JewishPost.comJuly 25, 2007A LOOK BACK ON THE ROAD TO PEACE

By Rebeca Schiller

As the new envoy for the Middle East Quartet, former PrimeMinister Tony Blair will bring his diplomatic expertise in the latest crusade for Middle East peace.As Mr. Blair prepares for the upcoming rounds of diplomacy perhaps history will provide someinsights.The violent clashes between Israel and Palestine have roots that span over 3,000 years. Israeliclaims to the land mass of Israel span back to that first millennium B.C. when the first Israelisestablished a kingdom. At the same time, Palestinian assertions to the land go back to the Arabconquest in the seventh century A.D. when Jerusalem was occupied by the Caliph Umar, andconsidered holy by Muslims as the site where Muhammad ascended to heaven.In the late 19th century, Zionists wished to establish a homeland in Palestine where Jews wouldbe the majority and be politically independent. Meanwhile, Arabs also sought to establish an Arabstate, politically independent from Ottoman control. By the end of the First World War and the fallof the Ottoman Empire, the British mandate was established by the League of Nations over thenewly defined Palestine. The British--the administrative and governing authority between 1920and 1948--attempted to pacify the conflicting objectives between its Jewish and Palestinianpopulations. Failing this, the issue was left to the United Nations.In 1947, the United Nations voted to divide Palestine into two states--one Arab, one Jewish. Theplan was dismissed, the British withdrew on May 14, 1948 and Israel declared statehood.Since its independence, Israel has fought five wars and two intifadas over land and who rightfullybelongs there. As these conflicts separated Israelis and Palestinians and spilled over toneighboring Arab countries, the issues have multiplied between the two entities and in the region,making Middle East peace a U.S. and international diplomatic priority.The 1978 Camp David talks were the first Arab-Israeli negotiations that brought about the 1979Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty, resulting in Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. It wasn't until the end of thefirst Gulf War in 1991 when the U.S. announced that ending the Arab/Israeli conflict was amongits postwar aims. In March 1991, President George H.W. Bush outlined an agenda for peacebased U. N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and the principle of "land for peace." Thetalks were organized by Secretary of State James Baker and scheduled for October 1991 inMadrid.

Attendees of the conference included a Jordanian/Palestinian delegation with 14 representatives.Sitting at the negotiating table was an unofficial Palestinian advisory team from the West Bankand Gaza that had been selected by the PLO, the United States, the Soviet Union, Syria, theEuropean Community, Egypt, Israel and Lebanon. Observing the proceedings were the UnitedNations, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab Maghreb Union.For the first time in its history, Israel entered into direct negotiations with Syria, Lebanon, Jordan,and the Palestinians. A bilateral track and a multilateral track were established. These firstbilateral meetings took place in Madrid, in November 1991 which put Israel together with Syria,Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinian delegation to resolve past conflicts in the region, sign peacetreaties and for the Palestinians to achieve interim self-rule and final settlement over a five yeartime frame.The multilateral negotiations opened in Moscow in January 1992. Issues discussed includedwater rights, the environment, arms control and regional security, refugees and economicdevelopment.The talks between Israel and Jordan continued for almost two years following the Madridconference and successfully concluded with the signing of a peace treaty on October 26, 1994.However, a portion of the tracks stalled. The issue was the lack of authority for the Palestiniandelegation to negotiate. Every point Israel raised was referred back to the PLO and to YasserArafat. This stalemate became the launch pad for the 1993 series of secret talks in Norwaybetween Israel and the Palestinians, known as the Oslo peace process.The negotiations began in Oslo on January 1993 with the goal to draft a document of principlesfor future peacemaking between Israel and the Palestinians. The "Declaration of Principles", thefoundation of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians was drafted. The document,known as the "Oslo Accords", was signed at a White House ceremony hosted by President BillClinton in September 1993, and attended by the two main parties, PLO chairman Yasser Arafatand Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.Two years later on September 1995, The Oslo Interim Agreement, the second phase, of the"Declaration of Principles" was signed. The agreement called for the redeployment of the IsraeliArmy from a major portion of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and free elections, permitting thePalestinians to set up the Palestine National Authority as a negotiating partner representing thePalestinians, and as the administrative authority over the Palestinians.Little came from the Oslo Declaration of Principles. In the summer of 1998, with the U.S.pressuring both sides, especially Israel, signs of executing parts of the agreement surfaced. Thesides met at Wye River Plantation in Maryland in October 1998, resulting in the Wye RiverMemorandum. Israel agreed to carry out a withdrawal from 13% of the territory it occupied, andthe Palestinian National Authority agreed to contain terror and eliminate its stockpiled arsenalsand weapons. Part of the agreement was implemented, including Israeli withdrawal from some ofthe territories, and a Palestinian crackdown on militants, but the arms reduction clause and Israeliwithdrawal was not fulfilled.As conflicts increased with the Palestinians, other peace negotiations in the region fall apart. InMarch, 2000 Syrian President Hafez al-Assad rejects an Israeli offer relayed by President Clinton.In March 2002, Saudi Arabia enters the peace process with a plan presented at the Arab Leaguesummit conference in Beirut, calling for peace with Israel in return for Israeli withdrawal from allterritories since 1967 and the return of Palestinian refugees in return for recognition of Israel. For

