Israel–Palestine Liberation Organization letters of recognition (or Israel-PLO Recognition or Letters of Mutual Recognition) were a series of official letters of recognition between the government of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and its Prime Minister

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...

and the Palestine Liberation Organization's Chairman

Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

dated September 9, 1993. The letters set the stage for, and were in reality the " preamble" to, the Oslo Accords ("Declaration of Principles On Interim Self-Government Arrangements") of September 13, 1993.

Three letters

There were in fact three letters, with the main points, below:''Israel-PLO Recognition: Exchange of Letters between PM Rabin and Chairman Arafat''
, 9 September 1993

1: Letter from Yasser Arafat to Prime Minister Rabin

:September 9, 1993 :

Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exec ...

:Mr. Prime Minister, :The signing of the

Declaration of Principles The Oslo I Accord or Oslo I, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or short Declaration of Principles (DOP), was an attempt in 1993 to set up a framework that would lead to the resolution of th ...

marks a new era...I would like to confirm the following PLO commitments: The PLO recognizes the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security. The PLO accepts United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. The PLO commits itself...to a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the two sides and declares that all outstanding issues relating to permanent status will be resolved through negotiations...the PLO renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of violence and will assume responsibility over all PLO elements and personnel in order to assure their compliance, prevent violations and discipline violators...the PLO affirms that those articles of the Palestinian Covenant which deny Israel's

right to exist The right to exist is said to be an attribute of nations. According to an essay by the 19th-century French philosopher Ernest Renan, a state has the right to exist when individuals are willing to sacrifice their own interests for the communit ...

, and the provisions of the Covenant which are inconsistent with the commitments of this letter are now inoperative and no longer valid. Consequently, the PLO undertakes to submit to the Palestinian National Council for formal approval the necessary changes in regard to the Palestinian Covenant. :Sincerely, :

. :Chairman: The Palestine Liberation Organization.

2: Letter from Chairman Arafat to Norway's Foreign Minister

:September 9, 1993 :His Excellency: Johan Jorgen Holst :Foreign Minister of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. :Dear Minister Holst, :I would like to confirm to you that, upon the signing of the Declaration of Principles, the PLO encourages and calls upon the Palestinian people in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

to take part in the steps leading to the normalization of life, rejecting violence and

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

, contributing to peace and stability and participating actively in shaping reconstruction, economic development and cooperation. :Sincerely, :Yasser Arafat. :Chairman: The Palestine Liberation Organization.

3: Letter from Prime Minister Rabin to Chairman Yasser Arafat

:September 9, 1993 :

:Chairman: The Palestine Liberation Organization. :Mr. Chairman, :In response to your letter of September 9, 1993, I wish to confirm to you that, in light of the PLO commitments included in your letter, the Government of Israel has decided to recognize the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people and commence negotiations with the PLO within the Middle East peace process. :

. :

Additional agreements

Additional Israeli-Palestinian documents related to the Oslo Accords are: *'' Protocol on Economic Relations'', signed in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

on April 29, 1994, *'' 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area'' (May 4, 1994), *'' 1994 Washington Declaration'' (July 25, 1994), *'' Agreement on Preparatory Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities Between Israel and the PLO'' (29 August 1994), *''

Protocol on Further Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities The Oslo Accords are a pair of agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993;

'' signed at

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

on August 27, 1995 *''

Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip The Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip commonly known as Oslo II or Oslo 2, was a key and complex agreement in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. Because Oslo II was signed in Taba, it is sometimes called the Taba Agreem ...

'' (''Oslo 2''), (September 28, 1995) *''

Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron The Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron, also known as the Hebron Protocol or Hebron Agreement, was signed on 17 January 1997 by Israel, represented by Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Palestine Liberation Organiza ...

'' (January 15/January 17, 1997) *''

Wye River Memorandum The Wye River Memorandum was an agreement negotiated between Israel and the Palestinian Authority at a summit in Wye River, Maryland, U.S., held from 15–23 October 1998. The Memorandum aimed to resume the implementation of the 1995 Interi ...

'' (October 23, 1998) *'' Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum'' (September 4, 1999), *''

Taba Summit The Taba Summit (also known as ''Taba Talks'', ''Taba Conference'' or short ''Taba'') were talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, held from 21 to 27 January 2001 at Taba, in the Sinai. The talks took place during a political tran ...

'' (January 27, 2001).

References

External links

Full texts of Israel-PLO recognition letters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Israel - Palestine Liberation Organization letters of recognition Israeli–Palestinian peace process Palestine Liberation Organization 1993 in Israel 1993 in international relations