Background presentation: The Middle East Peace Negotiations

Gilead Sher August 2011

Concise History of the Conflict 1947-2011

Introduction

1947

UN General Assembly Resolution 181 is passed, partitioning Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. Resolution is rejected by Arab League.

1948

Israel declares statehood. the armies of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq invade, thus starting the Arab-Israeli War

War results in a divided Jerusalem and ~650,000 Palestinian refugees.  UNGA Resolution 194  

The War came to an end with the signing of the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and each of its Arab neighbors establishing the “Green Line”

1956

Suez Crisis On July 26, 1956, Egypt

nationalized the Suez Canal Company, and closed the canal to Israeli shipping

Israel responded on October 29, 1956, by invading the Sinai Peninsula with British and French support. During the Suez Canal Crisis, Israel captured the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula

1964

PLO Established Palestinian nationalist umbrella organization Goals:

Liberation of Palestine through armed struggle; Right of return; Self-determination;

The original PLO Charter (written in 1968) stated that: "Palestine with its boundaries that existed at the time of the British mandate is an integral regional unit" and sought to "prohibit... the existence and activity" of Zionism.

1967

Six Day War Israel launches a preemptive

strike and conquers the Sinai, Golan Heights, Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, which it annexed. More Palestinians became refugees.  UNSC Res 242 calls for Israeli withdrawal and establishes “land for peace” principle.

Arab leaders met in response to the war to discuss the Arab position toward Israel and reached a consensus: No recognition of the State of

Israel.; No peace with Israel.; No negotiations with Israel;

1969-1970

War of Attrition

1969-1970

1977 Israeli walks past temporary buildings at West Bank Elon Moreh

settlement to his car for daily drive to his job in Israel,

(United Press International).

War of Attrition Egypt initiated the War of

Attrition, with the goal of exhausting Israel into surrendering the Sinai Peninsula. The war ends following Nasser's death in 1970; leads to the Rogers Plan which Israel rejects.

70’s - Settlements Established Israel establishes

settlements in occupied territories

1969-1970

“Black September” King Hussein of Jordan

attempted to squash autonomy of Palestinian organizations.

After their expulsion most Palestinian organizations relocated to southern Lebanon and Syria.

Palestinian fighters after the battle with Jordan forces,

September 1970.

1973

Yom Kippur War Sadat, allied with

President Hafez Assad of Syria, stages a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 6, on Yom Kippur. Israel fights back and gains back most of the ground lost in the initial attack. Fighting continues for 18 days, when the war ends again under U.N. auspices

No territorial change. UNSC Resolution 338

calls for negotiations between the parties.

1978

Peace Accords with Egypt Egyptian and Israeli

leaders meet at Camp David with President Carter in 1978 to discuss a treaty in which Egypt would regain full control of the Sinai Peninsula. The treaty is signed on March 26, 1979

Israel completes Sinai pullout by 1982

Sadat, Carter and Menachem Begin

1982

Lebanon War After the PLO resettles in

Lebanon, it stages raids into Israel. In 1981, Syria, allied with the PLO, positions missiles in Lebanon.

In June 1982, Israel invades Lebanon. Israeli troops reach Beirut, cornering the PLO and Syrian fighters. The United States intervenes, and a force of U.S. and Western European troops help with the PLO and Syrian evacuation.

Months later Israel retakes Beirut, and hundreds of Palestinian guerrillas are killed. The war ends in May 1983, and Israel gradually withdraws troops.

IDF Forces in Tyre (AP)

2010 © GS

1987-1988

Intifada In 1987 a Palestinian popular

uprising against the Israeli occupation of the territories, begins in Gaza and spreads to West Bank

Hamas Inauguration Yasser Arafat seeks sole

leadership of the Palestinian people and declares Palestinian statehood in November 1988 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Many nations, including the Soviet Union and Egypt, respond with recognition of the Palestinian government, with Arafat as its leader. The United States refuses to recognize statehood but does open dialogue with Arafat.

1991

Gulf War A conflict between Iraq and

a coalition force from 34 nations authorized by the United Nations (UN) but led primarily by the United States and the United Kingdom in order to return Kuwait to the control of the Emir of Kuwait.

During the Gulf War, Iraq fired 39 missiles into Israel, in the hopes of uniting the Arab world against the coalition which sought to liberate Kuwait. At the behest of the United States, Israel did not respond to this attack in order to prevent a greater outbreak of war.

1991

Madrid Conference Israel and Arabs begin bilateral and

multilateral negotiations. 

1993

Oslo Peace Process The agreement between the two sides to make

gradual steps towards a final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, begins; signing of the “Declaration of Principles.” 

Israel-Palestinian Negotiations: Diagram

1994

Jordan Peace Treaty 1994, Israel and Jordan sign a peace agreement, which

stipulated mutual cooperation, an end of hostilities, and a resolution of other issues.

1995

Rabin's Assassination Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin

assassinated by right-wing Israeli fanatic Yigal Amir in November. Rabin is replaced by Shimon Peres

1995

Oslo II Interim Agreement Establishes 3 areas in

West Bank:

Area A direct Palestinian control.

Area B jointly controlled: Palestinian civilian control and Israeli security control.

Area C exclusive Israeli control.

1997-1998

Hebron Protocol

Signed in 1997 dividing Palestinian city of Hebron. Israel starts building a settlement, Har Homa, on a hill overlooking East Jerusalem resulting in widespread protests.  Peace process frozen. 

