There have been conflicts in the middle east for centuries, and the 19th century is no exception – in fact, some might say it has seen the worst conflicts of all. This is a list of the various attempts made in the 20th century to bring peace to the region.
The Faisal-Weizmann Agreement was signed on January 3, 1919, by Emir Faisal (son of the King of Hejaz) and Chaim Weizmann (later President of the World Zionist Organization) as part of the Paris Peace Conference, settling disputes stemming from World War I. It was a short-lived agreement for Arab-Jewish cooperation on the development of a Jewish homeland in Palestine and an Arab nation in a large part of the Middle East.
The Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed between Israel and its neighbors Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The agreements ended the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and established armistice lines between Israel and the West Bank, also known as the Green Line, until the 1967 Six-Day War.
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David. The two agreements were signed at the White House, and were witnessed by United States President Jimmy Carter. The Accords led directly to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.
The Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty was signed in Washington, DC, United States, on March 26, 1979, following the Camp David Accords (1978). The main features of the treaty were the mutual recognition of each country by the other, the cessation of the state of war that had existed since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the complete withdrawal by Israel of its armed forces and civilians from the rest of the Sinai Peninsula which Israel had captured during the 1967 Six-Day War. The agreement also provided for the free passage of Israeli ships through the Suez Canal and recognition of the Strait of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba as international waterways.
The Madrid Conference was hosted by the government of Spain and co-sponsored by the USA and the USSR. It convened on October 30, 1991 and lasted for three days. It was an early attempt by the international community to start a peace process through negotiations involving Israel and the Arab countries including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinians. In the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, US President George H.W. Bush and his Secretary of State James Baker formulated the framework of objectives, and together with the Soviet Union extended a letter of invitation, dated October 30, 1991 to Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the Palestinians.
The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles (DOP) was a milestone in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was the first direct, face-to-face agreement between Israel and political representatives of Palestinians. It was the first time that some Palestinian factions publicly acknowledged Israel’s right to exist. It was intended to be a framework for the future relations between Israel and the anticipated State of Palestine, when all outstanding final status issues between the two states would be addressed and resolved in one Package Agreement.
The Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace (full name: Treaty of Peace Between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan), is a peace treaty signed in 1994. The treaty normalized relations between the two countries and resolved territorial disputes between them. The conflict between them had cost roughly 18.3 billion dollars. Its signing is also closely linked with the efforts to create peace between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization representing the Palestinian Authority. It was signed at the southern border crossing of Arabah on October 26, 1994, and made Jordan only the second Arab country (after Egypt) to normalize relations with Israel.
The Middle East Peace Summit at Camp David of July 2000 took place between United States President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. It was an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to negotiate a “final status settlement” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Beirut summit took place in March 2002, and held to present plans to defuse the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Jordan’s foreign minister said, “The Arab initiative put forth at the Beirut Summit in March offers comprehensive peace in the region based on the internationally recognized formulation of ‘land for peace’ — a return to 4 June 1967, borders in exchange for normal relations and a collective peace treaty.”
The “road map” for peace is a plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict proposed by a “quartet” of international entities: the United States, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations. The principles of the plan were first outlined by U.S. President George W. Bush in a speech on June 24, 2002, in which he called for an independent Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace: “The Roadmap represents a starting point toward achieving the vision of two states, a secure State of Israel and a viable, peaceful, democratic Palestine. It is the framework for progress towards lasting peace and security in the Middle East…”
Contributor: rushfan
oh and George Bush + Peace just don't add up in my head
Just like in the 90′s, clinton and peace were not synonimous with eacher either.
His ploicies in Somolia and the Balkans specificaly
wow, first comment on the site is the first on this list
Nice list Rushfan.
Item 1 sounds a lot like many of Bush’s other vague and dimly outlined other “projects”. Is there a conclusion to this “Roadmap Plan” ? Or am I missing a joke here?
