Egypt, Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, and the United States are set to participate in a conference on Sunday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The conference is part of the ongoing efforts to ease tensions in the region and provide economic aid to stabilize the Palestinian Authority. The PA was requested to attend by Jordan, Egypt, and the United States and will send three representatives close to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
The summit is aimed at preventing the security situation from escalating further and turning into a larger conflict, as Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency has reported an unprecedented number of bomb attack warnings in the next few weeks ahead of the holy month of Ramadan. Hussein al-Sheikh, the minister responsible for relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, affirmed that “the Palestinian delegation will take part in it on Sunday to protect the rights of the Palestinian people and demand an end to Israeli aggression.”
The armed Palestinian organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad condemned the summit and threatened more attacks against Israelis. They stated that “Israel understands only force and must be confronted with all possible means – to participate in this conference is to ignore the popular will.” Earlier on Saturday, a new Gaza branch of the Lions’ Den armed Palestinian insurgent group claimed responsibility for its first rocket attack on southern Israel after nearly two weeks of silence.