Nour Abu Aisha
26 February 2023•Update: 26 February 2023
GAZA CITY, Palestine
Palestinian factions in Gaza on Sunday denounced the participation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Jordan-hosted talks with Israel to de-escalate tensions in the occupied West Bank.
An emergency security meeting was held in the Jordanian city of Aqaba on Sunday to discuss de-escalating tensions between the Palestinians and Israel. The meeting was called by the United States, Egypt and Jordan.
In a joint statement, the factions termed the PA participation in the meeting as a “crime”.
“This meeting targets the escalating resistance in the West Bank and Jerusalem,” Islamic Jihad leader Khaled al-Batsh said.
“The PA participation in the meeting cannot be accepted or tolerated. It risks triggering an internal Palestinian conflict,” he warned.
Al-Batsh said the security plans discussed in the Aqaba meeting “provide a cover to the Israeli occupation’s policies and target the people and their resistance.”
According to Israeli public broadcaster KAN, the Aqaba meeting aims to calm down the situation in the Palestinian territories before the start of the fasting month of Ramadan, due to begin next month.
Tensions often escalate in the Palestinian territories during Ramadan as Israel restricts the movement of worshippers into the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem.
At least 62 Palestinians were killed by Israeli army fire in the West Bank since the start of this year, according to Palestinian figures.
US-sponsored peace talks collapsed in 2014 over Israel’s refusal to halt settlement building and release Palestinians imprisoned before 1993.
* Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report
