Along with the developments of the Palestinian cause, the two officials addressed several regional issues – including the situation in Syria and Libya – which are on the agenda of the 159th session of the Arab League (AL) Council at the level of Foreign Ministers. The session, set to kick off on Wednesday, will be held at the AL’s general secretariat headquarters in Cairo, under the presidency of Egypt. 

The meeting comes amid surging violence in the occupied West Bank as an Israeli raid on Tuesday killed at least six people and wounded two dozen, with the UN Middle East Peace Envoy Tor Wennesland calling for calm as the “cycle of violence must be stopped immediately.”

Egypt condemned in a statement by the foreign ministry on Tuesday the Israeli forces’ storming of the Palestinian camp of Jenin, reiterating its categorical rejection of the policy of “repeated Israeli incursions” which results in civilian casualties among the Palestinian people, with the “ensuing destruction of property, demolition of homes, and loss of lives.”

This, the ministry statement says, is “a flagrant violation” of the rules of international law, which warns of grave deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as regional destabilisation.

Egypt appealed to international stakeholders to try to put an end to the ongoing escalatory unilateral measures, and to create the atmosphere conducive for achieving de-escalation and peaceful settlement.

The incident in Jenin comes following a long series of attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank since January following the re-election of right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Egypt and Jordan, both bound by a peace treaty with Israel, are mediating Palestinian-Israeli talks to stop escalation in the Occupied Territories. 

In a meeting on 26 February in the Jordanian city of Aqaba, the “political-security” talks attended by officials from the United States, Jordan, and Egypt agreed to de-escalate tensions following a heightened period of violence. Israel has also agreed to temporarily halt approvals of settlement building projects in the West Bank, as both sides said they would work closely to prevent “further violence.”

The violence, however, erupted shortly after the end of the talks, seemingly causing difficulty for the parties to convene again in a planned follow-up meeting.

The follow-up meeting is scheduled to take place in March -- at an unspecified date -- in Sharm El-Sheikh as part of the five-party talks that were held  in Aqaba, according to a joint statement at the time.

However, Palestinian sources told Ahram Online that Netanyahu does not even take seriously the commitments that have been agreed upon during the Aqaba meeting, which “makes holding the follow-up [Sharm El-Sheikh] meeting uncertain.”