Israel and Palestine take steps to curb violence as Ramadan holiday nears

Israel and the Palestinians pledged on Sunday at a meeting in Egypt to take steps to lower tensions ahead of a sensitive holiday season – including a partial freeze on Israeli settlement activity and an agreement to work together to “curb and counter violence”.

But a Palestinian shooting attack that wounded two Israelis in the occupied West Bank underscored the tough work that lies ahead as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches this week.

The Israeli and Palestinian delegations met for the second time in less than a month, shepherded by regional allies Egypt and Jordan, as well as the United States, to end a year-long spasm of violence. More than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire and more than 40 Israelis or foreigners have been killed in Palestinian attacks during that time.

These include pledges to stop unilateral actions, it said. Israel pledged to stop discussion of new settlement construction for four months, and to stop plans to legalise unauthorised settlement outposts for six months.

“The two sides agreed to establish a mechanism to curb and counter violence, incitement and inflammatory states and actions,” the communique said. The sides would report on progress at a follow-up meeting in Egypt next month, it added.