CLICK FOR MAP

1998

Wye River Memorandum The summit ends with a land-for-security deal on Oct. 23. Arafat agrees to crack down on terrorism, and Israel agrees to

withdraw from a percentage of occupied land. Palestinians agree to withdraw elements of its charter that are hostile to Israel, and both sides agree to a third phase of redeployment. Within two months, Netanyahu accuses the Palestinians of failing to honor security commitments and steps away from the deal.

1999

Sharm el Sheik Memorandum Labor Party Leader Ehud Barak campaigns for Israeli prime

minister, guaranteeing a move forward toward peace. He is elected and soon signs a deal with Arafat to implement part of the Wye Accords and sets a deadline of Sept. 13, 2000, for a final treaty.

2000

Camp David II Tensions mount as the

September deadline approaches with no treaty in sight. Clinton begins a last-ditch peace effort by hosting Arafat and Barak at Camp David. The summit lasts two weeks, but persistent issues, such as the status of Jerusalem and the relocation of Jewish settlers and Palestinian refugees, block an agreement.

2000

Lebanon Disengagement Israel pulled all its

troops out of southern Lebanon on May 24, 2000, ending a 22-year military presence there. All Israel Defense Force and South Lebanon Army outposts were evacuated.

2000

Intifada II Sharon makes provocative visit to Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif. 

Protesting Israeli-Arabs shot by Israeli police.  Second Intifada, a violent and sustained uprising, begins, and lasts until 2004.

Clinton’s Parameters

December 23, 2000 http://www.usembassy-israel.org.il/publish/peace/archives/2001/january/me0108b.html

2001

Taba Talks Israeli Position on Three Main Points

(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser 21.1.2001)

1. Israel will never allow the right of Palestinian refugees to return to inside the State of Israel.

2. Prime Minister Barak will not sign any document which transfers sovereignty over the Temple Mount to the Palestinians.

3. Israel insists that in any settlement, 80% of the Jewish residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza will be in settlement blocs under Israeli sovereignty.

2003

Roadmap A Performance-Based Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State

Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Following the Camp David Summit in July 2000 bilateral

peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians ceased for seven years. In 2003, talks were supposed to resume under the framework of the Roadmap for a permanent two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict put forward by US President George Bush

The Arab Peace InitiativeMarch 28, 2002

API’s 2008 campaign

2003

The Security Fence

Gaza Disengagement Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon initiated a policy of

unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in December 2003. This policy was implemented in August 2005

2005CLICK FOR MAP

Disengagement from Gaza Strip

CLICK FOR

SAMARIA

Disengagement Northern Samaria

RETURN TO GAZA

MAP

Annapolis Peace Conference Organized by Condoleezza

Rice and attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and U.S. President George W. Bush

The conference marked the renewal of talks towards a two-state solution as the mutually agreed-upon outline for addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The conference ended with the issuing of a joint statement by all parties.

2007

Peace Initiatives 2002-2011

The Saudi Initiative 2002/ The Arab Peace Initiative

The Road Map to Peace in the ME and President Bush’s Speech 2003-2004

Pt. Obama’s May 2011 Statements

The Van Leer Institute Policy Paper 2002

The Geneva Initiative The Ayalon-Nusseibe

Initiative The Israeli Peace

Initiative

Official Initiatives Unofficial Initiatives

Samples of informal works

Getting to the Territorial Endgame of an Israeli-Palestinian Peace SettlementA special report of the Baker’s Institute

Netanyahu-Abbas 2010

The Iranian Threat The internal Palestinian Hamas-PLO

Rift and possible 2011 reconciliation Proximity Talks between Israel and the

Palestinians via the US Direct negotiations Settlement Freeze The regional approach

Wikileaks: The Palestine PapersJanuary 2011

Spring 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekgkuAaTjPg&feature=topvideos_mp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxWJTR0yCJ8

PM Netanyahu in Congress, May 24, 2011

http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4073570,00.html

Obama, May 2011

NEGOTIATIONS SHOULD RESULT IN TWO STATES. THE BORDERS OF ISRAEL AND PALESTINE SHOULD BE BASED

ON THE 1967 LINES WITH MUTUALLY AGREED SWAPS, SO THAT SECURE AND RECOGNIZED BORDERS ARE ESTABLISHED FOR BOTH STATES.

THE PALESTINIAN STATE SHOULD BE SOVEREIGN AND CONTIGUOUS.  

ISRAEL MUST BE ABLE TO DEFEND ITSELF – BY ITSELF – AGAINST ANY THREAT. 

PROVISIONS MUST ALSO BE ROBUST ENOUGH TO PREVENT A RESURGENCE OF TERRORISM; TO STOP THE INFILTRATION OF WEAPONS; AND TO PROVIDE EFFECTIVE BORDER SECURITY.

THE FULL AND PHASED WITHDRAWAL OF ISRAELI MILITARY FORCES SHOULD BE COORDINATED WITH PALESTINIAN SECURITY RESPONSIBILITY IN A SOVEREIGN, NON-MILITARIZED STATE.

THE DURATION OF THIS TRANSITION PERIOD MUST BE AGREED, AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS MUST BE DEMONSTRATED.

August 2011

Thank you, Shalom, Salam