The Oslo Accords

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170922-living-with-the-negative-consequences-of-the-oslo-accords/

The Oslo Accords, signed in 1993, were meant to create peace in the violent nation of Israel. The Accords were signed by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Negotiator Mahmoud Abbas. This was meant to come to the conclusion that Israel would recognize the PLO as the representation of Palestine, the PLO to renounce terrorism, and the Palestine Authority would govern the West Bank and Gaza Strip for five years. (Milestones: 1993-2000)

I find it strange, yet not surprising that the two leaders that signed the accords were so hated by the opposing group. Rabin and Abbas were both seen as terrorists in the other group’s eyes. The fact that these two figures were so polarizing in the different groups shows the true violence and division within the state of Israel.

The violence and division are shown again when Rabin was assassinated by a right-leaning zionist. The zionist believed that Rabin was losing control of the land by trying to make peace with the signing of the Olso Accords. After the murder, the Oslo Accords basically seemed to never exist. The decided peace went with Rabin as he was killed. This led to “a new round of Israeli-Palestinian violence,” (Milestones: 1993-2000). As we can see, violence and division continued to reign in Israeli-Palestinian conflicts.

This occurrence led to a general questioning of the peace-making process. Will there ever be true peace? Some people will always be upset with a decision being made by their governmental official. We see this theme carried on today. There are so many death threats made toward the United States President from the opposing party. So again, we must question what will make an effective peace-making process. Just signing an accord decided on usually by the wealthy officials of a group, doesn’t go into depth on an individual’s issues with the opposing group. This is one problem I see in the process. If the world wants to have an actually effective peace-making process, then we need to reevaluate how individuals are affected by the government’s actions. Maybe if Rabin had consulted with his community he would have lived to see another day.

Sources:

“Milestones: 1993-2000.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, history.state.gov/milestones/1993-2000/oslo#:~:text=On%20September%2013%2C%201993%2C%20Israeli,%2C%E2%80%9D%20at%20the%20White%20House.