CAMP DAVID - signed on Sept. 18, 1978
The lasting result of these peace talks which started on March 26, 1978, was the signing of a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt in Washington. Based on the agreement for framework for peace in the Middle East agreed at Camp David, the treaty invovled a zzz*ztermination in the state of warzzz*z between the two countries, withdrawal of Israeli forces to the international boundary between Egypt and Mandated Palestine and establishment of a permanent boundary between Israel and Egypt.
MADRID CONFERENCE - convened on Oct. 30, 1991
The Palestinian-Israeli bilateral negotiations were held in ten rounds over a period of two years. They ended without forging an agreement or an understanding.
There was however a breakthrough on issues, especially the issue of illegal Israeli settlement in Palestinian territory which became a central issue of dispute. The positions of each side were summarized in a Palestinian document, PISGA, and an Israeli document, ISGA.
OSLO ACCORDS - signed on Sept. 13, 1993
The Declaration of Principles, DOP, stipulated that there should be a five-year interim period, during which a Palestinian Authority (PA) would be established in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The document was signed by the Palestinian Liberation Organization Chairman, Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minster, Yitzhak Rabin at the White House on 13 September 1993.
Negotiations that started at Oslo culminated in the Palestinian-Israeli Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, reached on 28 September 1995.The interim agreement would govern the relationship between Palestinians and Israelis during the five-year interim period.
CAMP DAVID II - convened on July 11, 2000
The Camp David summit convened on July 11, 2000. The peace talks that were held between Prime Minister Ehud Barak and President Yasser Arafat and facilitated by President Clinton lasted till July 25, 2007 and ended without success.
A trilateral statement was issued by the involved parties detailing the issues and obstacles of the negotiations. The document reveals that the two parties agreed upon UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 and the general principle of achieving an agreement on ‘final status issues’ as soon as possible.
Both parties were unable to reach an agreement over Jerusalem and its holy sites. Barak offered 73 percent of occupied West Bank and 100 percent of Gaza. He proposed that the territory in West Bank would eventually expand to 91 percent once the 63 Jewish settlements were withdrawn. Arafat rejected the offer. Consequently, he bore a larger part of the responsibility for failure of negotiations. Arafat also refused to relinquish right of return for Palestinian refugees. The Palestinian leadership was expected to make a majority of the concessions during these peace talks. Arafat felt that the solution was not equitable and favoured the Israelis.
GENEVA INTITIATVE - launched on December 1, 2003
Also known as the Draft Permanent Status Agreement, the intiative was launched against the backdrop of the second Intifada as a parallel track by Israelzzz*zs Yossi Beilin and PA minister Yasser Abed Rabbo. The intitiative sought solutions to all final status issues. It called for mutual recognition between the two parties. Palestinians would recognize Israel as the national home of the Jews while Israelis would recognize an indepedent Palestinian state as the national home of the Palestinian people.
TABA SUMMIT - convened on Jan. 21, 2001
These talks were held from January 21-27, 2001 between Israel and Palestinian Authority to reach an agreement on the final status issues of the peace process. Although the talks came very close to reaching conclusions, they were abandoned due to Israeli elections and the second Intifada that started against the backdrop of failed negotiations at Camp David.
ANNAPOLIS CONFERENCE - convened on November 27, 2007
The Annapolis conference held on November 27, 2007 is the latest multilateral effort toward achieving peace. Led by the United States as the chief facilitator and negotiator, the conference was held amidst unfovorable ground realities and weak governments on the Israeli and Palestinian sides. Neither Olmert nor Abbas commanded enough support for negotiations to progress at the domestic and international level.
While President Abbas called for an equitable solution based on the Arab initiative, including the right of return, Prime Minister Olmert did not mention such a return. Olmert did acknowledge the refugee situation but insisted that Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
A joint-action committee was established to formulate and implement a peace process plan that would facilitate conditions favourable to both sides. Dismantling of settlements was a main target of this plan but efforts to halt new settlements and freeze expansion of existing ones have not come to fruition. Settlement construction has accelerated at an unprecedented pace in 2009.