The Economic Cooperation Foundation (ECF, ) was founded by Dr. Yair Hirschfeld (the initiator of the

Oslo Peace Process The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the ...

), together with former Minister of Justice, Dr.

Yossi Beilin Joseph "Yossi" Beilin (; born 12 June 1948) is an Israeli politician who has served in multiple ministerial and leadership positions in the Israeli government. Much of his political career was in the Labour Party. He also served as chairman of t ...

at the end of 1990 as a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

, non-governmental track II

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

, whose objectives are to build, maintain and support

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

and Israeli-

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

cooperation in the political, economic, and civil society spheres in support of creating a sustainable Permanent Status based on a

two-state solution The two-state solution is a proposed approach to resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, by creating two states on the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. It is often contrasted with the one-state solution, which is the esta ...

. Based in

Tel-Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, the ECF is led today by Hirschfeld, Beilin and its Treasurer Mr. Boaz Karni. Dr. Nimrod Novik is Chairman of the ECF Executive Board. Over the years, ECF has developed a unique network of intimate relations with all the relevant players – Israel, Palestine,

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, America, Europe, and others. In turn, this has enabled the ECF to create

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

s, design concepts, suggest creative solutions and build structures that have been translated into agreed-upon agendas and specific proposals. These, in turn, have offered policy makers, local, regional and international players practical tools, mechanisms, ideas and means to facilitate progress in practical as well as political issues related to the strengthening of the peace process. ECF's professional input can be found in every initiative for Palestinian-Israeli peace since the inception of the Oslo Process.Track Two Diplomacy and Jerusalem
2017. Najem et al. Routledge. Ed. The ECF initially began and led the secret talks in

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( or ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of towns and cities in Norway, most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a Counties of Norway, county and a Municipalities of Norway, municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a populat ...

, that resulted in the signing of the Declaration of Principles (DOP) in September 1993. The 'Architects of Oslo', then developed the ' Beilin–

Abu Mazen Mahmoud Abbas (; born 15 November 1935), also known by the Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Mazen (, ), is a Palestinian politician who has been serving as the second president of Palestine and the President of the Palestinian National Authority, P ...

Understanding', the first jointly developed detailed concept of a comprehensive Permanent Status Understanding between Israel and a Palestinian State. Though not officially affiliated, Dr. Yossi Beilin as well as other members of ECF were central to the drafting of the Geneva Accord,A Possible Peace Between Israel and Palestine
Klein, M. 2007. the most detailed proposal for a Permanent Status Accord negotiated by those with close relations to both the Israeli and Palestinian political establishments. ECF also played a noticeable role in preparing for the Israeli Disengagement Plan from Gaza and parts of the northern

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

in August–September 2005. The best known ECF contribution was in facilitating the successful purchase of the settlers

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

s, which were then turned over to the Palestinians in order to provide an economic outlet for the struggling Palestinian economy. Despite the destruction of many of these by Arab groups, these greenhouses have provided a critical employment opportunity for nearly 3000 Palestinians, from the 4000 who had previously been employed there, and serve as a first step in the expansion of the Palestinian agricultural export industry, the most viable economic sector for the Palestinians.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Organizations involved in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process Israeli disengagement from Gaza Foundations based in Israel 1990 establishments in Israel Organizations established in 1990