Palestinians, Israelis Meet in Aqaba To Discuss Surge in West Bank Violence

A one-day summit bringing together representatives of Israel and the Palestinian Authority under the auspices of the United States was set to be held in the Jordanian Red Sea resort of Aqaba today in an effort to tamp down violence between Israel and the Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority is being represented by Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization Hussein al-Sheikh; the head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service, Majed Faraj; and the diplomatic advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas, Majdi Al-Khalidi. Israel’s National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Shin Bet intelligence service chief Ronen Bar were expected to attend on the Israeli side. Jordan and Egypt will be represented by their heads of intelligence. US Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf and coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa in the Biden administration, Brett McGurk, also were expected to participate. The meeting is a bid to halt a surge in deadly violence in the West Bank. It comes ahead of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, when tensions and violence between Israeli security services and Palestinians increases even further. But many Palestinians are outraged at the decision by the PA leadership to attend a summit that includes Israel.

To read more about the Palestinian reaction to the Aqaba summit, see the story, Palestinians Are Furious With PA Decision To Attend Aqaba Summit With Israel, by The Media Line’s Mohammad al-Kassim.