Uncategorized
The Wye River Memorandum was an agreement negotiated between Israel and the Palestinian Authority at a summit in Wye River, Maryland, United States, October 15-23, 1998. The aim of the memorandum was to resume the implementation of the 1995 interim agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip (Oslo II agreement). On 10 October 1998, signed by Benjamin Netanyahu and Yasser Arafat in negotiations led by US President Bill Clinton. [1] On 17 November 1998, the 120-member Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, adopted the memorandum by 75 votes to 19. The memorandum stipulates that it will come into force on 2 November 1998, ten days after the signing. In accordance with previous agreements, the Palestinian side will, within the time frame set out in the attached time line, re-establish its responsibility for security, security cooperation and other issues, as stated below: What should Israel do? Israel could ignore these repeated Palestinian violations and simply return more land. But this would only accelerate and deepen Palestinian non-compliance. Under these conditions, terrorism would inevitably escalate, leading to the total collapse of the Oslo peace process. On the other hand, Israel could decide that the Palestinian violations, which constitute a fundamental violation of the Oslo and Wye agreements, call on Israel to withdraw completely from its own commitments. But this is not Israel`s decision.
2. The Israeli and Palestinian parties have agreed on agreements allowing the timely opening of the Gaza Industrial Zone. They also concluded a “protocol on the installation and operation of the international airport in the Gaza Strip during the transition period.” Barak`s willingness to yield to Arab demands and his mismanagement of his coalition destroyed his majority in the Knesset in June. Nevertheless, he decided to visit Clinton`s hastily arranged summits at Camp David in July. This last effort to reach an agreement between Arafat and Barak had been refuted by the Palestinian leader, who said in advance that he could not grant Palestinian rights. This turned out to be the case. Barak`s unexpected willingness to share Jerusalem with the Palestinians was not replicated by Arafat, who refused to compromise on this issue – as on the issue of the return of refugees – and demanded nothing less than full Palestinian sovereignty in East Jerusalem. 1. In accordance with the interim agreement and subsequent agreements, the Israeli side will include the first and second F.R.D.
in the transfer of 13% from Area C to the Palestinian side as follows: the agreement was finally signed by Netanyahu and PLO President Jasser Arafat at the White House, with President Clinton playing a key role as an official witness. A second fundamental axiom of international behaviour, which must be encouraged to resolve current conflicts, is compliance with agreements. It is often appropriate to ignore violations in order to maintain the momentum of an ongoing peace process. But after all, violations multiply and undermine the very basis of an agreement, especially when it comes to security issues and the potential loss of innocent lives is at stake.