The Middle East peace process continues to forge ahead, but not without serious concerns and repeated setbacks. This research provides a brief historical description of the development of the peace process and charts its current status. The respective roles of the United States, Israel and the Palestinian Authority are all described.
Recent years have witnessed a series of landmarks in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Following intense behind-the-scenes contacts between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Oslo, an agreement was achieved between Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat (Satloff 14). On September 9, 1993, Chairman Arafat sent a letter to Prime Minister Rabin, in which he stated unequivocally that the PLO: recognizes the right of Israel to exist in peace and security; accepts UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338; commits itself to a peaceful resolution of the conflict; assumes responsibility over all PLO elements to ensure their compliance, prevent violations, and discipline violators; and undertakes to submit to the Palestinian National Council for formal approval the necessary changes to the Covenant. In reply, Israel recognized the PLO as the representative of the Palestinians in the peace negotiations.
A massive terrorist attack against Israeli civilians 19 months ago brought the peace process to an utter standstill - until last month+s Wye Agreements ("Wake" 47).
After nine days and nights of tortuous negotiations, Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel signed a modest agreement that restores life to the Middle East peace effort and opens the way for talks on a final resolution of the 50-year-old fight over whether the Palestinians will have a state. The agreements were signed at the Wye River Conference Center in Maryland ("Wake" 47).
A proud, relieved President Clinton, who had seen the agre...