Oslo Peace Accord

Oslo Peace Accord

Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains III – International Affairs 

Context: The Oslo peace accords of the 1990s gave the Palestinians self-­rule in parts of the West Bank. 

About:  

Oslo Accords are a series of agreements between Israel and the Palestinians signed in the 1990s. 

• Oslo I (1993)  formally known as the Declaration of Principles (DOP) established a timetable for the Middle East peace process. It planned for an interim Palestinian government in Gaza and Jericho in the West Bank. 
• Oslo II  officially called the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza (1995), expanded on Oslo I.  

Oslo II included – 

• Provisions for the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from six West Bank cities and about 450 towns. 
• Timetable for elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council. 

The interim pact was only supposed to last five years while a permanent agreement was finalised but it has tacitly been rolled over for more than two decades. 

The question of Jerusalem was left undecided under the Oslo Accords