Summary
The agreement signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization at the White House in Washington, D.C. on 13 September 1993, after private talks in Norway and elsewhere, consisting of 17 articles, 4 annexes and agreed minutes (A/48/486-S/26560), establishing a Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority for a transitional period not exceeding five years, leading to a permanent settlement based on UN Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) and resolution 338 (1973) (Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem: Part V (1989-2000), PDF p.49-50).
Details
- The “Oslo channel” was facilitated in 1992 by Terje Rød-Larsen, primarily with PLO official Ahmed Qureia (Abu Ala) and Israeli academic Yair Hirschfeld; the talks began in earnest on 20 January 1993 under the guidance of Norway’s Foreign Minister Johan Jørgen Holst and concluded in late August 1993; the parties agreed on the “Gaza and Jericho first” approach (PDF p.50).
- On 10 September 1993 the parties exchanged letters of mutual recognition: the PLO recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace and security, accepted resolutions 242 and 338 and renounced terrorism, and Israel recognized the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people (PDF p.50).
- At the signing, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO Executive Committee member Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) signed while Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat watched and then shook hands, before President Bill Clinton, former presidents Bush and Carter and some 3,000 dignitaries (note 105/, PDF p.50).
- Article I is quoted: the aim of the negotiations is “to establish a Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority, the elected Council (the “Council”), for the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, for a transitional period not exceeding five years, leading to a permanent settlement based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973)” (PDF p.50).
- The issues reserved for permanent status negotiations (article V, para. 3) were Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, security arrangements, borders, relations and cooperation with other neighbours, and other issues of common concern; the 1995 Interim Agreement added water resources (PDF p.51).
- Elections for the Council were to be held not later than nine months after the Declaration entered into force (13 October 1993); the West Bank and Gaza Strip were viewed as a single territorial unit whose integrity was to be preserved during the interim period (PDF p.51).
- A substantial majority of the Palestinians under occupation approved of the accords; Mustafa Barghouti, himself a critic, indicates “63 per cent of Palestinians”, while 10 Palestinian organizations, and Hamas and Islamic Jihad, rejected the Declaration (note 100/, PDF p.50).
- The study’s section III.B passage states the interim arrangements were “for a period not to exceed two years”, where the quoted article I gives five years; both are recorded as printed on the source page under Open questions (PDF p.49-50).
Related pages
Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem: Part V (1989-2000), Oslo Accords, Madrid Conference, Palestinian Authority, Beilin/Abu-Masen Paper, Terje Rød-Larsen