I think it’s safe to say that as long as humans exist there will always be war of some kind and even if peace is kept for a few days, if there isn’t going to be a clear winner the war will go on…. and even if there is a winner then the other country will just be even more desperate to defeat them, and the cycle continues
This is a serious list… and I’ll comment when I’m sober. But anyways, good job rushfan (again)
Leah: George Bush + Peace = War
OMG it’s August 29th again! Listverse halts the progress of time…
It’s eternally my birthday! This is better than Groundhog’s Day!
I was surprised to see how much Bill Clinton was involved in peace talks
And still they keep shooting at each other.
I’d say “any US president” + peace doesn’t add up in my head. Clinton had his wars too as most US presidents.
It has been centuries since wars in the Middle East were running, why can’t people stop fighting?
We share one world, we share one earth, can’t we just live a peacfula adn harmonious life?
Thank you rushfan for an unbiased walk through this history.
My only note is that these are 8 attempts (unfulfilled efforts) and two successes… the treaties with Egypt and Jordan).
One of our (Chile’s) tennis stars, and olympic double god medal winner is Nikolás Massu.
Sorry, submitted before ready. Forget 14 and move to my next post please!
And all of these failed.
Start again.
One of our (Chile’s) tennis stars, and olympic double gold medal winner is Nikolás Massú. He is of mixed Jewish-Arabic ancestry.
The celebrated pianist and orchestral conductor, Daniel Barenboim, is Jewish, born in Argentina, who now lives in Israel. He has devoted much of his later life to the foundation of an orchestra consisting of Israeli and Palestinian instrumentalists.
We have a highly educated plant geneticist friend here who is of Palestiniam origin. He is concerned for the future of Palestinians, but also wants a just and secure future for Israel.
If only these people and others like them could play a significant part in the geopolitical settlements.
On the other hand, Chile has a large Palestinian colony (one of its major soccer clubs is called Palestino) which largely predates the formation of Israel. Of course many are moderate and highly cultivated people like our friend. But one also finds in correspondence blogs to the most intellectual paper remarks along the lines of Israel being as evil as Hitler’s Nazi Germany and needing the efforts of the international community to elmininate it.
Probably as a counter-reaction to these sentiments, and a feeling that they can trust nobody when the chips are down, we have noticed a disturbing tendency among young Israelis who travel in groups around Patagonia. Many are no longer the open, laid-back, humorous, slightly self-mocking citizens we were once accustomed to. They now all too often tend to remain in uncommunicative cliques. They have become unfriendly, aggressive, selfish and anti-social. We have read in the media that even Israeli intellectuals are concerned by this change, proving it isn’t simply an invention of ours.
These entrenchments, particularly by the young, are worrying.
Nicolás Massú. NICOLÁS MASSÚ. I had to wake up properly and get it right eventually. His nickname is ‘El Vampiro’, so he probably belongs on another LV list somewhere.
I agree with Leah, while man walks this planet there will never be total peace.
War goes back centuries – sometimes with little gain – and it is always the innocent that suffer.
Israel and Palestine have been fighting since Day One. They will continue to fight until Day Zero.
This is not a peace which can be negotiated. This is not a peace which can exist at all. Theirs is a hatred taught from birth, it has taken it’s place so firmly in their psyche, that it might as well be part of their DNA. No outsider is going to understand the complexities of the issues involved, the West least of all!
When my pain management doctor, a nominal Jew, went to Israel on holiday with his brother, who is Orthodox, I worried for him. He had a good, peaceful, time and got to visit the wailing wall, which his brother insisted on daily. Even he, a Jew, though a westerner born and raised, didn’t seem to have a clue about what was really going on.
It breaks my heart to say such things. To say otherwise would be a silly, hopeful, naive lie.
as long as there is land, people will fight over it
-Patrick SpoongeBob Squarepants-
seque:
Theirs is not ‘a hatred taught from birth’, and in many cases it is this view that actually prevents progress. There is a distrust that is taught from birth (on both sides), but this is a far cry from hatred.
