AMMAN - Israeli and Palestinian officials began on Sunday talks in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba that seek to restore calm after a surge in violence stoked fears of a wider conflict, an official said.

The closed door meeting bring top Israeli and Palestinian security chiefs together for the first time in many years, along with key regional parties, Jordan and Egypt. U.S. President Joe Biden’s adviser on the Middle East, Brett McGurk, is also attending.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)