Madrid

Peace Conference 1991

Introduction
• Conference took place from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1.
• A peace conference held in Madrid hosted by Spain.
• Co-sponsored by the US & USSR auspices.
• Purpose: to revitalized the Israeli-Palestinian peace process through
negotiations and diplomacy involving various parties including Israel,
Palestinians and Arab nations like Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Israeli-Arab Conflict
• Palestine was the part of Ottoman Empire
• Ottoman Empire: inhibited by Jewish minority and Arab
Majority
• Persecution of Jews
• Rise of Zionism: Theodor Herzl (Austro-Hungarian Journalist)
• 1881: First migration of Jews towards Palestine
• 1915: World War I
• Britain-Arabs: McMahon-Hussein Correspondence
• Britain-Jews: Balfour Declaration
• Britain-France: Sykes-Picot Agreement
• Fall of Ottoman Empire
• Britain & France divided the Middle East area between themselves.
• 1918-1948: British control over Palestine region.
• 1947 Partition Plan: UN voted for Palestine to be split into
separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem becoming an
International City.
• Plan: accepted by Jews but rejected by Arab side and
never implemented.
• 1948: British left the region and Jewish declared the creation of the
state of Israel.
• Palestinians objected. Troops from neighboring Arab
countries invaded.
• 1948: First Arab-Israel war
• 1949: Israel occupied major portion of
Palestine including West Jerusalem.
• Jordan occupied West Bank and Egypt
occupied gaza
• Result: Al Nakba or the Catastrophe
• 1967: 2nd Arab-Israel War (6 Day war)
• Israel: Occupied also the East Jerusalem
and West Bank, as well as in neighboring
Jordan, Syria and the Egyptian Sinai
Peninsula.
• 1973: 3rd Arab-Israeli War
• Nothing changed much
Path to peace
• 1979: Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty (Camp David Accord)
• Egypt recognized the existence of Israel.
• Various initiatives put forth to further peace process in the Middle East.
These efforts eventually led to the convening of the Madrid
Peace Conference 1991.
• First time the Palestinians and Israelis involved in direct negotiations.
• The formal proceedings were followed by bilateral and
multilateral negotiations between parties addressing regional concerns
• Bilateral talks began in Washington while
multilateral negotiations began in Moscow.
Bilateral Talks
• Direct negotiations between Israel and each of the Arab
delegations present at the conference.
• Included talks with Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the joint
Palestinian-Jordanian delegation.
• Aimed to address specific issues and grievances between
each party.
• Israel Syria Talks:
• To address dispute between Israel and Syria over the Golan Heights, a
strategic plateau captured by Israel during 1967 Six Day War.
• Syria sought the return of Golan Heights, while Israel sought
security guarantees and normalization of relations with Syria.
• Israel Lebanese Talks:
• Concerned Shebaa Farms area and
security arrangements along Israel-Lebanon border.
• Israeli-Jordanian Talks:
• Aimed at resolving various territorial and political issues between the
two countries.
• Jordan had previously relinquished its claim to the West Bank 1988,
leaving Palestinian delegation to represent the Palestinian interests in
these talks.
• Palestinian-Israeli Talks:
• 1992: Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin recognized PLO and in return
PLO also recognized Israel as a state.
• Paved way for Oslo Accords 1993
• Declaration of Principles (DOP) was
formulated outlining self-government
arrangements of the Palestinians in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip.
• West Bank divided into 3 types of areas:
• Area A: Full Palestinian
Council responsibility for internal
security and public order and civil affairs.
Comprising main cities.
• Area B: Palestinian
Council responsibility for civil affairs and
maintenance of Public order, while Israel
retained overriding security
responsibility to safeguard its citizens
and to combat terrorism. Comprised
small towns.
• Area C: comprising all Jewish settlements, areas of strategic
importance to Israel. Ful Israeli responsibility for security and public
order.
Multilateral Talks
• To address broader regional issues.
• Such as water resources, environment, refugees, arms
control, and economic development, among others.
• The idea was to foster cooperation and address common
challenges faced by the region as a whole.
Impacts of the Conference
1. Direct Negotiations
2. Recognition of Israel State
3. Oslo Accord 1993
4. Diplomatic Channels
Downfall
• 1995: Assassination of Israeli PM Yitzak Rabin by extremist Jews
• Rise of Hamas(Palestinian Militant Group) against PLO
• 2002: Violent clashes against Israelis and Palestinians
• 2006: Hamas wins election in Palestine
• 2007: civil war between PLO and Hamas
• Palestine divided into 2 parts
• Hamas took control of Gaza strip and PLO the area of West Bank
• Gaza strip controlled by Hamas often seems to be more tensioned.
Conclusion
• Unprecedented gathering of bitter enemies.
• Participants put their disputes aside and bring a peaceful resolution to
Arab-Israel conflict.
• Provided diplomatic channel for negotiations.
• Major challenge: Extremism
• Possible Solution: a mutually agreed comprehensive peace treaty
between Isarael and Palestine also including neighboring Arab
countries.
References
1. https://embassies.gov.il/UnGeneva/AboutIsrael/history/Pages/History
-Peace-Process.aspx
2. https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-44124396
3. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2327&cont
ext=td

4. https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/israeli-palestinian-
conflict

5. https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/oslo-accords
6. https://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp472.htm
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CISbbt1x2dc&ab_channel=Dhruv
Thanks for
Participation !!