 |
|
|
|
7. The West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and Gaza were never controlled by any Palestinian government or organization until 1993, when Israel agreed to give the Palestinian Authority certain controls under the Oslo Peace accords.
Jews have lived in the West Bank and Gaza Strip throughout recorded history, until the 1948 War of Independence, when they were forced to flee the invading Arab armies. Indeed, some of the current Jewish settlement communities existed prior to 1948, when they where overrun by invading Arab armies and destroyed. Kfar Etzion and other villages in the Jerusalem-Bethlehem corridor fell to Arab forces in May 1948 and those captured were massacred. Sons and daughters of Jews who lived there until 1948 were the first to return after the 1967 war.
Israel's administration of the territory in 1967 replaced Jordan's control of the West Bank and Egypt's of the Gaza Strip. Egypt and Jordan gained control of these areas during the 1948 War with the newly established Israel, which according to the 1947 UN Partition Plan, were to be part of the independent Arab state to be established alongside an independent Jewish state. Neither Jordan nor Egypt had legal sovereignty over these areas. Israel maintains that these areas can thus not be considered "occupied territories" under international law, since Israel did not "occupy" them from another sovereign nation, but are "disputed territories" over which there are competing claims, and whose future must be determined through negotiations. Since 1967, Israeli governments have maintained a willingness to withdraw from areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a component of a comprehensive peace agreement with the Arabs, but it has proved impossible to negotiate such an agreement despite many attempts.
With the negotiating deadlock, Israel found itself with a million Palestinian Arabs under its control and began administering the territories in what has become wrongfully known as the Israeli "occupation" of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel hoped that its authority over the Palestinians in these areas would be short-lived. Since Israel did not annex or incorporate the West Bank and Gaza into Israel proper, it could not apply the civil, democratic laws that govern Israeli civilian life to the residents of the territories and those territories continue under military administration.
The Oslo Accords (or "Declaration of Principles On Interim Self-Government Arrangements") were signed on September 13, 1993 by representatives of the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The Washington ceremony was hosted by US President Bill Clinton who smiled as Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin ended decades as sworn enemies with an uneasy handshake.
The Oslo Accords committed both parties to a range of obligations. Since then, claims of "Oslo violations" have come thick and fast. The interim agreements were intended to build trust between the parties as preparation for negotiations on a final settlement. As is now clear, however, Israel found little reason to regard the PLO as a trustworthy partner, and little hope of future peaceful coexistence with a Palestinian state on its border.
The main points of the Oslo Accords (or Declaration of Principles = DOP):
- Transfer of Powers to the Palestinians (West Bank and Gaza)
- The DOP does not prejudge the Permanent Status on issues certain issues such as Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, security arrangements and borders.
- Security remains an Israeli responsibility
With 20-20 hindsight it is now clear that the Oslo process, "land for peace", has only encouraged Israel's enemies. The terrorist violence has risen and fallen since 1993, but the trend line is always up, more violence and terror directed against Israel and Jewish people in the territories. There is always an excuse -- the settlements, the refugees, the checkpoints, etc. etc. -- but even as Israel has partially withdrawn, has given the Palestinian Authority control of 95% of the Palestinian population, has offered more and more concessions and has agreed to peace plan after peace plan, all that comes back from the Palestinians is terror and more demands.
Learn more about Oslo Accords:
http://palestinefacts.org/pf_1991to_now_oslo_accords.php
Oslo ÒScorecardÓ tracking violations of the Oslo Accord:
http://christianactionforisrael.org/medigest/sept98/scorcard.html
|
|
|