Oslo I
The agreement set as its basis:
United Nations Resolution 242, which called for Israel to withdraw from territories it occupied in the Six-Day War (1967)
United Nations Resolution 338, which reaffirmed UN Resolution 242 amid the hostilities of the Yom Kippur War (1973)
These resolutions, and their land-for-peace formulation, had been enshrined earlier in the Camp David Accords (1978) as the foundation of a broader Arab-Israeli peace process. After an exchange of letters in September 1993 affirming Israel’s right to exist and the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chair Yasser Arafat attended the accord’s signing ceremony in Washington, D.C., days later on September 13.
In exchange for recognition of Israel and its citizens’ right to live in peace, the declaration of principles negotiated in Oslo centred on the process of establishing Palestinian self-governance in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The framework for the process included the following provisions:
Withdrawal or redeployment of Israeli security forces in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Immediate transfer of authority to the Palestinians over matters of education, health, social welfare, taxation and tourism
Commencement of a five-year transitional period for Palestinian self-governance, including negotiations on outstanding issues such as:
Jerusalem’s status
Palestinian refugees
Israeli settlements
Security arrangements
Defined borders
Foreign relations
Creation of a strong Palestinian police force
Democratic elections for the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Arrangements for coordination between the PLO and Israel on issues of security and economic development
On May 4, 1994, an agreement concluded in Cairo arranged for the first stage of withdrawal of Israeli security forces and their transfer of authority to the newly created Palestinian Authority. Within weeks the withdrawal from the cities of Gaza and Jericho was completed, and the PA soon began carrying out civilian functions in those areas.