ABSTRACT
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was called into question in the light of the new conditions of the Intifada, the emergence of Islam-oriented movements such as Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, coupled with the 1990 Gulf Crisis and the Israeli search for local Palestinian leadership from the West Bank and Gaza. This meant that PLO political attitudes were determined by the fear of being out-maneuvered, which in turn prepared the stage for the deferral of all other issues as long as the PLO was accepted as a partner in the political process by the US administration and Israel. The market metaphor embedded in the phrase territory for peace, together with the reductive positivist notion of security, formed the basis for the meaning of peace and justice. Arbitrary intertextuality from selected UN Security Council resolutions fixed the meaning of just, lasting, and comprehensive peace. Meanwhile, these principles gained broader recognition through their currency among think tanks and non-governmental organizations.
