US Demands Clarifications from Israel over Aqaba Statements

A Palestinian man lifts a national flag during a demonstration with Israeli left-wing peace activists against the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, on March 3, 2023. (AFP)
A Palestinian man lifts a national flag during a demonstration with Israeli left-wing peace activists against the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, on March 3, 2023. (AFP)
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US Demands Clarifications from Israel over Aqaba Statements

A Palestinian man lifts a national flag during a demonstration with Israeli left-wing peace activists against the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, on March 3, 2023. (AFP)
A Palestinian man lifts a national flag during a demonstration with Israeli left-wing peace activists against the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, on March 3, 2023. (AFP)

Washington has demanded clarifications from the Israeli government after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some of his ministers reneged on the agreements reached at last month’s Aqaba meeting.

Official broadcaster Kan said on Saturday that the US administration requested clarifications after Netanyahu, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich signaled that they would not commit to the pledges made in Aqaba.

Ben-Gvir and Smotrich had described the pledges as meaningless, prompting Washington’s disappointment, especially since it had arranged the summit itself with help from Jordan and Egypt.

A senior security official added that the ministers’ remarks had "embarrassed" Washington.

Washington wants to make sure that Israel is committed to the pledges ahead of a follow-up meeting that will be held in Sharm el-Sheikh.

The Palestinian Authority had called on the American administration to "rectify the path" after Israel immediately violated the Aqaba understandings.

The PA warned that it may not take part in the Sharm el-Sheikh talks if the Israeli government is unwilling to respect agreements and is weaking the Authority and continuing its violations in the Palestinian territories.

Israel committed to stop authorization of any settler outposts in the occupied West Bank for six months during a meeting with Palestinian officials in Jordan’s Aqaba. Both sides pledged to prevent more violence.

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."

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."

"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," read a statement after the talks.

However, Netanyahu this week tweeted that "the building and authorization in Judea and Samaria will continue according to the original planning and building schedule, with no change," using the biblical term for the West Bank.

Echoing the PM’s positions, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich both said there would not be any freezing of settlement construction for even a day and that what happened in Jordan will remain in Jordan.

Washington now wants to learn whether Israel is committed to the Aqaba understandings before meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Tensions between Washington and Tel Aviv grew further after Smotrich's call this week to wipe out the Palestinian town of Huwara.

Earlier this week, Israeli settlers rampaged in Huwara, killing a Palestinian and torching dozens of houses, shops and cars. The actions prompted international alarm and condemnation.

Washington strongly condemned Smotrich's remarks and asked Netanyahu for an apology.

Israeli media noted that the tensions have spiked at a very sensitive time when the US and Israel are gearing up to hold strategic dialogue in Washington next week with the aim to discuss Iran.



France to Host Syria Meeting with Arab, Turkish, Western Partners in January

This aerial view shows people celebrating the ouster of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, around the New Clock Tower along Quwatli Street in the center of Homs on December 18, 2024. (AFP)
This aerial view shows people celebrating the ouster of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, around the New Clock Tower along Quwatli Street in the center of Homs on December 18, 2024. (AFP)
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France to Host Syria Meeting with Arab, Turkish, Western Partners in January

This aerial view shows people celebrating the ouster of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, around the New Clock Tower along Quwatli Street in the center of Homs on December 18, 2024. (AFP)
This aerial view shows people celebrating the ouster of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad, around the New Clock Tower along Quwatli Street in the center of Homs on December 18, 2024. (AFP)

France will host a meeting on Syria with Arab, Turkish, western partners in January, said France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Wednesday.

The meeting will be a follow-up to the one held in Jordan last week.

Speaking in parliament, Barrot added that reconstruction aid and the lifting of sanctions in Syria would depend on clear political and security commitments by the new authorities.

The new Syrian transition authorities will not be judged on words, but on actions over time, he stressed.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkiye's Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed that the transition in Syria should be respectful of the rights of all communities in the country, the French presidency said after the leaders spoke by phone on Wednesday.

"They expressed their wish that a peaceful and representative political transition, in accordance with the principles of resolution 2254, respectful of the fundamental rights of all communities in Syria, be conducted as soon as possible," an Elysee statement said, referring to a United Nations Security Council resolution.  

Barrot added that fighting in northeastern Syrian cities of Manbij and Kobane must stop immediately.

France is working to find deal between Turks and Kurds in Syria’s northeast that meets interests of both sides, he revealed.

Macron made clear in his call with Erdogan that Kurdish Syrians needed to be fully-integrated in political transition process, continued the FM.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces must be part of the political transition process, he urged.