Oslo Accord

An agreement brokered by Norway after months of secret negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1993. By its terms, Israel and the PLO recognized each other. The PLO renounced terrorism, and Israel agreed to withdraw its military and civil authorities from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho, granting self-rule to Palestinians in these areas and a lesser degree of self-rule to other parts of the Occupied Territories. Although the accord put off consideration of the thorny issues of Israeli settlements on the West Bank and the status of Jerusalem (see also Jerusalem), it set 1999 as a deadline for a final agreement. Subsequent negotiations to resolve these issues failed, however.