The Oslo process is the „peace process“ that began in 1993 with secret talks between Israel and the PLO. There was a round of negotiations, suspension, mediation, resumption of negotiations and again suspension. A number of agreements were reached until the end of the Oslo process, following the failure of the Camp David Summit in 2000 and the outbreak of the second Intifada. [5] [6] A second agreement, resulting from the Oslo negotiations signed in 1995, divided the occupied West Bank into three non-coherent regions: Areas A, B and C. Area A initially represented 3% of the West Bank and rose to 18% in 1999. In Area A, the Palestinian Authority controls most of the files. Area B now accounts for about 21% of the West Bank. In Washington, D.C., Rabin and Arafat signed the Oslo II agreement, which provides for Palestinian autonomy in parts of the West Bank and also defines the framework for Palestinian elections. Under Oslo II, the West Bank is divided into three areas: Area A, which is subject exclusively to Palestinian control; Area B, where Palestinians control civilian control and israeli security; and Area C, which is controlled exclusively by Israel. The following week, the agreement was ratified by a narrow majority in the Knesset, where Rabin faced strong criticism from those of the conservative Likud party. All subsequent agreements were intended to implement the three previous key agreements. The agreements signed between Arafat and Rabin in 1993 and 1995 were controversial for many Israelis and Palestinians.
Right-wing Israelis had opposed signing an agreement with the PLO, a group they considered a terrorist organization – although Arafat renounced violence. Israeli settlers feared that Rabin`s so-called „land for peace“ formula would lead to their expulsion from the country they consider their biblical right, despite the UN`s position that Israeli settlements were built in violation of international law. In an exceptional gesture, Clinton comes to Gaza to give her prestige to the implementation of parts of the Wye agreements. In Clinton`s presence, the Palestinian National Council took a historic step: its members voted in favour of repealing the PLO charter clause that calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. The Arafat extremists are supposed to control violent protests against the recognition of Israel. The exclusion of Jerusalem and settlements from the territories to be transferred to the Palestinians would not alter the Israeli presence, including the army, to protect them, without a negotiated agreement. The agreements also preserve Israel`s exclusive control of the borders, airspace and territorial waters of the Gaza Strip. Oslo II, Article XII: While the final goal at Camp David was a „peace treaty between Israel and Jordan, in light of the agreement reached in the final status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip,“ the Oslo negotiations were direct between Israel and the PLO and aimed at a direct peace treaty between these groups. The Oslo Accords, like the Camp David Agreements of 1978, were aimed only at an interim agreement that allowed the first steps to be taken. This should be followed by negotiations on a full settlement within five years.
However, when an Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty was concluded on 26 October 1994, it was without the Palestinians.
