Political Quotes

“I vividly recall the feeling of optimism that people in this country and around the world felt on that day in Washington in 1993 when Israeli Prime Minister Rabin and PLO Chairman Arafat signed the Oslo Accords. For those too young to remember, the Oslo process began as secret negotiations in Oslo, resulting in the recognition by the PLO of the State of Israel and the recognition by Israel of the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people for the purpose of direct negotiations between the two parties. The Oslo Accords marked the formal start of that process, which aimed at achieving a peace treaty based on UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and at fulfilling the ``right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.'' The negotiations were to focus on resolving the key issues in dispute: Israeli settlements, the status of Jerusalem, Israel's military presence in and control over remaining territories after Israel's recognition of Palestinian autonomy, and the return of Palestinian refugees. It was hoped and believed that the signing of the Oslo Accords was the beginning of the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and of a process that would culminate in a two-state solution with secure borders for both Israel and a new Palestinian state. Since then, virtually nothing has occurred as envisioned. Prime Minister Rabin, a visionary leader whom I knew and greatly respected, was assassinated by a Jewish extremist.…”