|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip |
Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip or Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, or simply the Interim Agreement, also known as Oslo 2 (or Oslo II), and alternately known as Taba, was a key and complex agreement about the future of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It was first signed in Taba (in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt) by Israel and the PLO on September 24, 1995 and then four days later on September 28, 1995 by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and witnessed by US President Bill Clinton as well as by representatives of Russia, Egypt, Jordan, Norway, and the European Union in Washington, D.C.
Contents |
The agreement, in effect a component of a comprehensive peace treaty, built on the foundations of the initial Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles (DOP) or Oslo 1, known as the original Oslo Accords, which had been formally signed on September 13, 1993 by Israel and the PLO, with Prime Minister Rabin and Chairman Arafat in Washington, D.C. shaking hands, and officially witnessed by the United States and Russia.
The Interim Agreement of 1995 became the basis and reference point for subsequent negotiations and agreements such as the Hebron Protocol (1997) and the Wye River Memorandum (1998) and it is a basis for the latter Road map for peace (2002).
The agreement consists of a "preamble" acknowledging its roots in earlier diplomatic efforts of UN Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) and UN Security Council Resolution 338 (1973) the Madrid Conference of 1991 and the other prior agreements that came before it.
The agreement has five "chapters" consisting of thirty-one "articles", plus seven "annexes" and nine attached "maps".
Most significantly the agreement recognizes the establishment of a "Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority," i.e. an elected Council, called "the Council" or "the Palestinian Council".
It specifically supersedes three earlier agreements:
Consisting of Articles I-IX: The role and powers of a governing Palestinian "council" and committee dealing with civil affairs and the transfer of power from Israel to the Palestinian Council. The holding of elections, the structure of the Palestinian Council, and that it should contain 82 representatives, the executive authority of the Council, various other committees, that meetings of the council should be open to the public, and outlining the powers and responsibilities of the Council.
Consisting of Articles X-XVI: Phases of the redeployment of the Israel Defense Forces, roles of the Israeli Security Forces and the Israeli police, perspectives on the land of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, discussions about the various Area A, Area B, and Area C subdivisions of the land, arrangements for security and public order, prevention of hostile acts, confidence building measures, and the role of the Palestinian police:
Consisting of Articles XVII-XXI: The scope of the Palestinian Council's authority and jurisdiction and the resolution of conflicts, the legislative powers of the Council, that "Israel and the Council shall exercise their powers and responsibilities...with due regard to internationally-accepted norms and principles of human rights and the rule of law", the various rights, liabilities and obligations with the transfer of powers and responsibilities from the Israeli military government and its civil administration to the Palestinian Council, dealing with financial claims, and the settlement of differences and disputes.
Consisting of Articles XXII-XXVIII: Relations between Israel and the Council:
The rules for economic relations as set out in the Protocol on Economic Relations, signed in Paris on April 29, 1994, cooperation programs that will hopefully be developed, the role and functioning of the Joint Israeli-Palestinian Liaison Committee set up as part of the Declaration of Principles (Oslo Accords 1993 and the setting up of a Monitoring and Steering Committee, liaison and cooperation with Jordan and Egypt, and locating and returning missing persons and soldiers missing in action.
Consisting of Articles XXIX-XXXI: Arrangements for safe passage of persons and transportation between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, coordination between Israel and the Council regarding passage to and from Egypt and Jordan as well as any other agreed international crossings, and then the final clauses dealing with the signing of the agreement, its implementation, that the Gaza-Jericho Agreement (July 1994), the Preparatory Transfer Agreement (August 1994), and the Further Transfer Protocol (August 1995) will be superseded by this agreement, the need and timing of permanent status negotiations, and that:
Discussion about the release of Palestinian prisoners, agreement about the attached annexes and maps, and commencement of Israel's redeployment.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |