The Oslo Accords and the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process
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Major Achievements of the Peace Accord
After 46 years, both Israel and Palestine accepted the UN proposal of 1947 and agreed to exist in peace and security without terrorism. Their handshake was the moment that everyone had hoped for over many years.
The Future of Jerusalem
Both Israelis and Palestinians wanted it as their capital. Israelis were determined to ensure that they continued to control all of the city and that it remained their capital. By late 1990, East Jerusalem was encircled by Israeli settlements containing 150,000 Israelis.
An Independent Palestinian State
It was uncertain if this state would include all of Palestine, meaning the end of Israel, or if it would just consist of the territories of the West Bank and Gaza.
Palestinian Refugees' Right of Return
Most Israelis believed that Palestinians should not be allowed to return because there would be a Palestinian majority in Israel. Israelis were not willing to turn their people out of the houses they had lived in and off the land they had farmed for many years.
The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin
In November 1995, thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv for a peace rally when Yigal Amir, a young Israeli, stepped up and shot Rabin.
"When I shot Rabin, I felt I was shooting a terrorist."
He did this because he was a member of a group that believed the West Bank was part of Israel, which was the promised land for Jews. Since Rabin was prepared to give this land away, the young Israeli considered him a traitor to the Jewish people.
This had a great impact because Rabin had many followers who believed in him and in his peace decisions. In May 1996, a new government was elected in Israel which opposed the peace process. This suddenly blocked all the negotiations with Arafat and the Palestinian Authority (PA), and people were furious again.
Jewish Settlements and the Palestinian Authority
In February 1997, the Israeli government built thousands of new homes in East Jerusalem. This was opposite to what had been agreed, and the PA became furious. This destroyed the Palestinian hope of Jerusalem as their capital.