The Oslo Accords, officially known as the “Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements”, is a document signed in 1993 between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) declaring mutual recognition between the two sides and ending decades of violence.

The Oslo Accords were the fruit of intense secret negotiations between Israel and the PLO following the 1991 Madrid Conference, which for the first time brought Arab states face to face with Israeli representatives. The Oslo Accords were signed on September 13, 1993 in Washington in a ceremony hosted by U.S. President Bill Clinton and resulted in a historic handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat.

The Accords was not a peace agreement between Israel and the PLO, but rather contained a set of mutually agreed upon general principles regarding the establishment of self-governance of the Palestinian territories. A five-year interim period of Palestinian self-governance was declared and final status negotiations were set for a later date which was intended to lead to a final peace agreement.

The Oslo Accords called for the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority (PA) which was to be responsible for governing Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The agreement also saw the division of the West Bank into three distinct areas:
Area A: Major Palestinian cities and villages under full Palestinian civilian and security control
Area B: Areas under Israeli security control and Palestinian civilian control
Area C: Under full Israeli civilian and security control.

The Oslo Accords also called for the PLO to recognize Israel’s right to exist and renounce its support for terrorism and attacks against Israel. In return, the Israeli government recognized the PLO as the sole representative of the Palestinian people and agreed to continue peace negotiations with the PLO within the framework of the Middle East peace process.

The first phase of the Oslo Accords was carried out successfully, with the transfer of all powers over Gaza and Jericho to the PA. In addition to the transfer of power, Israel transferred authority over education and culture, health, social welfare, direct taxation, and tourism directly to the new PA.

According to the Oslo Accords, Israel and the PLO were set to discuss final status negotiations at the beginning of the third interim year, in May 1996. Subjects up for final status negotiations included Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, security, borders, and relations with surrounding neighbors.

However, the Oslo Accords never fully achieved its aims, and was met by rejection by some Palestinian and Israeli elements. Furthermore, peace negotiations came to an abrupt end with the start of the Second Intifada in 2000, which came on the heels of a failed July 2000 summit between Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat at Camp David.