The hatred that is being taught from birth is a new problem that only started with the rise of the popular fundimentalist movement of Hamas. Sadly, this extreme view has been forced on many of the more moderate Arab regimes and people under threats the average westerner can not even begin to imagine. The ‘forcing of views’ is mainly played out in the mosques and in the local media.
segue,
I forgot to add something, and what for me is the most devastating and tragic aspect of it all. It links to your comment. I refer to “safe” nations that sit on the sidelines fomenting this hatred and warfare in their own interests. Nations which have it completely within their power to act as brokers and try to draw the two together in peace, as Egypt and Jordan have sensibly and decently done.
Anon; Rather ironic isn’t it that the only true success was at the behest and hands of Jimmy Carter? Something to do with his character and motives perhaps? I fail to understand how his presidency is so under-rated by the natives.
Mom424,
I agree that Jimmy Carter is a rather underrated president. There were some aspects of his term that were certainly negative but they don’t negate the many good things he accomplished.
Also I think it is now official, rushfan is the Stephen King of ListVerse (in terms of sheer prolific-ness-ness-ocity….)
good job once again rushfan. you should start your own site.
22. stevenh, I bow to your superior knowledge. There is a difference between distrust and hatred, people can live together even through distrust.
But, and I quote you, “The hatred that is being taught from birth is a new problem that only started with the rise of the popular fundimentalist movement of Hamas. Sadly, this extreme view has been forced on many of the more moderate Arab regimes and people under threats the average westerner can not even begin to imagine. The ‘forcing of views’ is mainly played out in the mosques and in the local media.”, creates a condition which makes living together impossible.
I grant you, as a Westener, I haven’t a real clue what it’s like to live there. I don’t want to know. If it were in my power to bring the Palestinians and Israelis together in peaceful harmony I would, but it’s not up to me.
17 & 23. Anon, I agree completely. But again, in my powerlessness, I feel sad, angry, and vulnerable.
Sad, because I see and read about the waste of so much innocent life.
Angry, see above.
Vulnerable, because after 9/11, I have come to believe that any terrorist, anywhere, can do the same thing here, again.
Thanks, all. I wrote this list because I was actually surprised there had been so many attempts at peace. We all know there is constant war over there, but it seems the US and others at least occassionally attempt to broker peace once in a while. I can’t see it working as long as the animosity is fueled by terrorism, poverty, deep-seeded mistrust and ingrained (taught in Palestinian schools) hatred, and warfare as well as the actual literal land dispute. When one side doesn’t even ackowledge the right to exist of the other and one side wants borders re-established to prior to a war they *lost* there is not a lot of hope for peace. But, that being said, I am still hopeful. I’ve seen several documentaries about programs where they put Arab and Israeli kids and young adults together so they can get to know one another as *people* and the hate melts away. I think the most hope lies in the Palestinian Authority doing some positive things for the people instead of just inciting hatred and anger and madness.
Oh, and I was not raised Jewish, but I come from Jewish people on the side of my family I don’t know very well, and I’ve been told I am related to David “Mickey” Marcus, who some of you may know from the book and movie Cast a Giant Shadow.
haha 3, 4, and 5 all have bill clinton involved. what does that tell you about him?
good ball, it tells me he tried to establish a legacy for his presidency that didn’t involve blow jobs. he failed.
hehehe goof ball, not good ball
Mom424, Jimmy Carter was an incompetent president. The reason that the Egyptian-Israeli peace has lasted is because of the Israelis and Egyptians, not Carter. And number four was successful as well, that doesn’t mean that Clinton was a foreign policy master. The Jordaninas wanted peace just as much as the Israelis, that’s why they managed to hammer out a treaty.
Secondly, I’m amazed, no retarded comments, I would have expected a list like this to be 50% retarded, but it was unbiased and informative. Even the comments (even if I disagree with some of them) aren’t *****ing me off. Good job, rushfan.
its all a bunch of bologna
Sorry, I’ve been at lunch with my ma-in-law, and consoling Anita because she thought she’d turned the oven off and hadn’t, so she did a semi-King Alfred job on a meal she’d spent all morning preparing.
rushfan, Mom and kowzilla,
Didn’t I immediately note the irony of the high presence of Carter and Clinton with all the ***** that’s been slung at them in other lists!
