Israeli officials deny Aqaba deal will freeze settlement building 'for even a day'

A wave of violence rocked the occupied West Bank as Jordan hosted talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convenes a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. AP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied that Israel agreed to freeze settlement construction for six months in a deal struck with the Palestinian government and the US after talks on Sunday in Jordan's Red Sea city of Aqaba.

The talks were attended by senior Egyptian, Jordanian and US officials trying to broker an agreement to de-escalate violence in the occupied West Bank before Ramadan, following a sharp increase in Israeli raids and militant attacks this year.

“The government of Israel and the Palestinian National Authority confirmed their joint readiness and commitment to immediately work to end unilateral measures for a period of 3-6 months,” the parties to the meeting said.

Palestinian protesters wave flags as Israeli troops take position during a protest against Jewish settlements in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah. Reuters

Now that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has secured a new term in office, there’s little to prevent him from annexing large parts of the West Bank as early as this summer. AP

An Israeli soldier stands guard during a tour made by Israeli parliament members in the Jordan Valley near the Jewish settlement of Maale Efrayim. Reuters

Israeli soldiers take position as Palestinian demonstrators gather during a protest against expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. AP

King Abdullah (r) of Transjordan on May 13, 1948 in Amman with Abed Al Rahman Azzam, the secretary general of the Arab League and Abd Al Elah Ibn Ali, the Prince Regent of Iraq, the day before the beginning of the first Arab-Israeli War. AFP

Palestinians surrender to Israeli soldiers in June 1967 in the occupied territory of the West Bank after Israel launched a pre-emptive attack on Egypt and Syria and seized the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights in Syria as well as the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem. AFP

A Palestinian child plays in a refugee camp in Jordan on June 23, 1967. AFP

PLO chairman Yasser Arafat delivers a speech to the Palestine National Council meeting to make the historic proclamation of a Palestinian state in the Israeli-occupied territories and to recognize Israel in the Palace of Nations conference hall on November 12, 1988, in Algiers. AFP

US President Bill Clinton stands between PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzahk Rabin as they shake hands for the first time on September 13, 1993 at the White House. AFP

Hussein Ibn Talal, King of Jordan and Israeli Premier Yitzhak Rabin shake hands after they exchanged the documents of the Peace Treaty at Beit Gabriel conference centre on November 10, 1994 on the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee. AFP

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during the Palestinian leadership meeting and threatened to end security coordination with Israel and the United States, saying Israeli annexation would ruin chances for peace. AFP

Houses in the Israeli settlement of settlement of Kedumim are seen in the foreground as part of the Palestinian city of Nablus is seen in the background (far left) in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Reuters

Israel's controversial concrete barrier (C) separating the Jewish settlement of Neve Yaakov (foreground) in the northern part of east Jerusalem and the Palestinian area of al-Ram (background) in the occupied West Bank. AFP

An Israeli activist holds a banner during a protest against the US peace plan for the Middle East, in front of the US ambassador's residence in Jerusalem, on May 15, 2020, as Palestinians commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the 1948 Nakba or "catastrophe". AFP

A Palestinian shepherd tends to his camels on arid land considered to be in "Area C" (under Israeli security and administrative control), southeast of Yatta town in the southern West Bank district of Hebron. AFP

A general view of the Israeli settlement of Elon Moreh, as seen from the Palestinian village of Azmout near the West Bank City of Nablus. EPA

The West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Michmash. AP

But Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right settler, immediately denied that there would be a freeze on construction.

“I have no idea what they spoke about or not in Jordan,” Mr Smotrich wrote on Twitter. “But one thing I do know: there will not be a freeze on the building and development in settlements, not even for one day [it is under my authority].”

Mr Smotrich was given political responsibility for Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank last week, vowing to bring “legislation on all civilian [settlement] matters … into line with Israeli law” in a move that critics worry amounts to full annexation.

On Sunday evening, Mr Netanyahu followed up with a tweet that current settlement plans would “continue according to the original planning and building schedule, with no change”.

Israel's National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi also said that “there were no changes to plans”.

A joint statement on Sunday following the talks in Aqaba said the deal included “an Israeli commitment to stop discussion of any new settlement units for four months and to stop authorisation of any outposts for six months”.

Palestinian men check a house that was demolished during an Israeli army raid in the Old City of Nablus the previous day. AFP

A bullet-riddled windshield outside a house that was targeted in the raid. AFP

Shuttered shops in Gaza city during a general strike called to protest against the Israeli army raid in Nablus the previous day. AFP

A Palestinian house that was demolished in the Israeli army raid

Smoke rises above buildings in Gaza city as Israel launches air strikes on the Palestinian enclave. AFP

A Palestinian protesting after the military raid in the West Bank city of Nablus. AP

A defiant Palestinian fronts up to an Israeli military vehicle during the raid. AFP

Grief at a funeral of 10 Palestinians, including gunmen, in Nablus. Reuters

Palestinians carry a man wounded in the Israeli operation. EPA

An Israeli officer throws teargas at Palestinians in Nablus. AP

Medics carry a wounded Palestinian to receive treatment. AP

The city is known as a militant stronghold and the Israeli army frequently operates there. AP

Palestinians clash with Israeli forces in Nablus. Reuters

A Palestinian confronts Israeli military vehicles. AP

Relatives outside a hospital mourn the death of a Palestinian killed in the Israeli raid. AFP

Palestinians clash with Israeli forces during the raid in Nablus. Reuters

Bystanders help a Palestinian woman wounded in the raid. AFP

Teargas fills a street in Nablus during the Israeli raid. AFP

Palestinians confront Israeli forces. AFP

Israeli security forces during the raid. Reuters

Smoke above a Nablus neighbourhood as Palestinians clash with Israeli forces. AP

There was no indication that it would affect settlement expansions already agreed upon by the Israeli government. It comes just two weeks after the cabinet gave retrospective permission to buildings in nine West Bank settlements and agreed to 10,000 new settler homes.

It is unclear what Mr Smotrich's comments will mean for the deal or for Mr Netanyahu's right-wing coalition.

The participants will meet again in March in Egypt's Sharm El Sheikh and agreed to “maintain positive momentum and expand this agreement towards wider political process leading to a just and lasting peace”, their statement said.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan praised the “commitments by the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to de-escalate and prevent further violence”.

“We recognise that this meeting was a starting point and that there is much work to do over the coming weeks and months to build a stable and prosperous future for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Implementation will be critical,” Mr Sullivan said.

The sharp increase in violence in the occupied West Bank also continued on Sunday when two Israeli settlers were shot dead in Hawara, leading to a wave of violence in the area and reports that settlers had set fire to Palestinian homes.

At least one Palestinian man was shot dead and scores were wounded, leading Israeli President Isaac Herzog to call for an immediate de-escalation.

The militant group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, condemned the Palestinian Authority's participation in the Aqaba summit, saying it would “not change anything”.

The group called on the Palestinian Authority to halt security co-ordination with Israel.

The meeting reflected concerns that violence would reel out of control as Ramadan approaches, coinciding with the Jewish celebration of Passover in early April.

A Jordanian official warned of “a very difficult dynamic on the ground with the escalation happening ahead of Ramadan and Passover”.