Doomed to Failure: The Politics and Intelligence of the Oslo Peace Process

Doomed to Failure? The Politics and Intelligence of the Oslo Peace Process (Praeger Security International)

by Ofira Seliktar

4 out of 5

FREE

In 1993, the Oslo Peace Accords were hailed as a historic breakthrough in the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. With optimism and fanfare, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat shook hands on the White House lawn, promising a future of peace and reconciliation.

However, beneath the surface of these hopeful beginnings, the Oslo Peace Process was fraught with political and intelligence failures that ultimately doomed it to collapse.

Political Failures

One of the primary political failures of the Oslo Process was its lack of transparency and inclusivity. The negotiations were conducted in secret, with only a small number of Israeli and Palestinian officials involved.

This secrecy bred distrust and suspicion among the broader public, both in Israel and Palestine. Many Palestinians felt that they were not adequately represented in the negotiations, while many Israelis questioned the legitimacy of any agreement reached behind closed doors.

Another political failure was the failure to address the core issues of the conflict, such as the status of Jerusalem, the right of return for Palestinian refugees, and the future of Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories.

By postponing these difficult issues to future negotiations, the Oslo Accords created a ticking time bomb that would eventually explode, undermining the entire peace process.

Intelligence Failures

In addition to the political failures, the Oslo Peace Process was also plagued by intelligence failures that contributed to its demise.

For example, Israeli intelligence failed to adequately assess the threat posed by Hamas and other militant groups that were opposed to the peace process.

This failure allowed Hamas to launch a series of terrorist attacks against Israeli targets, which escalated tensions and made it difficult for Rabin to maintain public support for the peace process.

Palestinian intelligence, on the other hand, failed to detect and prevent the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995.

Rabin's assassination was a major turning point in the peace process, and it effectively ended any hopes for a negotiated settlement in the near future.

The Oslo Peace Process was a complex and ambitious endeavor that ultimately failed to achieve its goals of lasting peace and reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians.

The collapse of the peace process can be attributed to a combination of political and intelligence failures, including the lack of transparency, the failure to address the core issues of the conflict, and the failure to adequately assess and mitigate threats to the peace process.

The lessons learned from the Oslo Peace Process are still relevant today, as the search for peace in the Middle East continues. Any future peace negotiations must be transparent, inclusive, and address the core issues of the conflict.

Furthermore, it is essential to have robust intelligence capabilities in place to assess and mitigate threats to the peace process and to prevent violence from derailing negotiations.

Only by learning from the mistakes of the past can we hope to achieve a lasting and just peace in the Middle East.

Doomed to Failure? The Politics and Intelligence of the Oslo Peace Process (Praeger Security International)

by Ofira Seliktar

4 out of 5

FREE