Palestinians claim new understandings reached with Israel
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that no new Israeli settlements would be established, Palestinian sources told the Tazpit Press Service that there is now a US-mediated understanding between Israel and the Palestinian Authority to lower tensions.
The Palestinian sources told TPS that Israel has pledged for six months not to establish new settlements, stop the demolition of illegally-built houses in eastern Jerusalem and in Area C of Judea and Samaria. Under the terms of Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements, Israel has full administrative and security jurisdiction of Area C.
The sources also claim Israel agreed to scale back its counter-terror operations in Judea and Samaria, though there has not been any Israeli confirmation on this.
In an ongoing sweep against terror in Judea and Samaria, the Israel Defense Forces have thwarted over 500 terror attacks and arrested more than 2,500 suspects. Operation Wave Breaker was launched following a surge of Palestinian terror attacks in the spring of 2022 which killed 19 people.
It wasn’t clear what active steps the Palestinians would take, if any, to lower tensions in eastern Jerusalem ahead of Ramadan. Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation is deeply unpopular among the Palestinians but has continued under the table.
The Palestinians on Sunday suspended their bid for the UN Security Council to condemn Israeli settlement activity.
TPS was also told that the administration of President Joe Biden will soon submit a new request to Israel to open a consulate in eastern Jerusalem, and that discussions will begin to expand the activity at the Allenby Bridge. The Allenby Bridge is an Israeli-Jordanian border crossing where a significant amount of Palestinian trade passes through. Ramallah expects expanded services at the crossing will bring about 200 million shekels ($56 million) into the Palestinian Authority’s coffers annually.
Ramallah’s UN bid came after Israel’s Security Cabinet last week voted to legalise 10 illegal outposts, transforming them into nine recognised settlements. That vote was a response to a terror attack in which an Arab driver ploughed a car into a crowd of people at a Jerusalem bus stop, killing three people.
