The Oslo Peace Process

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The Oslo Peace Process

Introduction

In the entire international political system, the Middle East has had many systems, which are extensively penetrated. The great powers in the region had been rivals ever since the year 1978, when Napoleon came to Egypt. It is a fact that the Far East and Europe viewed the Middle East as a vital gateway. Furthermore, the world became interested in the region after oil was discovered. The dispute that exists between the Arabs and Israelis is responsible for the instability, which exists in the region. In modern times, the conflict between the Israelis and the Arabs is known to be intractable, protracted, as well as bitter. In turn, there have been many peace negotiation processes in an attempt to resolve the situation. The Oslo peace process is one such attempt that failed to yield any positive results (Eran, 2002).

This paper seeks to give a critical analysis concerning the impact that the Oslo Peace Process had on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Analysis of the Oslo Peace Process during the Isreali-Palestinian Conflict

The conflict and tension, which have existed between the Palestinians and Israelis, has attracted a lot of attention. In turn, various parties saw the need to solve the problem, which threatened the life of many people. This is after the USSR broke up, American pressure, as well as after the Gulf War ended. In turn, the international world provided a conducive environment that sort to solve the problem, which the Israelis had. Between the years 1993 to the year 1995, the PLO and Israel signed the Oslo Interim Agreement, and the Oslo Declaration of Principles. The documents sort to ensure that a Palestinian National Authority existed for a specific purpose. The agency would ensure that it negotiated with Israel as it had a temporary entity on matters concerning Gaza and the West Bank. Fortunately, it yielded excellent results, and in the year 1994, the peace treaty was signed (Slater, 2001).

Later on in the year 1996, Israeli troops withdrew from the Gaza Strip and other areas in the West Bank. The Fatah faction, a controlled legislature, was formed by Palestinians who had control over the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The members of the faction elected Yasser Arafat as Chairman, and he had the authority to govern the said areas. In turn, the Palestinians took over the lands, which they Israelis had occupied. Moreover, the Israelis introduced a settlement program for its people, in order to ensure that they had shelter. Therefore, by the year 2004, many housing units were built for the many homeless Israelis. According to the principles of the Oslo Declaration, the PLO would not engage in any violent acts, especially to the new settlers (Slater, 2001).

The Israelis were not in favor of the peace process and it even led to the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin an Israeli Prime Minister. The new Israeli prime minister known as Shimon Peres made sure that the Oslo Interim Agreement was signed when he came into power. During his tenure, there were countless suicide bombings by the Hamas, and Benjamin Netanyahu took over leadership. Netanyahu did not support the peace process, and he created a lot of controversy concerning this matter (Pappe, 2004). There were extreme numbers of causalities, as a result of rioting, after Netanyahu was accused by the Arabs for trying to threaten Al-Aqsa mosques security. The PNA and Israel, despite Netanyahu’s opposition, signed the Hebron interim agreement in the year 1997. Around 500 settlers were left to live in the Arab city after the withdrawal of the IDF. In the following year, Palestinians became even more committed towards preventing incitement and terror; also, the Israelis withdrew its troops. Even, after Netanyahu left his leadership position, Barak the new Prime Minister continued with the peace process. However, he failed in his mission, as extreme violence took place in the year 2000.

Conclusion

It is quite evident that the Oslo Peace Process did not solve the problem as it broke down instead. It seems that it would face eminent disaster from the time that it began as it had many shot comings. It failed to address the key reason why Palestinians and Israelis were at conflict with each other. There is also evidence to suggest that, under Likud’s leadership, the deal did not materialize. Moreover, political progress could not be achieved as long as trust did not exist. In a bid to expand its territory, the Isreali came up with policies, which lead to loss of momentum and mistrust. It is due to this policy that the conflict does not seem to come to an end. In conclusion, the Oslo Peace Process is a notable event, which took place in the Middle East. Though it did not yield any rewarding results, it is regarded as a path towards achieving peace. There is a need to ensure that more is done by the International world to ensure that peace will one day prevail in the Middle East.

References

Pappe, I. (2004). A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Slater, J. (2001). What Went Wrong? The Collapse of the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process, Political Science, 116, 2, 171-199.

Eran, Oded. (2002). Arab-Israel Peacemaking.” The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East. Ed. New York: Continuum.