Oslo Accords at 30: Israel's controversial role in subverting the agreement

As the Oslo Accords enter their 30th anniversary on September 13, what’s remained of this historic agreement is nothing but a hollowed structure with a complex tapestry of unfulfilled promises.

Signed by Palestinian and Israeli leaders at the White House on September 13, 1993, the accords were a result of hard negotiations in Oslo, Norway, and described as a hope for peace in Palestine.

The Accords brought together then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) leader Yasser Arafat. Their aim was to initiate a process leading to a two-state solution that would finally bring an end to decades of conflict.

Yet, as we look back at this milestone, Israel’s dithering and increasing use of violence against Palestinians violated the historic agreement.

Structural imbalance

From the outset, the Oslo Accords exhibited a structural imbalance that favoured Israel. Critics argue that it yielded what some call hegemonic peace where Israeli occupiers held disproportionate power.

The PLO was compelled to recognise Israel as a fully-fledged state occupying 78 percent of historic Palestine, while Israel merely acknowledged the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people, with no recognition of a Palestinian state.

And there was no agreement to freeze the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Deferred critical issues

Oslo's deliberate strategy of deferring "final status issues" such as the establishment of a Palestinian state, security arrangements, the status of Jerusalem, and Palestinian refugees contributed to its ultimate failure. After seven years of inconclusive interim agreements, the Oslo process reached an impasse, leading to the eruption of the second Palestinian Intifada in 2000.

Settlement expansion and infrastructure development

One of the most contentious aspects of Oslo's failure was the relentless expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

By 2023, over 700,000 settlers resided in 279 illegal settlements, further complicating the path to a two-state solution.

What added to this complexity was Israel's strategic development of a network of bypass roads, separation wall and security checkpoints, actions taken under the pretext of complying with the Oslo Accords.

These bypass roads, which emerged during the Oslo Accords negotiations, are Israeli roadways constructed within the occupied Palestinian Territories. Their purpose was to link West Bank settlements with each other and with pre-1967 Israeli territory.

However, these bypass roads, often viewed as the embodiment of unequal treatment, had far-reaching consequences. They effectively divided the West Bank into isolated cantons, adversely affecting Palestinian agricultural land and development initiatives.

Palestinians found themselves subject to various restrictions and prohibitions when navigating these roads, further underscoring the disparity in rights and privileges between Jewish settlers and the indigenous Palestinian population.

The unravelling of the Oslo Accords

The decline of the Oslo Accords was a gradual unravelling marked by numerous challenges posed by Israel with its occupation of Palestinian territories, expansion of its illegal settlements and conducting military incursions into areas administered by the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Within Israel, right-wing groups also strongly opposed making concessions to Palestinians and were sceptical of dealing with the PLO.

Their opposition to the Oslo Accords was so strong that it resulted in the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 by a far-right extremist. After Rabin's death, Israel saw a change in leadership, with figures like Benjamin Netanyahu and Ariel Sharon coming to power, all of whom had reservations about the accords.

The outbreak of the Second Intifada from 2000 to 2005 brought about many casualties, especially among Palestinians, which further damaged willingness to move the peace process forward.

Today, three decades later, the possibility of a Palestinian state seems unlikely in the short and medium term and the dream of Palestinian statehood and the elusive two-state solution seem as distant as ever.