Israelis, Palestinians Agree On Steps To Curb Violence

Israeli and Palestinian officials have agreed at a meeting in Egypt to take steps to lower tensions ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The talks in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday stressed the need to prevent any disruptive actions at Jerusalem’s holy sites when Ramadan starts later this week.

In a joint statement following the talks attended by United States, Egyptian and Jordanian officials, the parties also “reconfirmed commitments” made at a meeting in Aqaba last month, including an Israeli pledge to stop discussion of any new settlement units for four months.

The Israeli pledge was largely symbolic. Israel recently approved the construction of thousands of new settlement homes, and there were no immediate plans to approve additional construction.

“Still, mere talk of slowing settlement activity could risk a backlash in Israel’s right-wing coalition government, which is dominated by settler leaders and supporters.”

A similar meeting in Jordan on February 26 ended with pledges to de-escalate tensions. It was quickly derailed by several new bursts of violence.

Aljazeera/Shakirat Sadiq