Israel committed to stop authorization of any settler outposts in the occupied West Bank for six months during a meeting on Sunday with Palestinian officials in Jordan when the sides pledged to prevent more violence.
In a joint statement at the end of a meeting in the Red Sea resort of Aqaba, Israeli and Palestinian officials said that after "thorough and frank discussions" they would work closely to prevent "further violence" and "reaffirmed the necessity of committing to de-escalation on the ground".
Host nation Jordan, along with Egypt and the United States, considered "these understandings as major progress towards re-establishing and deepening relations between the two sides," the statement said.
The meeting brought together top Israeli and Palestinian security chiefs for the first time in many years, officials said, and aimed to restore calm in Israel, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Israel and the Palestinian Authority "confirmed their joint readiness and commitment to immediately work to end unilateral measures for a period of 3-6 months," the statement said.
"This includes an Israeli commitment to stop discussion of any new settlement units for four months and to stop authorization of any outposts for six months," the statement said.
The participants also agreed to meet again in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt in March. "The participants stressed the importance of the Aqaba meeting, the first of its kind in years," the statement said.
"They agreed to continue meeting under this formula, maintain positive momentum and expand this agreement towards wider political process leading to a just and lasting peace."
US President Joe Biden’s Middle East adviser Brett McGurk is attending, along with Jordanian and Egyptian officials.
Jordan's King Abdullah II met McGurk and stressed "the importance of intensifying efforts to push for calm, de-escalation in the Palestinian territories, and stopping any unilateral measures that would destabilize stability and undermine the chances of achieving peace," a royal court statement said.
