ABSTRACT
Oslo, the capital of Norway, conjures up peace, quiet, composure, reason, courtesy, neutrality, and detachment, a far cry from the craze of the Muddle East. Therefore, when the Oslo process soured and things went awry, in contradiction to the serenity and congeniality where the Accords were concocted, it becomes difficult to imagine anything more incongruent with Oslo than the chaos, violence, and frustration one senses and lives through in the Arab–Israeli dispute. Israelis, from all walks of life, would have also opted for a peaceful settlement with the Arabs, but not for the price of losing security, forfeiting their Jewish identity, their independence, or their sovereign territory. The Israeli team thought that the desire for peace in their self-styled "peace camp" was so fervent, that as the PLO recognized Israel, that was an adequate equivalent. But that lack of reciprocity allowed the Palestinians to maintain their recalcitrant denial of Israel as a Jewish state.
