Blocked by Israel every time

In nearly every attempt to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict peacefully, Israel has blocked the way of peace, either by refusing outright to withdraw to 1967 borders as laid down in international Resolutions No. 242 and 338, or by expanding its colonies and escalating the aggression against the Palestinians. These facts are evident through the various peace proposals, and Israel's reaction to them.

The Jarring Mission

Security Council Resolution No. 242 of November 22, 1967 called upon the Secretary General to appoint a special representative to proceed to the Middle East and help to achieve a peaceful, accepted settlement. Gunnar Jarring, Sweden's Ambassador to the Soviet Union, was appointed.

His mission was based on the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from the territories occupied in the 1967 war and the termination of all states of belligerency between the parties, in accordance with the provisions of Resolution 242.

Jarring found that the divergence between the Israelis and the Palestinians was significant. Indeed, for the Israeli government the settlement of the Middle East question could be reached only through direct negotiations between the parties culminating in a peace treaty and there could be no question of withdrawal of their forces prior to such a settlement while the Arabs insisted on a withdrawal prior to any negotiation.

The other obstacle was Israel's interpretation of the Security Council resolution to read that withdrawal did not apply to all land occupied in 1967, hence contravening the resolution and international law.

The Rogers Plan

By the end of 1969, when the Jarring mission reached an impasse, U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers announced a new peace plan for the Middle East. In fact, the U.S. decided it had a responsibility to play a direct role in seeking a solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict.

The Rogers plan envisaged Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank to its 1967 borders, with minor modifications for mutual security, in exchange for peace with the Arab countries. The basic related issues of this plan were peace, security, withdrawal and respect for each party's sovereignty. Although Jordan and Egypt publicly accepted the plan, its rejection by Israel doomed it to failure.

Camp David I

In 1978, U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin met in Camp David and worked out two agreements: one, between Egypt and Israel, concluded in 1979, through which Egypt regained its occupied land; the other was about a solution to the Palestinian cause. It stipulated granting autonomy to the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and setting up a local administration for an interim period of five years.

The final status of the territories was to be negotiated after the lapse of this term. The Palestinian and Arab countries rejected it because it did not guarantee withdrawal from areas occupied in 1967 and establishing a Palestinian state. However, Begin violated his commitments and spoiled negotiations by confiscating Palestinian land and building new colonies.

The Reagan Plan

U.S. President Reagan announced in 1982 a peace plan formulated by Secretary of State George P. Shultz. The plan called for freezing construction of colonies and proposed autonomy for the Palestinians after five years, in association with Jordan, but no independent state. The question of the borders was vague, but it reiterated support for UN Resolution 242's land-for-peace principle.

Israel's Prime Minister Menachem Begin rejected the Reagan plan the day after it was announced and declared that Israel would proceed to build 42 new colonies. The Reagan (Shultz) peace plan was issued almost simultaneously with the Arab League's Fez plan of September 1982.

The Fahd peace plan

The peace plan initiated by Saudi Crown Prince Fahd bin Abdulaziz in 1981 was adopted by the Arab League Summit held in Fez in 1982.

His initiative called on Israel to withdraw from all Arab territories occupied in 1967, the right of return of Palestinians, to set up a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital; and that all states in the region should be able to live in peace.

The Twelfth Summit Conference's declaration hence called for the withdrawal of Israel from territories occupied in 1967, the dismantling of Israeli colonies in the occupied territories, the reaffirmation of the Palestinian right to self-determination, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State after a transitional period under the control of the United Nations. The Fez Declaration also called for the Security Council to guarantee peace "among all states of the region, including the independent Palestinian State".

The plan and the declaration failed as Israel perpetrated the Sabra and Shatila massacres in Lebanon while at the same time kept expanding its colonies in Palestine.

PLO peace initiative and the Baker-Bush Plan

In 1988, Yasser Arafat declared the establishment of the state of Palestine, renounced terrorism, accepted Security Council Resolution 242 and called for an international peace conference under UN auspices involving Palestinians, the Arabs and the Israelis. Israel rejected Arafat's proposal and refused to deal with Arafat, accusing him of terrorism.

In 1990, the U.S. Secretary of State, James Baker, formulated another peace plan, based on the implementation of Shamir's initiative of May 1989, which called for elections in the occupied territories to choose a Palestinian delegation to the negotiations. The process was to produce a settlement on borders with Jordan. Shamir's conditions were clear: no Palestinian state, no negotiations with the PLO or Palestinians affiliated with it and no change in the status of the territories except according to the Israeli government's guidelines. Hence, the Baker plan failed because of these impossible conditions.

The Oslo Accords

Israel and the PLO started secret negotiations in Oslo, Norway. The negotiations resulted in the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles, which was signed in Washington in September 1993.

The Declaration of Principles stipulated that both Israel and the PLO recognise each other, Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip and Jericho, with further withdrawals from unspecified areas of the West Bank during an interim period of five years. The major issues such as the extent of territories that Israel would return, the future of Israeli colonies, water rights, the refugee problem and the status of Jerusalem were postponed to the final talks.

During the five-year interim period the PLO formed the Palestinian National Authority as a self-governing power in the areas from which Israeli forces were dispatched.

The Oslo accords established a negotiating process without determining an outcome. The process was supposed to be completed by May 1999. However, Israel was reluctant to relinquish power over the occupied territories and unwilling to offer concessions needed to finalise the agreement.

Moreover, when Benjamin Netanyahu came to power he avoided the Oslo process, which he primarily opposed. When Ehud Barak became prime mi