A senior Palestinian official confirmed to Al-Jazeera today, Saturday, that the Palestinian Authority will participate tomorrow, Sunday, in a meeting in the Jordanian city of Aqaba with the participation of the United States, Israel, Egypt and Jordan. On the other hand, the Palestinian resistance factions condemned the authority's decision and considered it a new stab at the sacrifices of the Palestinian people.

The official said that the goal of the meeting is to reach understandings about a transitional period that guarantees that Israel will stop all unilateral measures of settlements, demolitions and incursions for a period of 6 months, during which preparations will be made for calm and moving to a more broad path.

He emphasized that the Israeli government refused the participation of other Arab parties that had expressed their willingness to do so.

The official indicated that Jordan, Egypt and the United States are doing their best to prevent the situation from exploding during the month of Ramadan and the Jewish holidays next March.

A Jordanian military helicopter transported the Palestinian delegation from Ramallah, which includes Hussein Al-Sheikh, Secretary of the Executive Committee of the PLO, Majid Faraj, Director of Palestinian Intelligence, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for the presidency, and Majdi Al-Khalidi, diplomatic advisor to the Palestinian President.

Earlier on Saturday, an official Jordanian source told the French that a "political security" meeting would be held tomorrow, Sunday, in the coastal city of Aqaba, south of the Kingdom, between representatives of the Palestinian and Israeli side to "discuss calm" in the Palestinian territories.

The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said, "The meeting, which is being held in Aqaba in the presence of representatives of the United States and Egypt, comes in the context of efforts to stop unilateral measures, to reach a period of calm and confidence-building measures, in order to reach a more comprehensive political engagement between the two sides."

The source explained that the meeting is the first between the Palestinians and the Israelis with regional and international participation in years, and that its convening represents "a necessary step to reach Palestinian-Israeli understandings that stop the deterioration."

condemnation of factions

On the other hand, the Palestinian resistance factions denounced the participation of the Palestinian Authority in the security meeting to be held tomorrow in the Jordanian city of Aqaba, and considered in a statement that the participation of the Palestinian Authority is a new stab at the sacrifices of the Palestinian people and a betrayal of the sacrifices of the martyrs.

The statement of the resistance factions warned of the danger of the Aqaba meeting, and said that it is a continuation of plots to plot against the Palestinian people and their cause, and a new attempt to eradicate the resistance project.

The statement added that the participants in this meeting are outside the national consensus and represent only themselves.

#Urgent |

A statement by the Palestinian resistance factions: "The participation of the authority tomorrow in the security meeting in the Jordanian city of Aqaba is a new stab at the sacrifices of the Palestinian people and a betrayal of the sacrifices of the martyrs" pic.twitter.com/aAL5PSMOnb

- Al-Jazeera Palestine (@AJA_Palestine) February 25, 2023

On Wednesday, 11 Palestinians, including a boy, were killed, and more than 80 others were wounded by live bullets in an operation carried out by the Israeli occupation army in the city of Nablus, in the northern occupied West Bank.

According to official Palestinian statistics, 64 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem since the beginning of this year, by the Israeli army, in the largest number since 2000.

Last week, Israeli media reported on understandings reached between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, mediated by the United States, to back down from presenting a draft resolution in the Security Council condemning Israeli settlements in return for suspending settlement expansion plans, stopping the demolition of Palestinian homes, and calming the situation on the ground.

Safadi and Cleverly

In a related context, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi discussed, in a phone call with his British counterpart, James Cleverly, on Saturday, regional and international developments, particularly the Palestinian issue and the Syrian crisis.

A statement by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said that Safadi put Cleverly in the picture of the efforts led by Jordan to stop the deterioration in the occupied Palestinian territories, by reaching consensus based on stopping all unilateral measures that spark tension, push towards new waves of violence and undermine the two-state solution.

The Jordanian minister informed his British counterpart that the Kingdom is continuing these efforts in coordination with brothers and friends, warning of the seriousness of the situation and the possibility of deterioration for the worse.

Today, @AymanHsafadi and his British counterpart @JamesCleverly held phone conversations that confirmed the strength of the partnership between the two countries, and the continuation of work to develop cooperation in various fields, and they discussed a number of regional and international developments, foremost of which is the Palestinian issue.#Jordan#Britain

🇬🇧 🇯🇴 pic.twitter.com/S8X5wP8Np8

- Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs (@ForeignMinistry) February 25, 2023

Al-Safadi stressed the need to make every effort to stop the deterioration and find a political horizon that leads to the resumption of serious and effective negotiations to resolve the conflict on the basis of the two-state solution.

The British minister affirmed his country's support for Jordan's efforts, and his appreciation for the leadership role played by King Abdullah II to stop the deterioration and achieve a just and comprehensive peace, according to the same statement.

Since April 2014, negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides have stalled due to Tel Aviv's refusal to stop settlement activity and release old prisoners, in addition to its disavowal of the principle of the two-state solution.