Whatever progress has been made since the last meeting in Jordan late last month, which ended with a pledge to de-escalate tensions, was quickly derailed when renewed riots erupted the same day.Palestinians gunmen shoot dead two Israelis in the occupied West Bank, Jewish settlers rampage in Palestinian towns, destroying property and killing one Palestinian.
As negotiations were underway on Sunday, Palestinian gunmen opened fire on an Israeli vehicle in the same town of Hawala as violence last month, the Israeli military said.
Israeli medical sources said the man was shot in the upper body and was seriously injured, while his wife suffered minor injuries.
The Israeli military said the suspect was shot by a wounded man or soldier and arrested. His condition was not immediately clear.
Hawala is on a heavily trafficked road in the northern West Bank, used by Israeli residents of nearby Jewish settlements. Many settlers carry guns.
The bloodshed has surged since the conference in Jordan last month, and hopes for Sunday’s second round are low.
The killing of Islamic Jihad militants in neighboring Syria heightened tensions on Sunday. A militant group operating in the northern West Bank accused Israel of assassinating its commander. Israel did not comment.
Still, mediators hope to ease tensions ahead of Ramadan, which begins this week and coincides with the Jewish holiday of Passover next month.
Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zayed said Sunday’s meeting would be attended by “high-level political and security officials” from both sides, as well as from Egypt, Jordan and the United States. Part of efforts to achieve and support peace between Israel and Palestine.
Abu Zayed said regional and international participation in the conference is aimed at establishing “mechanisms” to track and activate what the parties have agreed, but additional details are pending. did not provide.
The talks are part of an effort to “support dialogue between the Palestinian and Israeli sides to work towards ending unilateral measures and escalations, breaking the existing cycle of violence and achieving peace.” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not mention the summit at his weekly ministerial meeting.
A senior Palestinian government official, Hussein Al-Sheikh, tweeted that the talks were intended to “demand an end to the continued Israeli attacks against us.”
Israeli media said senior security officials were expected to attend.
The times ahead are delicate as points of friction increase as large numbers of Jewish and Muslim believers flood the Old City of Jerusalem, an emotional center of conflict and a flashpoint of violence. Large numbers of Jews are also expected to visit the important holy site of Jerusalem, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, which the Palestinians provoke. is considered. Clashes at this location in 2021 triggered her 11-day war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls the Gaza Strip.
Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip from Jordan and Egypt in the 1967 Middle East War. Palestinians are seeking those territories for future independent states.
