Jordan hosts Israel-Palestine meeting

ALBAWABA - Jordan is hosting a meeting of Israeli and Palestinian officials in a bid to curb a spiraling violence, which swept across the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the year.

Sunday's meeting is attended by officials from Egypt, the first Arab country to have signed a peace treaty with Israel, and the United States, a long-time broker of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations to end a lingering 55-year-old conflict.

Talks are expected to focus on political and security issues, officials said.

The meeting is being held behind closed doors in Jordan's Red Sea resort city of Aqaba. 

AFP quoted an unidentified Jordanian official as saying that the discussions aim 
at “building trust” between Israel and the Palestinians. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

The meeting is a continuation of the intensive efforts carried out by Jordan in coordination with the Palestinian Authority and other sides to stop unilateral actions and security escalations that threaten to ignite widespread violence in the Palestinian territories.

The meeting will also discuss security and economic measures to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.

Since the beginning of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 62 Palestinians _  adults and children, including militants and civilians.

Nine Israeli civilians, including three children, a police officer and one Ukrainian civilian have also been killed in the same period.

By Sara Arabiat