A senior political official stated that the international conference in Aqaba, Jordan, which mainly dealt with the effort to prevent a security escalation ahead of Ramadan, has ended. During it, the heads of the five delegations met with King Abdullah of Jordan, who welcomed the attempt to promote agreements between the parties ahead of Ramadan and Passover.
The participants reached an agreement on the establishment of a joint security committee that will examine the renewal of security coordination and the Palestinian willingness and ability to bear responsibility for the fight against terrorism in the territories of the Palestinian Authority.
It was agreed that the parties will hold another meeting before Ramadan, under the auspices of Egypt, in order to examine the progress in the field of security. It was also agreed to establish a joint civil committee that will work to promote confidence-building economic measures.
The representatives of the State of Israel emphasized at the meeting that there will be no change in the decision to legalize nine fledgling communities in Judea and Samaria and to build 9,500 housing units in Judea and Samaria. It was also noted that in the coming months no further decisions regarding the settlement are expected.
Jordan's Foreign Ministry claimed that Israel committed to freeze the approval process for new housing in Judea and Samaria for four to six months, and to avoid any changes to the status quo on the Temple Mount.