the remaining part of 2002 through 2007 peace efforts stall and unravel. Highlights during thisperiod include:March 2002, Israel launches operation "Defensive Wall" in the West Bank, retaliating forseveral suicide bombings, arresting Palestinian leaders and imprisoning Chairman Arafatin the compound in Ramallah. Israeli soldiers surround militants in the Church of theNativity in Bethlehem. During the operation, about 50 people, including civilians, are killedin the Jenin refugee camp. The UN proposes to investigate, but it is dropped after Israelrefuses to cooperate.June 2002: President Bush calls for Israeli withdrawal and insists the Palestinian NationalAuthority must be reformed and its current leaders replaced.Cairo holds a conference for Palestinian groups in January 2003, the first in 20 years.The conference calls for a cease fire offering to Israel, but fails. Five months later at theAqaba Summit, Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas), the new Palestinian Prime Minister, andAriel Sharon promises to stop the violence and end occupation according to the "RoadMap"--a detailed schedule of conditions and events that would break the Palestinian-Israeli deadlock and lead to a peace settlement.UN Security Council passes resolution 1515 in November 2003, supporting the roadmap.Later that month, Israeli PM Sharon announces the Disengagement Plan for unilateralwithdrawal of Israeli forces if the road map fails.Chairman Arafat dies on November 2004.February 2005, Sharon, now Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, President Mubarakof Egypt and King Abdullah II of Jordan meet in Sharm El Sheikh. Abbas and Sharonannounce an end to the violence; Israel will release over 900 Palestinian prisoners andwithdraw from Palestinian cities. Jordan and Egypt will return ambassadors to Israel. Theintifada is over. The following month, the London Conference hosted by Great Britainplan at organizing Palestinian security forces and getting financial backing for thePalestinian Authority. At the Cairo Conference, Palestinian militant groups agree to stopfighting. Hamas and Islamic Jihad will join the PLO. Hamas will participate in Mayelections for the Palestine Legislative Council.Sharon addresses the United Nations in September 2005 and calls for peace, recognizesPalestinian rights, reasserts Israel's right to a united Jerusalem.January 2006, Sharon suffers massive stroke and is in critical condition. Ehud Olmertbecomes Prime Minister of Israel.May 2006, Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli jails issue a document of national unity callingfor a state in West Bank and Gaza Strip and the right of return for Palestinian refugees.Hamas government rejects the document. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbasannounced that he will hold a referendum on approval of the document if the factionscannot agree. In June, a revised prisoners' document is issued, agreed upon by Hamasand Fatah but not all factions agree, and Abbas decides to hold a referendum.July 2006: Hezbollah terrorists crossed the border with Lebanon and attacked an Israelipatrol. Hezbollah also start rocket attacks on northern Israel. Israel bombs Hezbollahheadquarters in Beirut. Hezbollah responds with rocket attacks on Haifa, Tiberias, Safedand other towns in northern Israel. A Hezbollah Iranian supplied missile hits an Israelimissile cruiser off the cost of Beirut. Hezbollah rocket also sink one foreign neutral shipand damages an Egyptian one. G-8 meeting calls for ending the violence, the return of anIsraeli soldier and disarming Hezbollah in accordance with UN Security CouncilResolution 1559 and UN Security Council Resolution 1680.A cease fire begins based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701 in August 2006. Fourmonths later, Israelis and Palestinians announce a truce to apply to the Gaza strip. Israeliarrests continue in West bank, as do Palestinian terror attempts. In Gaza, Israel holds tothe truce, but rocket fire from Gaza continues.Palestinian Unity Agreement in Mecca meet in February 2007, Hamas and Fatah agreeto share power. Hamas officials restate that they will never recognize Israel. The U.S.and Israel insist that the new government must recognize Israel, disarm terrorist groups