Oslo Accords

Isaac Rabin, Bill Clinton and Yasser Arafat during the Oslo Accords, 13 September 1993.

The Oslo Accords of 1993 (officially the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Provisions; in English, the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements) were a series of agreements signed between the Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), designed to offer a permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Known as the Oslo I Accords or Oslo I, these agreements were supplemented by the Oslo II Accords, or Taba Agreement (in English: Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) by the name of the city where they were signed.

Background

Negotiations on the agreement, the result of the 1991 Madrid Conference, were held in Oslo, Norway.

Signing of Agreements

These Agreements were signed by Mahmoud Abbas of the PLO, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres for Israel, US Secretary of State Warren Christopher and Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev for Israel. Russia on September 13, 1993, in the presence of PLO representative Yasser Arafat, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and US President Bill Clinton at an official and public ceremony in Washington D.C..

Content

The agreements gave five years to negotiate a permanent agreement, and during that period, the Israeli government would remain solely responsible for foreign affairs, national defense and borders. In this regard, Israel will continue to be responsible for security at international borders and crossing points with Egypt and Jordan. Israel would also retain responsibility for the security of Israelis in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli settlements in those areas, and freedom of movement on the roads.

The Declaration has a principle of agreement that provides for the creation of an interim Palestinian self-government, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), transferring to them the powers and responsibilities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The powers transferred to the Palestinian Authority in certain areas of these two regions consisted of education, culture, health, social welfare, direct taxation, tourism, and the establishment of a Palestinian police force.

The agreements specifically provide that permanent status issues such as Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, Israeli settlements, security and borders are to be excluded from the interim provisions and that the outcome of permanent status negotiations should not prejudge nor distort provisional agreements.

Israel's position regarding Jerusalem has not changed. When the accords were signed, Prime Minister Rabin declared that "Jerusalem is the ancient and eternal capital of the Jewish people,", with Jerusalem united under Israeli sovereignty and religious freedom for all.

This was the first meeting for bilateral agreements between the Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Articles

The agreements included 17 articles, 4 annexes, and several minutes. The following is a summary of them:

Article 1: Goal of the negotiations

The goal of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in the Middle East peace process is to establish an interim Palestinian government and council by electing the people of the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the transition period not to exceed five years, for compliance with resolution 242 of the council of the United Nations.

Article 2: Framework for the interim period

The agreed framework for the interim period was in the 4th in the declaration of principles.

Article 3: Palestinian Elections

While Palestinians should govern themselves according to democratic principles, free, direct and universal elections for the council would be held, under international supervision. The Palestinian police would maintain order in the meantime.

Article 4: Jurisdiction of the Palestinian council

The jurisdiction of the Palestinian council would cover the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, except for those issues that would be negotiated and defined in the permanent status. Both sides considered the West Bank and Gaza as a territorial unit.

Article 5: Transition and permanent status

The 5-year transitional period would begin with the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the Jericho area. Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian representatives would begin as soon as possible.

Article 6: Transfer of powers

Under the entry into force of the Declaration of Principles and the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and Jericho, the Israeli armed forces would cede their authority to the Palestinian civil administration in: education and culture, health, social security, taxes, customs and tourism.

Article 7: interim agreement

The Israeli and Palestinian delegations will negotiate the agreement during the interim government period that will specify the structure of the council, the transfers of power and responsibilities of the Israeli army, its authority over the port of Gaza, over the Development Bank, the export promotion, water companies, etc.

After the creation of the council, the Palestinian civil administration and Israeli military rule will cease.