The Sharm El Sheikh Memorandum, full name: The Sharm El Sheikh Memorandum on Implementation Timeline of Outstanding Commitments of Agreements Signed and the Resumption of Permanent Status Negotiations, was a

memorandum A memorandum (: memorandums or memoranda; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered"), also known as a briefing note, is a Writing, written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviation, ...

signed on September 4, 1999, by

Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel (, Hebrew abbreviations, Hebrew abbreviation: ; , ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief executive of the Israel, State of Israel. Israel is a parliamentary republic with a President of Isra ...

Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( ; born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli former general and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Labor Party between 1997 and 20 ...

and

PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the occupied Palestinian territories and the diaspora. ...

Chairman

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

Sharm el Sheikh Sharm El Sheikh (, , literally "bay of the Sheikh"), alternatively rendered Sharm el-Sheikh, Sharm el Sheikh, or Sharm El-Sheikh, is an Egyptian city on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, on the coastal strip alo ...

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 ...

, overseen by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

represented by Secretary of State

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...

. The memorandum was witnessed and co-signed by President

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 and the 41st Prime Minister of Egypt, prime minister from 1981 to ...

of Egypt and King Abdullah of

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 ...

Purposes

The memorandum's purpose was to implement the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (Oslo II) of September 1995 and to implement all other agreements between the PLO and Israel since September 1993:

Protocol on Economic Relations The Protocol on Economic Relations, also called the Paris Protocol, was an agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, signed on 29 April 1994, and incorporated with minor amendments into the Oslo II Accord of September 19 ...

(1994); Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area (1994); Washington Declaration (1994); Agreement on Preparatory Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities Between Israel and the PLO (1994); Protocol on Further Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities (1995); Wye River Memorandum (1998). To sum up the memorandum:

In an effort to break the deadlocked Israel-PA negotiations, the parties met in Sharm El Sheikh in the presence of Secretary Albright, President Mubarak and King Abdullah, and signed an agreement which called for the Israeli withdrawal from a further 11% of the West Bank; the release of 350 Palestinian prisoners; the opening of safe passages between the West Bank and Gaza; and a seaport to be built in Gaza. There was also a timetable for final status talks to deal with Jerusalem, borders, refugees and settlements. A framework agreement on permanent status (FAPS) was to be achieved by February 2000 and permanent agreement by September 2000.

Redeployments

The two sides agreed to resume Permanent Status negotiations to reach a Permanent Status Agreement. They reaffirmed that negotiations on the Permanent Status would lead to the implementation of Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. Both sides agreed to make a determined effort to conclude a framework agreement and established a timetable to achieve this goal. Israel and Palestine agreed on a number of Israeli redeployments. (Note: Area A - Full control of the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...

. Area B - Palestinian civil control, Israeli military control. Area C - Full Israeli control.) # On September 5, 1999, to transfer 7% from Area C to Area B. # On November 15, 1999, to transfer 2% from Area B to Area A and 3% from Area C to Area B. # On January 20, 2000, to transfer 1% from Area C to Area A, and 5.1% from Area B to Area A.

Other stipulations

* Various committees to monitor redeployments and the return to civilian life. * Safe passage routes and crossing points. * A high level Joint Liaison Committee, which would convene no later than September 13, 1999 to review the situation in the

Tomb of the Patriarchs The Cave of the Patriarchs or Tomb of the Patriarchs, known to Jews by its Hebrew Bible, Biblical name Cave of Machpelah () and to Muslims as the Sanctuary of Abraham (), is a series of caves situated south of Jerusalem in the heart of the Ol ...

/ ''Al Haram Al Ibrahimi'' The memorandum states that neither side would initiate or take any step that would change the status of the

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 ...

and the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

in accordance with the Interim Agreement. This clause recognized the necessity to create an appropriate environment for negotiations, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators also discussed various issues: * Needs for the peaceful and normal functioning of the Gaza sea port and airport. * The release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli military jails. * Anti-terrorism security. Both sides affirmed they would act swiftly against any threat or act of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

, violence or incitement, whether committed by Palestinians or Israelis. Palestine and Israel also called upon the international donor community to enhance its financial support for the Palestinian economic development and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

References

External links

Full text of the Memorandum

** ttps://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/sharmmap2.html Map for the second Israeli redeployment after the Sharm al-Sheikh Agreement {{Arab–Israeli diplomacy Israeli–Palestinian peace process 1999 in Israel Memoranda Treaties of Israel Treaties of Palestine Treaties concluded in 1999 Yasser Arafat 1999 in Palestine 1999 in Egypt Conferences in Sharm El Sheikh Hosni Mubarak Madeleine Albright Egypt in the Arab–Israeli conflict