Sharon and Abbas explicitly undertook to cease all violence against each other's peoples, marking a formal end to the Second Intifada, and reconfirmed their commitment to the Road map for peace process.
[2] The Second Intifada, which began in September 2000, had by February 2005 led to over 5,000 Palestinians and Israeli casualties and took an extensive toll on both economies and societies.
These trust-building steps, together with renewed security coordination between the two sides and the backing of the United States, Jordan and Egypt led to the agreement to hold the Sharm El Sheikh Summit.
Though no agreement was signed, Sharon and Abbas in their closing statements explicitly stated their intention for a cessation of all violent activity against each other's peoples,[3][4] marking a formal end to the Second Intifada.
However, after Qassam rocket attacks on Sderot on 5 May, Sharon stopped the release of the remaining 400 prisoners, saying the Palestinian Authority needs to rein in the militants.