ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the Oslo and Madrid peace processes through the failed Camp David meeting in July 2000 and critically examines the roles played by each of the principal players, including the United States. It describes changes in the international and regional distribution of power that opened the door to Arab-Israeli diplomacy. The chapter considers the tenures of Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, failed Camp David summit, and Bill Clinton Plan and final talks at Taba, Egypt, in 2001. The Oslo process suffered from four developments. First, some Palestinian groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, attacked and killed Israeli civilians. Second, some Israeli Jewish settlers used terrorist violence against Palestinians, mostly in West Bank. Third, Israel continued to massively develop the West Bank settlements, including building a network of Jewish-only bypass roads that crisscrossed West Bank. Fourth, Israel used collective punishment, such as checkpoints, home demolitions, closure and curfews, bureaucratic procedures, and targeted assassinations, to advance its security objectives.
