Israeli-Arab Negotiations: Background, Conflicts, and U.S. Policy (PDF; 310 KB)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
After the first Gulf war, in 1991, a new peace process consisting of
bilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Jordan,
Syria, and Lebanon achieved mixed results. Milestones included the
Israeli-Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Declaration of
Principles (DOP) of September 13, 1993, 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 Strip.
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.
On April 30, 2003, the United States, the U.N., European Union, and
Russia (known as the “Quartet”) presented a “Road Map” to Palestinian
statehood. Neither Israel nor the Palestinians have implemented it.
Israel unilaterally disengaged (withdrew) from the Gaza Strip and four
small settlements in the West Bank in August 2005. On January 9, 2005,
Mahmud Abbas was elected to succeed Yasir Arafat as President of the
PA. The victory of Hamas, which Israel and the United States consider a
terrorist group, in the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary
elections complicated prospects for peace because the United States,
Israel, and the Quartet would not deal with a Hamas-led government
until it disavowed violence, recognized Israel, and accepted prior
Israeli-Palestinian accords. The June 2007 Hamas military takeover of
the Gaza Strip and President Abbas’s dissolution of the Hamas-led
government resulted in resumed international contacts with the PA. On
November 27, President Bush convened an international conference in
Annapolis, MD, and read a Joint Understanding reached by Abbas and
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in which they agreed to
simultaneously resume bilateral negotiations on core issues and
implement the Road Map.
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,
and the 110th Congress is engaged in these matters. Congress also has
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 will be
updated as developments warrant.