Palestinians claim new US-mediated understandings reached with Israel to lower tensions

It wasn’t clear what active steps the Palestinians would take, if any, to lower tensions in eastern Jerusalem ahead of Ramadan.

By Baruch Yedid, TPS

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 and to stop the demolition of illegally built Palestinian 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 IDF 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 Biden administration would submit a new request to Israel to open a consulate in eastern Jerusalem and that discussions will take place concerning increased trade activity at the Allenby Bridge, an Israeli-Jordanian border crossing through which a significant amount of Palestinian goods pass. Ramallah expects expanded services at the crossing would bring about 200 million shekels ($56 million) into the PA’s coffers annually.

Ramallah’s UN bid came after Israel’s Security Cabinet last week voted to legalize 10 illegal outposts, transforming them into nine recognized settlements. That vote was a response to a terror attack in which an Arab driver plowed a car into a crowd of people at a Jerusalem bus stop, killing three people and critically wounding others.