With Clinton, is it because blow jobs are all people want to see (what sells sensational tabloids by the millions?), or all there is to see?
I’ve said over and over. Give me a *****-mad politician to a power-mad one, and I claim history has proved me correct over and over.
With Carter is it because everyone has their own idea of national priorities, and for most these were different from Carter’s?
For what it’s worth, I can offer a tiny smidgeon of relevant personal experience.
As a young man, in 1962, I went botanical exploring alone in springtime as far down south as the wonderful mountains of Lebanon, including the historic cedar forest. Near Baalbek I was befriended by a young local who insisted on taking me back to his (muslim) family; sweet, kind people. They generously fed and entertained me. They also bombarded me with relentless anti-Israeli propaganda. They pointed out how Palestinian refugees, their cultural brethren, were living in utter squalor in the Lebanon. I was still psychologically near enough the nightmare of WW2 to remain mentally stunned by the horror of concentration camp images, and naïvely defended the need for a safe Jewish homeland. Then why not America, they asked, since it’s so keen on the idea and has plenty of wide open space? Whatever I suggested was met by angry and bitter rebuff. Fortunately I didn’t ask why their beloved brethren remained in such squalor and were not offered a more decent and comfortable refuge. But in any case they made it implicitly clear that if the Palestinians settled down it might be taken as signal that their supporting nations should not rise up and smash Israel into the sea one day, as Allah intended, and as would surely happen.
Not even the most beatiful of the flowers I found could compensate for the sorrow that visit planted in my soul.
Almost exactly five years later, in 1967, three of us were in Turkey at the exact moment that prophesy was attempted. We wrongly presumed the end of Israel. This time though we couldn’t renew my acquaintance with the flora of the area. The plant we wanted to investigate was literally in no-man’s land between the shelling on the Golan Heights.
jogiff,
You don’t get an agreement between untrusting adversaries, even if they want it, without a broker.
one day i will be the first person to post a comment to a list…thats my goal in life
Why is it that Billl Clinton is in like all of these? Wow.. That’s hilarious. I guess he’s the right person to stand for the term “make love not war”.
stupid
I can see where you are coming from Anon. i am an israeli who was raised with an opposite view but i have just become a bit desensitized to the fighting. it just seems more normal than peace at this point.
Nice and informative list. I love comment number 14.
Anon: I loved your original 14. You took out all the WTF factor by explaining it.
An Australian businessman started “Clean-up Australia Day” about 20 years ago. This has now spread to a number of countries. A couple of years ago I read an article about a group of Israelis and Palestinians who joined together quite happily to clean up a creek in their area.
There are so many layers of complexity here: historic, nationalistic, religious and economic. Where to start?
#38. Ginger
Why is it that Billl Clinton is in like all of these? Wow.. That’s hilarious. I guess he’s the right person to stand for the term “make love not war”.
****
Ginger, I know you’re making a joke, and it’s even amusing, but while Bill Clinton’s private life as President was abysmal, he actually was a fairly good President.
He left the nation with the strongest economy in decades, he actually left behind a surplus in the U.S. Budget! He did a lot right, politically, too bad he was such a pig personally.
OTOH, how many men aren’t just like him?
McCain was carrying on an affair with Cindy while still married to his first wife, and then dumped his wife for the one with mega-bucks.
Don’t get me started on cheaters. I could go all day.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1929_Hebron_massacre
That was the first violent conflict in the history Israeli-Palestinian relations.
no it wasent
Unfortunately I sometimes suspect the only *solution* that will peace in the area is when the entire area between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea is a great steaming Radioactive crater. Not my ideal solution, but just likely given the entrenched positions held by a number of Zealots on both sides who have access to nuclear weapons.
