AMMAN, Feb 26 (Reuters) - (This Feb. 23 in paragraph 22)Israeli and Palestinian officials pledged to de-escalate surging violence after meeting on Sunday, issuing a joint statement in which Israel said it would halt discussions about new settlement units in the occupied West Bank for four months. In previous years, clashes have erupted between Israeli police and Palestinians around Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque at the height of the Ramadan fasting month that coincided with Judaism's Passover and Christian Easter