ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the developments in the conflict from the Hebron accords through the Wye and Sharm al-Sheikh memoranda, to the subsequent collapse of the peace process. The rioting following Netanyahu's decision to build at Har Homa and the Hamas suicide bombings in Tel Aviv in March and July of 1997 led to a halt in negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. A coalition of radical Palestinian groups opposed to the peace accords immediately expelled Nayef Hawatmeh and his group from their ranks. Arafat also met with Clinton at the White House in March, and the president evidently tried to help by promising a more active role in the peace process after the Israeli elections and by denouncing Israel's continuing expansion of settlements. As the Jerusalem Report put it, the blueprint was "that progress on peace would spark the economy, drawing investments, leading to growth and jobs.
