Summary
The Clinton Parameters are the minutes of President Clinton’s oral proposal read to Israeli and Palestinian delegates at the White House on December 23, 2000: a Palestinian state on 94-96% of the West Bank with a 1-3% land swap and 80% of settlers in blocks; a non-militarized Palestine with an international force withdrawable only by mutual consent, an Israeli Jordan Valley presence for 36 months and three early warning stations; Jerusalem divided on the principle that Arab areas are Palestinian and Jewish areas Israeli, with Palestinian sovereignty over the Haram under two formulations; a refugee formulation with no specific right of return to Israel itself, five listed homes, priority to Lebanon, and agreement that this implements Resolution 194; and an end-of-conflict declaration — offered on the basis that if not accepted the ideas “go with me when I leave office” (The Clinton Parameters (23 December 2000), PDF p.1-4).
What the file is
A four-PDF-page document, about 1,551 words: a heading and attendance list for the December 23, 2000 White House meeting, “Minutes” of Clinton’s remarks in headed sections, and a closing note. No written text was presented at the meeting; the note states this version is derived from Haaretz (English), January 1, 2001 and a slightly more complete version issued by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center. The file closes with a Jewish Peace Lobby footer (copyright 2008). Attendance: for the United States Clinton, Albright, Podesta, Berger, Richetti, “Bruce Reidel” [as printed], Ross, Miller, Malley, Hilal; for Palestine Sa’eb Erakat, Mohammad Dahlan, Samih Abed, Ghaith Al-Omari; for Israel Shlomo Ben-Ami, Gilead Sher, Penny Medan, Shlomo Yanai, Gidi Grinstein.
Section by section
- Heading, attendance and Territory (PDF p.1). Territory in the mid-90s, 94-96% of the West Bank for the Palestinian state; annexed land compensated by a 1-3% swap plus arrangements such as a permanent Safe passage; leased-land swaps to be considered; map criteria — 80% of settlers in blocks, contiguity, minimize annexed areas, minimize Palestinians affected.
- Security (PDF p.1-2). International presence withdrawable only by mutual consent, monitoring implementation; Israeli presence in fixed Jordan Valley locations under the international force for 36 months, reducible with favorable regional developments; three early warning stations with Palestinian liaison, review every 10 years; emergency defined as an imminent and demonstrable military threat requiring a national state of emergency, with notification to the international forces; Palestinian sovereignty over airspace with special arrangements for Israeli training and operational needs; “non-militarized state” as the compromise between “demilitarized state” and “a state with limited arms”, with strong Palestinian security forces and an international border force.
- Jerusalem (PDF p.2). Arab areas Palestinian and Jewish areas Israeli, including the Old City; maximum contiguity maps. On the Haram/Temple Mount, two added formulations, both with international monitoring and a commitment not to excavate beneath the Haram or behind the Wall: Palestinian sovereignty over the Haram with Israeli sovereignty over the Western Wall and the sacred space of which it is part (worded two ways), or the same with shared functional sovereignty over excavation requiring mutual consent.
- Refugees (PDF p.2-3). Israel prepared to acknowledge the moral and material suffering caused to the Palestinian people as a result of the 1948 war; an international commission for compensation, resettlement and rehabilitation, with the U.S. leading the international effort. No reference implying a right to immigrate to Israel against its sovereign policies or threatening its Jewish character. Two-state guiding principle, Palestine as focal point for return, Israel not ruled out from accepting some; formulation to make clear there is no specific right of return to Israel itself while not negating the aspiration to return to the area. Two alternatives — recognition of a right to return “to historic Palestine” or “to their homeland” — with five listed homes (Palestine; land-swap areas; rehabilitation in host country; resettlement in third country; admission to Israel), return to the West Bank, Gaza and swap areas as a right of all refugees and the other options subject to the countries’ policies; priority to Lebanon; agreement that this implements Resolution 194.
- The End of Conflict (PDF p.3). The agreement marks the end of the conflict and ends all claims, implemented through a Security Council resolution noting Resolutions 242 and 338 implemented and through release of Palestinian prisoners.
- Concluding remarks and note (PDF p.3-4). For Palestinians: a sovereign and viable state, “Al-Quds as its capital, sovereignty over the Haram”, new lives for refugees. For Israel: genuine end of conflict, real security, sacred ties preserved, 80% of settlers incorporated, the largest Jewish Jerusalem in history as its capital. Ideas lapse with Clinton’s leaving office if not accepted. Note on the oral delivery and the Haaretz / Jerusalem Media and Communication Center derivation.
Key passages
- “the solution should be in the mid-90%‘s, between 94-96% of the West Bank” (PDF p.1).
- “there is no specific right of return to Israel itself” (PDF p.3).
- “If they are not accepted, they are not just off the table, they also go with me when I leave office.” (PDF p.4)
Evidence the work relies on
The Parameters rely on Clinton’s account of what he had heard from the parties (“Based on what I heard”) and on Resolutions 242, 338 and 194, which the proposal treats as implemented by the agreement it outlines. As an oral proposal preserved through the Haaretz and Jerusalem Media and Communication Center versions named in its note, the file presents no other evidence.
Analysis
A bridging proposal, preserved only as minutes of an oral reading with no written text handed over — a limit on its status as a document that its own closing note states. Its method is formulation: on refugees and the Haram it offers alternative wordings intended to bridge symbolic gaps it judges larger than the practical ones. Quantitatively it fixes ranges (94-96%, 1-3%, 80%, 36 months, three stations, five homes) while leaving maps, emergency routes and definitions to the parties.
People, organizations, places and events
Clinton parameters, Bill Clinton, Shlomo Ben-Ami, Muhammad Dahlan, Madeleine Albright, Dennis Ross, Jordan Valley, Western Wall, Temple Mount, Camp David Summit, 2000, Taba negotiations
Concepts
Right of Return, Safe passage, Corpus separatum
How it relates to other sources
This is the primary text of the parameters Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem: Part V (1989-2000) summarized (94-96% in its Swisher note, the January 7, 2001 five-point speech) and that Perceptions of Palestine judged close to Barak’s Camp David positions. It follows the term-less Trilateral Statement on the Middle East Peace Summit at Camp David (25 July 2000) by five months and is the stated basis of the Taba talks reported in The Moratinos Report on the Israeli-Palestinian Talks at Taba (27 January 2001), where the parties disputed whether the parameters included settlement blocs and a 6% annexation ceiling.
Open questions
- Sa’eb Erakat and Gilead Sher are named in the attendance list and have no other account in this file; the file does not record either delegation’s response.
- “Bruce Reidel” and “Security Counsel” (for Council) are as printed.
- The file does not state the parties’ reservations, which the UN Part V study and the Moratinos report both record.
Coverage
PDF p.1-4 of 4, read in full