Word: rabins
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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What began with small-scale skirmishes, like a dispute over access to Jerusalem's Wailing Wall, escalated over time into a millennial blood feud involving the entire Middle East and turning the region into a pivot of superpower conflict. In light of that record, one of Rabin's statements last week was extraordinary. Explaining the peace formula to his government partners, Israel's Prime Minister declared, "The past no longer matters." To a nation founded on the premise that the past must be remembered so as not to be repeated, the remark verged on blasphemy. But Rabin did not forget...
Shlomo Gazit, Israel's first coordinator of the occupation and now a senior research fellow at the Jaffee Center at Tel Aviv University, believes the militants will be heard from but will fail to stop the peace process. "Rabin's message is clear: they have lost the war for Greater Israel. They will try to mobilize public opinion, but public opinion will be happy with this agreement. If in the next five years there will be no intifadeh, and no terror, then who the hell cares about Greater Israel...
...Israelis made it clear that they did not officially represent their government but were simply "exploring issues." Still, they kept in constant contact with Beilin -- and through him Foreign Minister Peres, who touched base with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. At first, a crucial question for the Israelis was whether the P.L.O. figures were speaking for Yasser Arafat. As the negotiations went on, however, the Israelis came to believe that they were. Says Pundak: "We saw their reaction when they came away from the phone. It was clear that the Old Man ((Arafat)) was part of the deal...
...Rabin, who was also entertaining feelers from the Palestinians by way of Egypt, remained cautious about the talks. But by March, Rabin authorized Peres to keep close but still unofficial tabs on what was being called the "Oslo Channel." By then, the Knesset had repealed the law prohibiting Israelis from meeting with the P.L.O...
...both sides had produced a draft that Pundak describes as "very interesting stuff." Interesting enough to entice two Israeli Foreign Ministry officials, Uri Savir and Yoel Singer, to travel to Norway soon thereafter for a firsthand look and to join the negotiations. At this point, Arafat in Tunis and Rabin in Jerusalem had been fully persuaded that the channel was more fact than fantasy, and both leaders were closely monitoring the drafting of a declaration of principles in which every nuance was fought over...