CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt hosts Israeli and Palestinian officials on Sunday in the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh in a U.S.- and Jordanian-backed effort to calm a surge of violence across Israel, ahead of the Muslim month of Ramadan.

The five-way meeting follows a Feb. 26 U.S.-brokered summit in Jordan, the first of its kind in years, that secured Israeli and Palestinian pledges to de-escalate but was challenged by factions on both sides and failed to halt violence on the ground.

The meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh “aims to support dialogue between the Palestinian and Israeli sides to work to stop unilateral actions and escalation, and break the existing cycle of violence and achieve calm,” a statement from Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said.

This could “facilitate the creation of a climate suitable for the resumption of the peace process”, it added.

The Muslim month of Ramadan starts in late March.

In previous years, clashes have erupted between Israeli police and Palestinians around the Al Aqsa mosque at the height of Ramadan.

Source: Hamodia