RL33530
Israeli-Arab Negotiations: Background, Conflicts, and U.S. Policy
September 01, 2006
Download Locations
Summary
After the first Gulf war, in 1991, a new peace process involved bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon with mixed results. Milestones included the Israeli-Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Declaration of Principles (DOP) of September 13, 1991, providing for Palestinian empowerment and some territorial control; the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty of October 26, 1994; and the Interim Self-Rule in the West Bank or Oslo II accord of September 28, 1995, which led to the formation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to govern the West Bank and Gaza. However, Israeli-Syrian negotiations were intermittent and difficult, and postponed indefinitely in 2000. Negotiations with Lebanon also were unsuccessful, leading Israel to withdraw unilaterally from south Lebanon on May 24, 2000. President Clinton held a summit with Israeli and Palestinian leaders at Camp David on final status issues that July, but they did not produce an accord. A Palestinian uprising or intifadah began in September. On February 6, 2001, Ariel Sharon was elected Prime Minister of Israel, and rejected steps taken at Camp David and afterwards. The post 9/11 war on terrorism prompted renewed U.S. focus on a peace process, emphasizing as its goal a democratic Palestinian state as a precondition for achieving peace. On April 30, 2003, the United States, the U.N., European Union, and Russia (known as the "Quartet") presented a "Roadmap" to Palestinian statehood within three years. It has not been implemented by either Israel or the Palestinians. In what he considered the absence of a Palestinian partner for peace, Sharon proposed that Israel unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip and four small settlements in the West Bank. On August 23, 2005, Israel completed this disengagement. PA Chairman/President Yasir Arafat died on November 11, 2004; on January 9, 2005, Mahmud Abbas was elected to succeed him and he seeks final status talks. Since Hamas, which Israel and the United States consider a terrorist group, won the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections, however, the situation has been complicated. Israeli officials offered ideas for unilateral disengagement from more of the West Bank, but not a fully developed plan. The U.S. Administration and others have urged them to negotiate first, but agree that Hamas is not a negotiating partner. The kidnapings of Israeli soldiers by Hamas and Hezbollah in June and July, respectively, sparked conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon and led Israeli officials to shelve further unilateralism. They also cast shadows on the prospects for future talks. Congress is interested in issues related to Middle East peace because of its oversight role in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy, its support for Israel, and keen constituent interest. It is especially concerned about U.S. financial and other commitments to the parties. Members also have endorsed Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel, although U.S. Administrations have consistently maintained that the fate of the city is the subject of final status negotiations. This CRS report replaces CRS Issue Brief IB91137, The Middle East Peace Talks, and will be updated as developments warrant. See also CRS Report RL33566, Lebanon: The Israel-Hamas-Hezbollah Conflict, coordinated by Jeremy Sharp.
