Camp David 2000 Summit

The Middle East Peace Summit at Camp David of July 2000 took place between United States President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. It was another attempt at negotiating a peace to the unending Israeli-Palestinian conflict which is perceived by many as the "key" to resolving the broader Arab-Israeli conflict.

Aftermath

Soon after the collapse of the 2000 summit, Ariel Sharon and a delegation of Likud politicians took a tour of the Temple Mount to demonstrate Israel's control. The next day, a demonstration by a Palestinian crowd broke out of control and Israeli police opened fire on the protesters. From this point, an escalation in violence culminated in an uprising called the al-Aqsa Intifada, which continues to this day (see Shattered Dreams, Charles Enderlin). A wave of suicide bombings were unleashed by Palestinian extremist movements on Israeli civilians. In reprisal Israel sent in the Israel Defence Force to seal off the Gaza Strip and re-occupy the West Bank, which were brought under strict military rule. The leaders of Palestinian terrorist organizations were targeted for assassinations by Israel. The continuing violence has claimed the lives of over one thousand Israelis and three thousand Palestinians.

Related Topics:
2000 - Ariel Sharon - Likud - Temple Mount - Al-Aqsa Intifada - Charles Enderlin - Suicide bombings - Israel Defence Force - Gaza Strip - West Bank - Terrorist organizations

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Calls for peace

In a last attempt to bring Middle East peace, Clinton wrote a proposal to Barak and Arafat, laying down the parameters for future negotiations.http://www.fmep.org/documents/clinton_parameters12-23-00.html Barak accepted the parameters (with some reservations) and Arafat, after a delay, accepted, but with questions and reservations that went outside the parameters, according to Ambassador Dennis Ross, the special Mideast envoy. Clinton's initiative led to the Taba negotiations in January 2001, where the two sides published a statement saying they had never been closer to agreement, but Barak, facing elections, suspended the talks.http://www.mideastweb.org/lastmaps.htm The increased violence led to a sharp swing to the right in Israeli politics; Ehud Barak was defeated by Ariel Sharon in 2001.

Related Topics:
Taba negotiations - Ehud Barak - Ariel Sharon - 2001

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Sharon refused to negotiate until the suicide bombings ceased. Clinton's successor, President George W. Bush, along with the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations, put forward a "road map" for peace which calls for a fully democratic Palestinian state as early as 2005, on the condition of the cessation of terrorist attacks, Arafat's resignation, and democratic elections in the Palestinian territories. In 2002 Yasser Arafat told a newspaper he was ready to fully accept the Clinton parameters. On March 28, 2002 the Arab League held a summit in Beirut, Lebanon where they drafted a declaration for peace. Israeli officially welcomedhttp://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/MFA+Spokesman/2002/Response+of+FM+Peres+to+the+decisions+of+the+Arab.htm this proposal, which called for a return to the 1967 borders and mutual peace and recognition,http://www.fmep.org/documents/Beirut_declaration.htm but in practice has ignored it. In 2003, unofficial moderates from both sides agreed on a peace proposal, the Geneva Accords. Arafat cautiously welcomed the document, but Sharon rejected its terms. The Israeli government has since taken a number of unilateral steps in relation to the territories, by constructing the West Bank Barrier and disengaging from Gaza as well as four west bank settlements.

Related Topics:
President George W. Bush - European Union - Russia - United Nations - "road map" for peace - 2005 - Terrorist - Election - 2002 - Yasser Arafat - March 28 - Arab League - Beirut - Lebanon - 1967 - 2003 - Geneva Accord - West Bank Barrier - Disengaging from Gaza

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