Jordan hosting Israeli-Palestinian talks to avert escalation in violence

Israeli troops patrol in the northern West Bank village of Yabad after a soldier was killed there during a raid, May, 12, 2020. [AP photo]

Jordan will host a meeting Sunday between top Israeli and Palestinian security and political officials with U.S. participation to halt a recent surge in violence that has stoked fears of a wider escalation ahead of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, officials said.

They said the one-day meeting in the Red Sea port of Aqaba, to be attended by U.S. President Joe Biden's adviser on the Middle East, Brett McGurk, will bring top Israeli and Palestinian security chiefs together for the first time in many years, along with representatives of key regional parties.