In September 1993, PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed the Oslo Accords, agreeing that Israeli troops would withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza in stages. The accord further specified that the Palestinians would establish a "Palestinian Interim Self-Governing Authority" which would lead to a permanent settlement based on United Nations resolutions 242 and 338.The Palestinians agreed to recognize the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security while the Israelis recognized the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people.
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Head Yasser Arafat met in 1997 to negotiate transfer of control of Hebron, an ancient West Bank city, to the Palestinian Authority. The agreement, which Netanyahu and Arafat signed, left 20 percent of the city center where Jewish residents lived under Israeli control. U.S. mediator Dennis Ross worked with both parties to facilitate the agreement.
The 1998 Wye River Accord, negotiated at the Wye River Plantation in Maryland between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Head Yasser Arafat, concluded when Israel agreed to withdraw from 13 percent of West Bank territory. At the same time, the Palestinian National Authority agreed to eliminate private arsenals and stockpiled weapons. The Palestinian Authority also agreed to prevent terrorists from launching attacks on Israel and to cease anti-Israel propaganda within the Palestinian Authority's range of influence.
The Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum of 1999, signed by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Head Yasser Arafat, reiterated the commitment of the Israelis and Palestinians to reach an agreement that would complete the interim period and initiate a permanent status agreement. The memorandum dealt with issues of Israeli troop redeployment, Palestinian prisoner release, and a schedule of permanent status negotiations.
