On 8 February 2005, one month after the election of Mahmoud Abbas as president of the Palestinian Authority (PA), a series of bilateral meetings and a four-way meeting involving Abbas, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, and Jordan's King Abdullah II, was convened at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The meetings produced a series of diplomatic understandings. Abbas and Sharon agreed to a mutual cease-fire. Israel agreed to immediately release 500 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture, with 400 more to be released later. Steps were to be taken toward withdrawing Israeli forces from the Palestinian population centers partially reoccupied for security purposes during Operation Defensive Shield. At the regional level, Egypt and Jordan agreed to return their ambassadors to Israel, who had been recalled following the outbreak of the Al-Aksa intifada in the fall of 2000.
See also Arab-Israeli Conflict.
Historical Dictionary of Israel. Bernard Reich David H. Goldberg. Edited by Jon Woronoff..