Word: oslo
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...some time after the first Oslo peace accord in 1993, Arafat appeared to have genuinely embraced the idea of pursuing his political goal--an independent Palestinian state--through negotiations alone. But something flipped. That became evident two summers ago when, at talks at Camp David, the Israelis offered him their best deal yet on a state. By objective measure, the offer still wasn't good enough, but Arafat didn't merely reject it. He could have asked for more or counter-proposed; instead he left the table, went home and fueled a new uprising, which led to this...
...Oslo's basic premise was that the Palestinians would renounce violence and guarantee Israel's security in exchange for Israel agreeing in principle to end its occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. That Oslo's breakdown has led to a resumption of violence is no surprise; before the agreement, the two sides had been locked in a six-year intifada...
...reopen negotiations over ending the occupation. The counter-argument has been that this would "reward violence." But that's simply denial of the obvious - the only reason the Israelis started talking to the Palestinians in the first place was because they were in a state of violent rebellion. The Oslo process would never have happened were it not for the first intifada. The purpose of a peace process is to create mechanisms other than force for each side to pursue their objectives. To avoid creating such mechanisms for fear of "rewarding violence" only prolongs the season of violence...
...Even two years ago, the idea that the former general known as one of Israel's leading hawks would become Prime Minister in a landslide victory of would have been laughed at. So, too, the idea that the fierce enemy of the Oslo peace process and longtime champion of the movement to settle Israelis in the occupied lands of the West Bank and Gaza could govern in coalition with the likes of Oslo architect and arch-dove Shimon Peres. Equally outlandish, perhaps, was the idea that a man so out of step with the prevailing drift in U.S. policy...
...pillar of any cease-fire or peace plan, because they will be responsible for preventing attacks on Israelis. If the current offensive leaves their ability to maintain order impaired, Israel will find itself compelled to continue to police the recently reoccupied towns - a scenario that would reverse the entire Oslo peace process, and set U.S. policy in the region back by more than a decade...