Two of the biggest stumbling blocks with most of these peace efforts are
1. The Reasoning behind outsiders efforts. ie too many of the US efforts seem to be about leaving a *legacy* to the President involved. Also the US is seen, justifiably so, as being too Pro Israel to truly treat the Palestinians fairly.
2. Due to the splintered nature of the opposition on both sides no sooner does something get brokered than some non signing party breaks the agreements, eg suicide bombers or Israeli settlements on the West Bank.
Cheers
Lee
If at once you don’t succeed, try and try again. Good job rushy.
Alright, 50 comments in and no really retarded comments. #45 is really stupid, but not retarded. Seriously, where’s the “Arabs are all terrorists,” or “Zionists control the world” comments?
Get off me.
jogiff ~ are you trying to incite a riot?
k1w1taxi, (45),
Keen *****ysis, especially your second point, alas. Although I would have thought, quite frankly, it hardly matters what motivates a broker, US president or not, if the intervention actually works.
Perhaps the Northern Ireland situation offers a glimpse of hope. It looked so intransigent at one time. However, since I’ve been suffering from raging toothache during today, I’m reminded how easily these historical conflict areas can become inflamed again, even over hundreds of years. Perhaps one just has to look at the peace settlements anywhere and hope.
I remember reading a point about Israel’s vulnerability: it being only about seven miles from the sea to the border at one point, or something. It occurred to me that may also be Israel’s greatest protection from nuclear attack. Unless some raving fundamentalist is indeed indifferent to taking out the Palestinians at the same time, which would indeed have the effect you describe. I doubt that would be the end of the story though. I suspect Israel retains the power to wreak post-mortem nuclear vengeance on any who would do that.
My comment 14, indeed. You rotten lot!
I thought: at last I’ve made some serious, earth-shattering revelation that people are responding to. Well, heigh-ho. I did. Ask any Chilean! (One silver, one bronze this time round: I’m British and we came fourth, I tell you.) Many a true word spoken in jest.
I’d forgotten another of life’s little ironies. During that period of botanical exploration in the region as above, we were accompanied for one journey by an older colleague who had been called up on British National Service during the Palestine Mandate. He was Jewish. His father had fought and died during WW1. Apart from the lack of religious orthodox *uniform* (he wasn’t religious anyway) he looked as if he might have just stepped away from the Wailing Wall. “I’m a Jew through and through. I want the best for my people.” he said “And those Israeli buggers were shooting at me all the time. Doing their best to kill one of their own!”
Apropos. One fascinating factor is the total polarisation of two charismatic, eccentric and individualistic British military heroes during the involvement of their country in the region. Lawrence of Arabia was fanatically pro-Arab and anti-Israeli. Orde-Wingate (of Burma Chindits fame) was the absolute reverse. Neither had any semitic blood.
u guys dont know what is really happening here
there are not very many people educated on this topic, so it’s unlikely it will generate very many comments. good list, though. i wish lasting peace could be achieved so it would be safe to travel to that region. it’s the cradle of life and has thousands of years of history. i wish i could go over there and visit sacred sites and see the architecture and artifacts in person, but i doubt it will be possible even in my own lifetime. maybe one day though. i understand it will be difficult since many of the major religions all believe they should “own” the land, among other issues. so sad such a religious area stands for none of the beliefs said religions preach.
segue (43) “Don’t get me started on cheaters. I could go on all day.”
Me, too. All men cheat. John Edwards and on and on and on and on and on…
Philosopher, (55),
“All men cheat.”
Men? Try Margaret Thatcher on the sinking of the Belgrano in the Flaklands War.
Another of my famous Fraudian slips. I mean Falklands War, of course.
modelpenguin, (54),
Don’t give up hope. It is astonishing how volatile political situations can be in both directions, and how rapidly change can veer from effectively stable and peaceful to strife-shattered and vice-versa. Germany, Chile, Lebanon, Tibet, Uganda, Columbia, Peru, Burma, the list just goes on and on.
Really interesting. Thanks for puting this list togeather rushfan
Anon: Don’t you mean Freudian and not ‘Fraudian’? Or was that another slip?