ABSTRACT
Notwithstanding that the focus of the previous chapters was on what I term the rise of the peace process, events that have unfolded since the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in November 1995 have taken the peace process to a standstill. Unsurprisingly, the peace process is on the shelf and violence has replaced dialogue between Israelis and the Palestinians. Therefore, in this chapter, the breakdown of the peace process since the mid-1990s is identified and will be analysed against the backdrop of the internal changes within Israel. The chapter also analyses and chronicle the developments in Palestinian-Israeli relations since Netanyahu’s rise to power in 1996 up until 2002. Again, there are external factors that have helped to slow down the peace process, but the key to appreciating the total breakdown of the peace process are factors such as domestic politics, ideology, and the personalities of key decision-makers in Israel.
