Summary

1993 was a year of historic diplomatic initiatives in the Middle East. The most important development was the signing of the Declaration of Principles by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the result of secret negotiations held in Norway. The new international environment was instrumental in creating the conditions for this agreement—the dissolution of the Soviet Union and decline of Moscow's support for the hard-line Arab states and the PLO; the alliances formed in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the PLO's dramatic loss of support as a result of the alliance with Saddam Hussein; a shift in Israeli domestic politics; and the rise of Islamist groups in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip which weakened the position of Yasser Arafat and forced Israel to look more closely at internal Palestinian dynamics.

The Declaration commits the signatories to a comprehensive peace settlement and provided for the establishment of a Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority in the West Bank and Gaza. It allows for a five-year process during which details—Palestinian representation, the holding of elections, Jerusalem, the fate of refugees, Israeli settlements and borders—are to be resolved. The deadline of 13 December 1993 for initiating the transfer of power passed because details of the interim phase (the size of the Jericho area from which Israel would withdraw, control over the border crossings between the West Bank and Jordan and between Gaza and Egypt, and Israel's authority in security matters in the occupied territories) had not been resolved, but the first steps of withdrawal were taken in early 1994. There are other promising signs, such as regional co-operation on the social, environmental and economic levels, and the prospect of large-scale international investment. Nevertheless, the later stages of the five-year process, during which some of the most contentious issues will be addressed, still pose a formidable challenge.

Throughout 1993, official bilateral peace talks continued between Israel and Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinians and Syria, resuming in April after agreement was reached on the fate of 415 suspected Hamas activists expelled by Israel to southern Lebanon. There was little apparent progress: talks between Israel and the Palestinians were deadlocked over the issue of Jerusalem, and Syria continued to demand total Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights and the evacuation of settlements from occupied Syrian land as a condition of peace. Nevertheless, Israel acknowledged a willingness to discuss an exchange of land for peace on the Golan Heights, Israel stated its interest in Lebanon as being `limited to security'; and Israel and Jordan initialed their Common Agenda, which stated the common goal of a `just, lasting and comprehensive peace' and a commitment to address a number of issues including security, water, refugees and displaced persons, borders and territorial matters.

The year ended with continuing negotiation on implementation of the Israel-PLO agreement and an expected resumption of bilateral and multilateral negotiations concerning other fronts.

Appendix 3A. Documents on the Middle East peace process