Egypt: Israeli and Palestinian officials have met in Egypt to discuss steps to lower tensions ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The talks in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh stressed the need to prevent any disruptive actions at Jerusalem’s holy sites.

The joint statement issued following the talks attended by United States, Egyptian, and Jordanian officials further confirmed commitments made at a meeting in Aqaba in February 2023, including an Israeli pledge to stop discussion of any new settlement units for four months.

However, Israel recently approved the construction of thousands of new settlement homes, and there were no immediate plans to approve additional construction.

In 2022, Israeli forces have made thousands of arrests in the West Bank and killed more than 200 Palestinians, while more than 40 Israelis and three Ukrainians have died in Palestinian attacks.

In recent months, the Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen a surge of confrontations, with near-daily Israeli military raids and rising violence by Israeli settlers.

“The two sides agreed to establish a mechanism to curb and counter violence, incitement, and inflammatory states and actions,” the joint statement remarked. According to the statement, the sides would report on progress at a follow-up meeting in Egypt in April 2023.

The parties to the talks further “emphasised the necessity of both Israelis and Palestinians to actively prevent any actions that would disrupt the sanctity” of Jerusalem’s holy sites during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

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