Palestinian Authority and peace negotiations
Further information:
Palestinian views on the peace process § Yasser Arafat and the PLO
Oslo Accords
Yitzhak Rabin,
Bill Clinton, and Arafat during the
Oslo Accords on 13 September 1993
Arafat,
Shimon Peres and Rabin receiving the
Nobel Peace Prize following the
Oslo Accords, 10 December 1994
In the early 1990s, Arafat and leading Fatah officials engaged the Israeli government in a series of secret talks and negotiations that led to the
1993 Oslo Accords.
[70][100] The agreement called for the implementation of Palestinian self-rule in portions of the West Bank and Gaza Strip over a five-year period, along with an immediate halt to and gradual removal of Israeli settlements in those areas. The accords called for a Palestinian police force to be formed from local recruits and Palestinians abroad, to patrol areas of self-rule. Authority over the various fields of rule, including education and culture,
social welfare,
direct taxation and tourism, would be transferred to the Palestinian interim government. Both parties agreed also on forming a committee that would establish cooperation and coordination dealing with specific economic sectors, including utilities, industry, trade and communication.
[101]
Prior to signing the accords, Arafat—as Chairman of the PLO and its official representative—signed two letters renouncing violence and officially recognizing Israel. In return, Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin, on behalf of Israel, officially recognized the PLO.
[102] The following year, Arafat and Rabin were awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize, along with
Shimon Peres.
[103] The Palestinian reaction was mixed. The
Rejectionist Front of the PLO allied itself with Islamists in a common opposition against the agreements. It was rejected also by
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan as well as by many Palestinian intellectuals and the local leadership of the Palestinian territories. However, the inhabitants of the territories generally accepted the agreements and Arafat's promise for peace and economic well-being.
[104]
Establishing authority in the territories
In accordance with the terms of the Oslo agreement, Arafat was required to implement PLO authority in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He insisted that financial support was imperative to establishing this authority and needed it to secure the acceptance of the agreements by the Palestinians living in those areas. However,
Arab states of the Persian Gulf—Arafat's usual source for financial backing—still refused to provide him and the PLO with any major donations for siding with Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War.
[104] Ahmed Qurei—a key Fatah negotiator during the negotiations in Oslo—publicly announced that the PLO was bankrupt.
[105]
In 1994, Arafat moved to
Gaza City, which was controlled by the
Palestinian National Authority (PNA)—the provisional entity created by the Oslo Accords.
[103] Arafat became the
President and
Prime Minister of the PNA, the Commander of the
PLA and the
Speaker of the
PLC. In July, after the PNA was declared the official government of the Palestinians, the
Basic Laws of the Palestinian National Authority was published,
[106] in three different versions by the PLO. Arafat proceeded with creating a structure for the PNA. He established an
executive committee or cabinet composed of twenty members. Arafat also replaced and assigned mayors and city councils for major cities such as Gaza and
Nablus. He began subordinating non-governmental organizations that worked in education, health, and social affairs under his authority by replacing their elected leaders and directors with PNA officials loyal to him. He then appointed himself chairman of the Palestinian financial organization that was created by the
World Bank to control most aid money towards helping the new Palestinian entity.
[104]
Arafat established a Palestinian police force, named the Preventive Security Service (PSS), that became active on 13 May 1994. It was mainly composed of PLA soldiers and foreign Palestinian volunteers. Arafat assigned Mohammed Dahlan and Jibril Rajoub to head the PSS.[104] Amnesty International accused Arafat and the PNA leadership of failing to adequately investigate abuses by the PSS (including torture and unlawful killings) against political opponents and dissidents as well as the arrests of human rights activists.[107]