Oslo accords are two Middle East peace agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The Oslo peace process began in 1993 and produced a number of agreements. The first agreement, sometimes called Oslo I, was signed in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 13, 1993. This agreement followed several months of secret negotiations between representatives of Israel and the PLO. The negotiations took place mostly in or near Oslo, Norway. The second accord, often referred to as Oslo II, was signed in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 28, 1995.
Oslo I is officially known as the Declaration of Principles (DOP). The pact established a framework and timetable for the Middle East peace process. It provided for an interim Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip and the town of Jericho in the West Bank. Palestinians, an Arab people, make up the vast majority of the population in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, but both territories had been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. According to Oslo I, administration of the Gaza Strip and Jericho would pass from the Israeli military to a civilian Palestinian administration. Eventually, elections were to be held for a Palestinian Legislative Council.
Oslo II, formally called the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, expanded on Oslo I. Its terms included provisions for the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from 6 Israeli-occupied West Bank cities and about 450 towns. It also outlined the partial Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank town of Hebron. In addition, the pact set a timetable for elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council and detailed the powers of that body.
As a result of the Oslo accords, the Israelis withdrew from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank by 1996. In January 1996, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank elected a legislature and a president to make laws and administer these areas.
The Oslo peace process continued into the early 2000’s. But Israeli and Palestinian leaders were unable to resolve some key issues and agree on a final peace settlement. In September 2000, Palestinians began riots and demonstrations against Israeli security forces. Numerous attacks by Palestinian militias and suicide bombers took place throughout Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces repeatedly bombed and invaded the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Many people saw the violence as a sign that the Oslo peace process had collapsed. In 2002, Israel reoccupied most West Bank cities.
