The Camp David Summit - What Went Wrong?

by Shimon Shamir, Shimon Shamir (Editor)

The Camp David Summit of 2000 was a formative event in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian relations. It was the most comprehensive effort ever to resolve a hundred-year conflict. Yet, it not only ended in failure but was immediately followed by the eruption of unprecedented violence. After an message from President Bill Clinton, and introductory chapters by Shimon Shamir, Itamar Rabinovich, Sari Nusseibeh and Martin Indyk, the 27 chapter contributions are divided Israeli Negotiators, Palestinian Perspectives, American Participants, the Barak Version and its Critics, the Negotiation Experts, Academic Perspectives, and the Clinton Parameters. The volume concludes with a Political Debate on the way forward. This book is essential reading for all those interested in Israeli-Arab relations, the Middle East in general, international diplomacy, and conflict resolution.

267 pages, Hardcover

First published July 30, 2005

Reviews

[Jim Dobbins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This provided a really interesting set of perspectives - many of them clashing with each other - from many of the leaders and advisors who took part in the talks. So - especially 24 years later - it was just an interesting way to satisfy some curiosity about what went on, who was at fault for the collapse of the talks, etc. BUT - at the end of the book (hey, it's history, so this can't be a spoiler!) we see just how much progress both sides had made toward a realistic solution, and just how far both sides have regressed from there. Likud members like Ariel Sharon were acknowledging that there needed to be a permanent agreement that would cede a huge majority of the West Bank (like in the 90%s) and Gaza (100%) to the Palestinians, and all sides tacitly agreed to the Clinton Parameters, which codified this. It was seen that the 2nd intifada, which began shortly after the talks collapsed, and while this book was being produced, were essentially a speed bump, after which a final agreement along the lines of the Clinton Parameters would likely be achieved. And now, in 2024, with Hamas on one side and Netanyahu, Ben-Givr and Smotrich on the other, it now looks impossible. But the ray of hope is that long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, reasonable people on both sides recognized the need to coexist along roughly the boundaries immediately preceding the 1967 six-day war. Maybe - maybe - such reasonable people can be found again one day.