The Oslo Peace Accords - 1993
Israeli NarrativeAccording to the Israelis, the continuation of Palestinian terrorist attacks (e.g. the wave of suicide bombings from Feb-March of 1996) were at best a sign of Arafat’s failure to live up to his agreement in the Oslo Accords and at worst a sign of intentional deception– using the Oslo Accords as a cover to continue attacks on the state of Israel. In light of this, the Israeli government was very hesitant to fulfill its terms of the agreement, namely releasing Palestinian political prisoners and easing restriction of Palestinian movement across borders, for fear that this would further erode their public support. They opted to wait on fulfilling the other terms until Palestinian terrorist action was reduced. Jewish leaders got the sense that the issue of Palestinian refugees grew less important after the Oslo Accords of 1993 only to later find out that it was primary.[1]
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Palestinian NarrativeIn 1998, Naaser Aruri, a member of the Palestinian National Council, released a statement reflecting on the insufficiency of the Oslo Accords in dealing with the real problems of Israeli occupation. Aruri speaks of PLO leader Yassir Arafat’s agreement to condemn and actively limit terrorist action against Israel as, in effect, negating the rights of Palestinian refugees to water security, protection of their settlements, and to self-defense. The Oslo Agreement perpetuates the status quo and does not allow Palestinians to have a separate and sovereign existence; those who continue to struggle for these are seen as terrorist or acting against peace. “As long as the Zionist ideology of acquiring the land without the people prevails, a negotiated settlement based on the right of the two people to dignity and self-determination will continue to be elusive.”[2] Additionally, the PLO Affairs Department cites 9 specific violations Israel has made against the Oslo Agreements and/or the Fourth Geneva Convention including: increasing the number of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, continued confiscation of land (more than 60,000 acres), failure to open the northern safe passage route between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, closing the southern route, and the failure to prosecute any Israeli settlers for their attacks against Palestinians. According to the Palestinians, Israel has not honored the Oslo Agreements or International law that supersedes them, and therefore has sabotaged the hope of resolving more permanent issues.[3]
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