The Effects of the Oslo Peace Accords


Positive Effects of Oslo Upon the Elections


Support for the Oslo Peace Accords seems to be steadily rising. Although the benefits for this accord are not massively seen yet, the future has more to offer. A Gallup Poll in January 1996 shows that out of 730 Israeli residents, 59.2% supported the Oslo agreements. This newly found support can be attributed to the elections that were held in January 1996 by the Palestinians.

The January 20th Palestinian elections were a clear triumph for the Oslo peace process. After the elections, improvements for peace were already beginning to show. There were no massive violent outbreaks after the election. Even though Yasir Arafat attempted to intimidate opposition candidates, several anti-Arafat candidates were elected to the Palestinian council, and ten percent of the votes voted for Arafat's opponents for position of chairman.

The opposition to Arafat can be linked to the Oslo Accords. The people want a President who will comply with the accords and work with them.

A Negative Effect of Oslo


The Oslo Agreements have come to a halt. Netanyahu of Israel decided to open a new tourist tunnel near Al Aqsa Mosque. Arafat saw this as an insensitive move on Netanyahu's behalf. He saw it as a flagrant attempt to display Israel's sovereignty over the city. Palestinian's were greatly angered by this, and saw this action as an opportunity to expose the halted Oslo Agreements.

By exposing these halted agreements, at least 56 Palestinians and 14 Israelis were killed, and over a thousand people were wounded in this struggle. This was the worst display of fighting since the intifadeh. This uprising came about, because the Palestinians were suffering from anger and frustration over the stalling of the peace process. Once this process was frozen, it was only a matter of time before violence exploded.

Something good might come out of this brutal struggle. Both sides learned valuable lessons. The Palestinians learned that confrontation can bring about uncontrollable escalation. The Israelis learned that stalling a peace process had a high price. Now both sides might be more eager to start up the Oslo Peace Agreements again.

Click here for futher information on elections.
Click here for an outline of the Oslo Peace Accords/Israeli conflict.
Click here for further information on the effects of the Oslo Peace Process.

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