This is a first for years. After several days of deadly violence, “a meeting began Sunday in Aqaba between Palestinians and Israelis with regional and international participation to discuss the situation in the Palestinian Territories,” Jordanian state television said.
According to informed sources, the head of the Palestinian intelligence services, Majed Faraj, the head of the Israeli internal intelligence service (Shin Beth), Ronen Bar, the coordinator of the American National Security Council for the Middle East, Brett McGurk, as well as Jordanian and Egyptian security officials are to attend the meeting.
The talks aim to “build confidence” between Israel and the Palestinians and achieve calming measures, a Jordanian government official who requested anonymity told AFP on Saturday.
Condemnation of Hamas
“The decision to attend the Aqaba meeting, despite the pain and massacres the Palestinian people are enduring, comes from the desire to end the bloodshed,” the president’s Fatah party said on Twitter. Palestinian, Mahmoud Abbas, while other Palestinian factions have denounced the involvement of the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas condemned in a statement the participation of the Palestinian Authority, deeming “the meeting with the Zionists as a break with the Palestinian national consensus, a contempt for the blood of the martyrs, an open attempt to cover up the crimes of the occupation , and a green light to commit further violations against our people, our land and our holy places”.