CURRENT EVENTS - Israel-PLO Plan Could Bring Peace to Middle East

Sep 29, 2026

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Coverage outlines a late-August 1993 announcement in which Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization agreed on a stepwise peace plan. It describes mutual recognition, immediate withdrawal from Gaza and Jericho, and the start of Palestinian self-rule with Israel retaining border and foreign-relations control. After five years, an agreement is expected for self-rule across the West Bank and Gaza. Reactions include new regional diplomacy efforts, yet strong domestic opposition persists, with concerns about partial control and continued occupation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages9

Reading Time23 min

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Israel-PLO Plan Could Bring Peace to Middle East

More Peace Talks?

Deadly Disease

Mars Observer

JERUSALEM,Israel一Can longtime enemieslearn to live together?Can hatred grow intofriendship?Can centuries of history be forgotten? For many years in the Middle East,theanswer to these questions has been astrong no.But perhaps no longer.OnAugust 30,in a dramatic announcement, # CURRENT EVENTS ## Israel-PLO Plan Could Bring Peace to Middle East Israel and the Palestine LiberationOrganization(PLO)told the world thatthey had agreed on a peace plan. Until now,Israel and the PLO havebeen the bitterest of enemies.From itsbeginning in 1964,the PLO has repeatedlycalled for Israel's destruction.Inresponse,Israel has denounced the PLOas a “collection of terrorists and murder-ers."For years,PLO fighters have Week of September 13-17,1993 attacked Israeli towns—and Israel has respondedby bombing PLO camps. Here are the mainpoints of the peace plan: ●The PLO would rec-ognize Israel's right toexist as a nation,andIsrael would recognizethe PLO as the represen-tative of the Palestinianpeople.Since its forma-tion,the PLO has said thatIsrael,the Jewish nationfounded in 1948,does nothave a right to exist.Inthe PLO's eyes,Israel wasa nation created on landstolen from PalestinianArabs.On its side,Israelmaintains its right to theancient homeland of theJews and has alwaysrefused to recognize thePLO as representing thePalestinians under Israelirule.Now all this haschanged. ●Israeli troops wouldbegin to withdraw imme-diately from the GazaStrip and the West Banktown of Jericho.Since itsbirth as a nation,Israelhas fought a series of warswith its Arab neighbors—in 1948,1956,1967,and1973.The Gaza Strip andthe West Bank (see mapon p.2)are territories thatIsrael captured from neigh-boring nations during the1967 Arab-Israeli war. Much of the population of both areas isPalestinian Arabs—people whom the PLOrepresents.For years,the PLO has saidthat Israel should withdraw its troopsfrom those areas and grant self-rule to thePalestinians living in them.Now Israel hasagreed to do this in stages. ●Palestinian self-rule would beginimmediately in the Gaza Strip andJericho.In both areas,Palestinians would form their own policeforce and handle other gov-ernment functions,such ashealth care and education.Israel,however,would stillmaintain the borders of theGaza Strip and the West Bankand handle relations betweenthese regions and foreignnations. ●After 5 years,both Israeland the PLO would work outan agreement granting self-rule throughout the WestBank and Gaza Strip. At the time CE went topress,however,the peace planhad not yet been formallysigned.But both Israeli andPLO officials said that it wouldbe signed in a matter of days. "We have changed history,"said a PLO representative inWashington,D.C. ## More Peace Talks? Immediately after theannouncement of the historicagreement,peace seemed tosweep through the Middle East.Jordan,an Arab nationthat has been in a state of warwith Israel since 1948,announced that it would seekpeace with Israel.Syria,anoth-er Arab nation still in a state ofwar with Israel,announcedthat it too would look for waysto find peace with Israel. Russian Troops percentoppose it. Pull Out. Most Israeli opposition cen-ters on the West Bank.Eventhough Israel captured theWest Bank from Jordan,manyJews see that region as part oftheir ancient biblical home-land.Since 1967,more than100,000 Jews have settled onthe West Bank.Many of thosepeople see the peace plan as afirst step in giving the WestBank back to the Palestinians. At the end of August,Russia removed the lastof its troops fromLithuania.That countrybecame independent ofRussia in 1991,but hada hard time ridding itselfof the Russian militarypresence.Now Latviaand Estonia,also independent as of 1991,hope the last of Russianoccupying troops therewill leave soon. The announcement ofIsraeli-PLO peace plan result-ed in mixed reactions.ManyIsraelis and Palestinians,tiredof years of off-and-on war,welcomed the news. A number of Palestiniansoppose the plan because

FAQs

What did the Israel–PLO announcement claim they had agreed to?

Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization told the world they had agreed on a peace plan.

What is included in the peace plan’s first stage?

Israeli troops would withdraw immediately from the Gaza Strip and Jericho, and Palestinian self-rule would begin there, including local police and government functions like health care and education.

Why is the plan controversial among Israelis and Palestinians?

A narrow majority of Israelis support it, while many opponents believe it is only partial. Palestinians also oppose the plan if they expect Israel to keep control over occupied lands.

Sep 29, 2026

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