A "political security" meeting began in the coastal city of Aqaba, in the far south of Jordan, between representatives of the Palestinian and Israeli sides, to "discuss calm" in the Palestinian territories.
On Sunday morning, an emergency security meeting began in the city of Aqaba called for by the United States, Jordan and Egypt, with the aim of stopping the escalation between Israel and Palestine, especially with the approaching month of Ramadan, according to a Hebrew newspaper.
According to "Yedioth Ahronoth" newspaper, the Israeli delegation participating in the meeting includes the head of the National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, who is acting on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of the General Security Service (Shin Bet), Ronen Bar, and the coordinator of government operations in the Palestinian territories, Major General Ghassan Alian.
The Palestinian presidency said: "It will stress (during the meeting in southern Jordan) the need to stop all unilateral Israeli measures," including military operations in the occupied West Bank.
Since the beginning of this year, more than 60 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bullets, including 11, during the Israeli army's raid on the city of Nablus, in the northern West Bank, on Wednesday.
In response to these attacks, Palestinians carry out shooting operations, especially in the occupied city of East Jerusalem, killing a total of 10 Israelis.
For its part, the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority said, "The emergency meeting aims to calm the situation before the month of Ramadan."
And "the Palestinians will demand a reduction in the Israeli army's operations in the West Bank," according to the same source.
Political analysts agreed in separate conversations with Anadolu Agency on Sunday that the Aqaba meeting will not lead to tangible results and that it aims to provide calm during the next month of Ramadan (less than a month away).
However, under its current right-wing government, Israel will not abide by the results of the meeting and will not stop settlement activity and settler storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and storming Palestinian cities, according to analysts.
For years, the month of Ramadan has witnessed an escalation of tension due to Israel's restrictions on worshipers in Al-Aqsa Mosque and East Jerusalem in general, in addition to the settlers' storming of the mosque under the protection of the Israeli police.
The Hebrew "Walla" website stated that "the summit, although it bears a security character, is a political event in its essence."
He added that "the participants will indeed deal with attempts to contain the escalation in the West Bank, but the meeting will be overshadowed by a broader political issue, which is the future of the Palestinian Authority."
He continued, "Although the current (Israeli) right-wing government has many ministers who support the elimination of the Palestinian Authority and the annexation of lands, the step led by Netanyahu at this summit indicates his fear of the collapse of the Palestinian Authority and his desire for its continued existence."
The Hebrew-language website considered the holding of the summit in Aqaba "another proof of the return of the Palestinian cause to the forefront of the stage with regard to relations between the countries of the world on the one hand and the new Israeli government."
He added, "The presidential statement of all members of the UN Security Council, including the United States, against construction in the settlements was further evidence of this."
And the Hebrew site went on to say that "the Americans, the Egyptians and the Jordanians believe that if understandings to stop the escalation are signed during the summit in their presence, the Israeli and Palestinian sides will find it more difficult to violate them because they will be accused at that time of being responsible for the escalation."
The site said, "The talk is about the most important regional and international meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian issue that has been taking place for more than a decade."
The last time a similar meeting was held was in 2012 through talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in Jordan, in the presence of representatives of the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.
Since April 2014, negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides have stalled due to Tel Aviv's refusal to stop settlement activity and release a batch of Palestinian detainees, in addition to its disavowal of the principle of the two-state solution (Palestinian and Israeli).
For the eighth week, demonstrations continue in Israel against the draft amendment of the judicial system
For the eighth week, mass demonstrations continue in Israel against the draft judicial amendment adopted by the new right-wing government coalition, which the demonstrators see as a violation of democracy.
Thousands of Israelis demonstrated for the eighth consecutive week in the streets of Tel Aviv, Saturday, to protest against a controversial amendment to the judicial system that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to approve, which they see as a violation of democracy.
The demonstration comes after the approval of the Israeli parliament, in its first reading on Tuesday, on two basic texts in the amendment.
The first text renders the Supreme Court ineligible to annul any amendment to basic laws that are considered to be the constitution of Israel.
The second provision is the introduction of an “exception” clause that allows Parliament to overturn some Supreme Court decisions by a simple majority of 61 votes out of 120 members of Parliament.
The demonstrators chanted in the center of Tel Aviv: "Democracy, democracy" and: "We will not surrender," raising Israeli flags.
"We are fighting for our country, for democracy, for equal rights," said Ronit Peled, from the city of Hod Hasharon, north of Tel Aviv.
The government that Netanyahu formed in December as part of a coalition that included right-wing and extremist religious parties announced a draft amendment to the judicial system in early January.
Opponents of the project considered that it aims to undermine the judicial authority in favor of the political authority, warning that it constitutes a threat to the democratic system.
However, Netanyahu and Justice Minister Yariv Levin consider that amending the judicial system is an essential step to restore balance to the branches of power, as the prime minister and his allies consider Supreme Court judges to be politicized and enjoy more power than those enjoyed by elected representatives.
The opposition, led by centrist leader Yair Lapid, has repeatedly accused Netanyahu of seeking his personal interests through the amendment.
Some critics of the proposal linked it to the prime minister's ongoing corruption trial and said he sought to undermine the judicial system, which he has brought against him, which he denies and considers unfair and politicized.
Netanyahu rejected the criticism, denying that the proposed bill was related to his trial.