeli-Palestinian summit in years, the “political-security” meeting was convened to try restoring calm after an uptick in deadly violence. However, a Palestinian terrorist murdered two young Jewish Israelis in the West Bank just as the summit was held. – I24 News
