IsraeliPalestinian Conflict

1
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

• Update 2005

2
Oslo Accords, 1993

• between Israel and the PLO
• treaty included
• mutual recognition
• limited self-rule for Palestinians in Jericho
  and Gaza

• provisions for a permanent treaty that would
  resolve the status of Gaza and the West Bank.
• agreement was sealed by a historic handshake
  between Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak
  Rabin.

3
Hebron Massacre, 1994

• an extremist Jewish settler killed 39
  Palestinians as they prayed in a West Bank
  mosque.
• Israel withdrew in May from Jericho on the West
  Bank and from Gaza.
• Arafat entered Gaza and swore in members of the
  Palestinian Authority, which took control of
  education and culture, social welfare, tourism,
  health and taxation

4
Rabin Assassination, 1995

• Rabin and Peres signed an agreement expanding
  Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and giving
  the Palestinian Authority control over six large
  West Bank towns
• Rabin was assassinated at a peace rally two
  months later by an Israeli law student with
  connections to right-wing extremists

5
Palestinian/Israeli Elections, 1996

• first-ever elections held by Palestinians
• Arafat was the overwhelming choice as president
  of the Palestinian Authority

• Israel, a massive bus bomb set off by Islamic
  extremists killed 25 and wounded dozens
• Hard-line Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu
  defeated Peres in a close race.
• Netanyahu and Arafat pledged to work toward a
  final peace treaty
• later that year, Israeli govt to end a freeze
  on construction in the occupied territories
• Clashes continued

6
Handover of Housing and Hamas, 1997

• Hebron (West Bank) returned to Palestinian
  control after 30 years
• Netanyahu (Israeli PM) approved a large new
  Jewish housing project in eastern Jerusalem

• New violence broke out--suicide bombs in an
  outdoor market in Jerusalem that killed 15 and
  wounded 170.
• An extremist Palestinian group called Hamas
  claimed responsibility, and the Israeli Cabinet
  insisted the peace talks would continue only when
  the terrorism stopped.

7
Wye River Accords, 1998

• yearlong stalemate, marathon 21-hour session,
  mediated Clinton
• Netanyahu and Arafat signed a land-for-peace
  deal
• 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

8
Barak by a Landslide, 1999

• 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.

9
Impasse, more fighting, 2000

• Clinton moderated a summit between Barak and
  Arafat at Camp David as the September 13 deadline
  for a final peace accord approached.
• The talks ended after 15 days with no agreement.
  
• Arafat rejected Barak's offer for control of
  most, but not all, the territory Israel occupied
  in the 1967 Six-Day War.

10

• Israeli right-wing opposition leader Ariel
  Sharon led a delegation to a Jerusalem site that
  Jews and Muslims consider sacred.
• Crowds of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank
  began attacking Israeli security forces after the
  controversial visit.
• Barak's support eroded, and he resigned in
  December, calling for a special prime minister
  election to be held in February 2001.

11
Sharons victory renewed violence
After months of stepped-up violence between
Palestinians and Israelis, Likud Party leader
Ariel Sharon defeated Ehud Barak by a landslide
in Israel's February 6 special election for prime
minister.
12

• The September 11 terrorist attacks on the United
  States sparked a renewed interest in the Mideast
  peace process
• But violence erupted again in December after
  explosions in Jerusalem and the northern Israeli
  port city of Haifa, which killed at least 25
  Israelis and three suicide bombers.
• The attacks led to major Israeli military
  strikes against Palestinian targets in the West
  Bank and Gaza, and a new round of violence
  started, stalling the peace process once more.

13
Violence intensifies, 2002

• The situation in the Mideast worsened
• constant barrage of suicide bombings and Israeli
  military actions.
• Israeli forces invaded Palestinian refugee camps
  to flush out what Israelis say are militants

• multiple suicide bombings were carried out by
  Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs
  Brigades, a military offshoot of Palestinian
  leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement.

14

• The conflict raged despite a series of diplomatic
  efforts
• Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah put forth a peace
  plan in which Arab states would recognize
  Israel's right to exist in exchange for its
  return to pre-1967 borders
• The U.S., E.U., U.N. and Russia later submitted
  a three-phase plan calling for a Palestinian
  state and conclusive peace accord by 2005
• But Israeli and Palestinian officials failed to
  reach any major agreements.

15
Road Map to peace2003

• The second intifada continued with Palestinian
  suicide bombings taking place in Tel Aviv and
  Haifa.
• Israel retaliated against what it said are known
  Palestinian terrorists and the homes of suicide
  bombers.
• Israelis returned incumbent prime minister Ariel
  Sharon to power in a January general election.
• The main opposition Labor party saw its public
  support collapse, after its leader campaigned on
  a plan to withdraw Jewish settlers and Israeli
  soldiers from Gaza and to resume negotiations
  with the Palestinians, including Yasser Arafat.

16
Abbas as Prime Minister

• Arafat, under international pressure,
  instituted a constitutional reform for the
  Palestinian Authority
• transferred some of his powers to the newly
  created post of prime minister.
• Mahmoud Abbas elected to that position

17
Reforms that didnt work

• Abbas resigned as Prime Minister after 3 or 4
  months because he felt helpless as Prime
  Minister. He did not feel that enough power was
  transferred to his authority
• Ahmed Qurie replaced him as Prime Minister until
  Arafats death and the subsequent election.

18
Events of 2005

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