Jordan hosted this Sunday, February 26 a meeting between officials of the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, to “restore calm” in the Territories. After “in-depth and frank discussions”, the two parties pledged, in a joint communiqué, to “prevent any further violence” and to work towards “de-escalation”. But at the same time, two young Israeli settlers were killed in a shooting in the village of Huwara, in the West Bank. The situation is very tense there.
The victims of the shooting in Huwara, in the northern West Bank, are two young settlers, brothers aged 20 and 21. According to Palestinian sources, the perpetrator of the attack belongs to the Den of Lions group, targeted by Israeli raids in recent weeks, reports our correspondent in Jerusalem, Michael Paul.
Several Israeli government ministers immediately demanded an end to the politico-security talks held today in the Red Sea resort town of Aqaba in Jordan, the aim of which was precisely to encourage a return to calm in the region, during Ramadan and Passover.
Our response to terrorism, says Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, is to fight back with force and strengthen our roots in our country. No dialogue possible in the face of terrorism, proclaims for its part the Israeli far right, which proposes a merciless fight.
This Sunday evening, the situation was very tense in Huwara. The village has been subjected to settler attacks for months, recalls our permanent special envoy to Jerusalem, Sami Boukhelifa. After the death of the two young brothers, who were driving through the village and whose murderer fled, dozens of settlers launched a punitive expedition against the villagers. Houses and cars were set on fire.
To keep in mind: if the images of#Huwara this evening are out of the ordinary given their intensity, these attacks by settlers are however daily for the Palestinians. In almost all cases, the perpetrators are not prosecuted and they are committed with total impunity.
— Alice Froussard (@alicefrsd) February 26, 2023
The issue of the death penalty
At the moment, there is particular talk, in the ranks of the Israeli far right, of applying a law on the death penalty for the perpetrators of attacks. A project which has even already been adopted by the government, but which will still have to receive the green light from parliament, the Knesset.
Today’s meeting took place in a context already explosive in itself, when a record number of Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the year – 62 victims, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health – and at the same time , more than a dozen Israelis lost their lives in attacks.
A few days ago, an Israeli raid in Nablus, in the northern West Bank, proved particularly deadly. Several Palestinian groups had therefore denounced the participation of the Palestinian Authority in the talks, even if the media in Israel had stressed that a series of measures to calm the game had been promised to the Palestinians.
Moratorium in the colonies?
Today’s meeting in Aqaba nevertheless resulted in a press release from the Israeli participants and their counterparts from the Palestinian Authority. Both parties agree to prevent further violence and to work towards a de-escalation “, after discussions” frank “.
The meeting was organized by Jordan in the presence of American and Egyptian representatives, to discuss confidence-building measures. According to the organizers, it was a question of putting an end to the unilateral Israeli measures in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem: incursions by the army, constructions in the settlements.
The meeting finally ended with a four-month moratorium on construction in the settlements, according to a Jordanian source quoted by our correspondent Michel Paul. The Israeli far right, Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for example, does not agree, as we have seen, especially after the Huwara attack. Some are calling for the game to be beefed up.
►Also read: Palestinian territories: at the Nablus hospital, at the bedside of Youssef, 11, wounded by bullets