Israel, UAE 'normalization' moves follow years of failed peace initiatives

There have been numerous Middle East peace initiatives since the 1967 Six-Day War, when Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, the Sinai peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt and the Golan Heights from Syria

Reuters|
The United Arab Emirates' decision to normalize relations with Israel follows a history of peace efforts between Israel, the Palestinians and their Arab allies that have failed to overcome decades of distrust and violence.
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  • Most Arab nations, including the UAE, have not recognized Israel or had formal diplomatic or economic relations with it because of what they regard as Israel's thwarting of Palestinians' aspirations for a state of their own.
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    מטוס אל על
    מטוס אל על
    The El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabai
    (Photo: Israel Airport Authorities)
    Details of the Israel-UAE normalization deal are to be discussed in meetings on Monday in Abu Dhabi between UAE officials and U.S. and Israeli delegates.
    Here are the main Middle East peace initiatives undertaken since the 1967 Six-Day War, when Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the Sinai peninsula and the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights:
    1967 - UN Security Council Resolution 242 After the Six-Day War, UN Security Council Resolution 242 calls for the "withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict" in return for all states in the area to respect one another's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.
    The resolution is the foundation for many peace initiatives, but its imprecise phrasing - is the reference to all territories or just some? - has complicated efforts for decades.
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    IDF Paratroopers sing Israel’s national anthem at the Western Wall after its capture in 1967
    IDF Paratroopers sing Israel’s national anthem at the Western Wall after its capture in 1967
    IDF Paratroopers sing Israel’s national anthem at the Western Wall after its capture in 1967
    (Photo: Archive)
    1978 - Camp David agreement Israel's Menachem Begin and Egypt's Anwar Sadat agree on a framework for regional peace that calls for an Israeli withdrawal in stages from Egypt's Sinai and a transitional Palestinian government in the West Bank and Gaza.

    1979 - Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty The first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab country sets out plans for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai within three years. In 1981, Sadat was assassinated by Islamist revolutionaries opposed to the deal.
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    מנחם בגין ואנואר סאדאת חותמים על הסכם השלום
    מנחם בגין ואנואר סאדאת חותמים על הסכם השלום
    U.S. President Jimmy Carter congratulates Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Prime Minister Menachem Begin after signing the historic peace treaty between Israel and Egypt
    (Photo: Getty Images)
    1991 - Madrid summit Representatives of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) attend a peace conference. No agreements are reached but the scene is set for direct contacts.
    1994 - Israel-Jordan agreement Jordan becomes the second Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel. But the treaty is unpopular and pro-Palestinian sentiment is widespread in Jordan.
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    King Hussein of Jordan, U.S. President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at the signing of the bilateral peace treaty at the White House, July 25, 1994
    King Hussein of Jordan, U.S. President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at the signing of the bilateral peace treaty at the White House, July 25, 1994
    King Hussein of Jordan, U.S. President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at the signing of the bilateral peace treaty at the White House, July 25, 1994
    (Photo: Archive)

    1993-1995 - Declaration of Principles/Oslo Accords Israel and the PLO hold secret talks in Norway that result in interim peace accords calling for the establishment of a Palestinian interim self-government and an elected council in the West Bank and Gaza for a five-year transitional period, Israeli troop withdrawals and negotiations on a permanent settlement.

    2000 - Camp David summit U.S. President Bill Clinton convenes Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Ehud Barak at Camp David. They fail to agree. Another Palestinian uprising ensues.
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    L-R: Ehud Barak, Bill Clinton and Yasser Arafat at Camp David, July 2000
    L-R: Ehud Barak, Bill Clinton and Yasser Arafat at Camp David, July 2000
    L-R: Ehud Barak, Bill Clinton and Yasser Arafat at Camp David, July 2000
    (Photo: Archive)

    2002-2003 - Bush Declaration/Arab peace initiative/Road Map George W. Bush becomes the first U.S. president to call for the creation of a Palestinian state, living side by side with Israel "in peace and security."
    2002 - Saudi Initiative Saudi Arabia presents Arab League-endorsed peace plan for full Israeli withdrawal from occupied territory and Israel's acceptance of a Palestinian state in return for normal relations with Arab countries.
    The United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia present their own road map to a permanent two-state solution to the conflict.

    2007 - Annapolis summit Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert fail to reach a deal at a U.S.-hosted summit. Olmert says later they were close to a deal but a graft investigation against him and a Gaza war in 2008 scupper any agreement.

    2009 - Netanyahu's Bar-Ilan address Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he would be prepared for a peace deal that includes the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state. He also sets another condition: Palestinian recognition of Israel as the "state of the Jewish people."
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    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at Bar-Ilan University in 2009
    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at Bar-Ilan University in 2009
    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at Bar-Ilan University in 2009
    (Photo: Michael Kramer)

    2013-2014 - Washington peace talks/negotiations collapse U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry coaxes Israelis and Palestinians to resume talks. They fail and are suspended in April 2014.

    June 2019 - Trump economic plan announced Preliminary stage of Trump's Mideast Plan launched in Bahrain by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. He takes an "economy first" approach, calling for a $50 billion investment fund to boost the Palestinian and neighboring Arab economies. Palestinian leaders dismiss it.

    2019 - Annexation plan Netanyahu says he intends to annex West Bank settlements, and much of the Jordan Valley if elected. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo effectively backs Israel's claimed right to build settlements in the West Bank by abandoning a four-decade-old U.S. position that they were inconsistent with international law. Most countries still regard them as illegal.

    January 2020 - Trump plan The U.S. president unveils his full Mideast plan in Washington, alongside Netanyahu. It offered U.S. recognition for Israel's sovereignty over its West Bank settlements and required Palestinians to meet difficult conditions for a state.
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    הבית הלבן
    הבית הלבן
    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump at the unveiling of 'the deal of the century'
    (Photo: AP)
    Palestinians reject it as de facto annexation, saying it would leave them a fragmented "Swiss-cheese" state. Israel's far-right settlers also reject the plan, opposing any form of Palestinian state.

    Aug. 13, 2020 - UAE normalization Trump announces surprise deal to normalize relations between Israel and the UAE, saying he hoped other Gulf countries would follow. UAE officials say the deal puts an end to West Bank annexation.
    But Netanyahu says it only meant Israel had agreed to "temporarily wait."
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