ABSTRACT
The conclusion of the Gulf War and the end of the Cold War opened a new chapter of opportunities to resolve long-standing issues in the Arab-Israeli conflict—regarding both the continued state of war among regional neighbors and the fate of the Palestinian question. True to its word, the Bush administration began to push for action on the diplomatic front to solve these enduring problems and create a new Middle East, and world, under US leadership and old problems resolved. The election of a Labor government in Israel smoothed the road of progress. The heady optimism that permeated these times translated into a famous set of secret negotiations in Oslo, Norway, culminating in the Declaration of Principles between Israel and the Palestinians. It provided for recognition of Israel by the PLO, and (for Israel) of Arafat and the PLO as the voice of the Palestinian people, as well as a roadmap for further discussion working toward final settlement on all outstanding issues. The US embraced the plan, and the Clinton administration spent the bulk of the 1990s trying to implement it.
