Sept. 28, 1995 OSLO 2 PEACE TALKS
The Oslo accords are the foundation on which current peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are based. Officially called the "Declaration of Principles," the accords were negotiated secretly by Israeli and Palestinian delegations in 1993 in Oslo, Norway, guided by Norwegian Foreign Minister Johan Jorgen Holst.
They were signed at a Washington ceremony hosted by U.S. President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1993, during which Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shook hands, ending decades as sworn enemies.
The accords laid out the long-term goals to be achieved, providing that issues of final borders, the status of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements and refugees would be negotiated in the "permanent status negotiations.
On September 28, 1995, at another White House ceremony, Israelis and Palestinians signed another deal known as the "Interim Agreement" or "Oslo 2." The 400-page pact allowed for a second stage of autonomy for the Palestinians, giving them self-rule in the cities of Bethlehem, Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Tulkarm, parts of Hebron and 450 villages, while
allowing Israeli-guarded Jewish settlements to remain.
U.S. State Department: Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles
Nov. 4, 1995 Yitzhak Rabin assassinated by right-wing Israeli zealot in Tel Aviv.
Jan. 21, 1996 First Palestinian elections; Yasser Arafat is elected president of the Palestinian Authority.
May 29, 1996 Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud is elected prime minister in Israel.
May 14, 1998 Israel celebrates 50 years of independence.
Oct. 23, 1998 Netanyahu and Arafat sign Wye River memorandum.
Wye River accords 1998 After a year long stalemate and a marathon 21-hour session mediated by U.S. President Bill Clinton, Netanyahu and Arafat signed a land-for-peace deal October 23 at Wye Mills, Maryland. It called for a crackdown on terrorists, redeployment of Israeli troops, transfer of 14.2 percent of the West Bank land to Palestinian control, safe passage corridors for Palestinians between Gaza and the West Bank, the release of 750 Palestinians from Israeli prisons and a Palestinian airport in Gaza.
Wye accords
In 1998, U.S. President Bill Clinton hosted Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a nine-day summit at Wye Mills, Maryland, that ended with an October 23 signing ceremony in Washington of a land-for-security peace deal.
Key elements of "The Wye River Memorandum," or the Wye accords, included: A security plan to crack down on violence by terrorists. Israeli troop redeployment from an additional 13.1 percent of West Bank land, to take place over a 90-day period. A 14.2 percent transfer of West Bank land from joint Israeli-Palestinian control to Palestinian control.
The revocation of clauses in the Palestinian National Charter that are hostile toward Israel. The guarantee of two corridors of safe passage between Gaza and the West Bank. Israeli commitment for third-phase troop redeployment from the West Bank. The release of 750 Palestinian prisoners in three phases. The opening of a Palestinian airport in Gaza. Netanyahu froze the deal two months after signing it, saying that the Palestinians failed to meet their security commitments.
On September 13, 1999, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak -- who defeated Netanyahu on a promise to move ahead with peace talks -- signed a deal with Arafat to implement a modified version of the Wye accords. The agreement set a September 13, 2000, deadline for a final peace treaty.
The White House: The Wye River Memorandum
After the 1967 and 1973 wars between Israel and the Arabs, the United Nations passed two measures: Resolution 242 (November 22, 1967) and Resolution 338 (October 22, 1973) . The resolutions called for Israel to withdraw its troops from territories it had occupied during those wars. In turn, the Arabs were to recognize the right of Israel to exist.
Israel agreed to the resolutions, along with Egypt and Jordan, but the Palestinians refused until November 15, 1988, when Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat made the dramatic announcement that he accepted the resolutions as the basis for a political process.
By recognizing Israel's right to exist, the Palestinians hoped that the United States would lift its ban on talks with the Palestine Liberation Organization. But the United States added another stipulation for lifting the ban -- that the PLO renounce terrorism. In December 1988, Arafat issued a statement dictated to him by the U.S. State Department that the PLO "condemns individual, group and state terrorism in all its forms, and will not resort to it.
U.N. Resolution 242 U.N. Security Council Resolution 242
November 22, 1967
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The Security Council, Expressing its continuing concern with the grave situation in the Middle East, Emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every State in the area can live in security,Emphasizing further that all Member States in their acceptance of the Charter of the United Nations have undertaken a commitment to act in accordance with Article 2 of the Charter,
Affirms that the fulfillment of Charter principles requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East which should include the application of both the following principles:
Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict; Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force;
Affirms further the necessity For guaranteeing freedom of navigation through international waterways in the area; For achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem; For guaranteeing the territorial inviolability and political independence of every State in the area, through measures including the establishment of demilitarized zones; Requests the Secretary General to designate a Special Representative to proceed to the Middle East to establish and maintain contacts with the States concerned in order to promote agreement and assist efforts to achieve a peaceful and accepted settlement in accordance with the provisions and principles in this resolution;Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council on the progress of the efforts of the Special Representative as soon as possible.
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Barak by a landslide1999 Moderate Labor candidate Ehud Barak unseated Netanyahu in the May prime minister election, winning by a record margin. Israel released 200 Palestinian prisoners and began transferring West Bank land to Palestinian control as part of the terms of the Wye accords.
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