A Tale of Two Narratives

Abstract

As this book goes to print, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is moribund. The post-Oslo period in which this study is situated thus both refers to the buoyancy of a potential reconciliation in the immediate wake of the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords and the subsequent demise of a viable two-state solution. As evidenced in the paragraphs below, perceptions of the formulation of the Oslo Accords and, more importantly, their key successes and failures will largely depend on the party under examination, making the peace agreementsimilarly to other historical eventsa subject of narrative dissent. Rather than provide the reconciliatory framework and confidence-building measures to address past grievances, as was intended through the interim nature of the 1993 agreement, the post-Oslo period therefore witnessed an ongoing irreconcilability of key narratives. This chapter offers both a holistic understanding of the political and societal impact of these historic accords and an overview of the key events that were influenced byand affectedsubsequent implementation and interpretations of the Oslo peace agreements. The events highlighted in this chapter do not provide an exhaustive analysis of Israeli-Jewish or Palestinian politics in the post-Oslo era; however, they do seek to render formative insights into the societal underpinnings that explain the rise and persistence of exclusionary identity politics that form the main interest of this work. The Declaration of PrinciplesOn September 13, 1993, United States President Bill Clinton presided over one of the most famous handshakes in modern history. On the White House lawn, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Palestinian Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat were determinedly ushered towards one another by the American president. The "dramatic