West Asia At War: Repression, Resistance and Great Power Games

by Talmiz Ahmad

In September 1995, Rabin signed the Oslo II Accord at Taba, in Egypt, which provided for the progressive withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of the West Bank and the simultaneous deployment of 30,000 Palestinian security personnel. The Palestinian self-governing authority, the PA, and a Palestinian Parliament became functional. The agreement divided the West Bank into three areas, with A (2.8 per cent) coming under the PA; B (22.9 per cent), where authority would be shared with Israel; and C (74.3 per cent) which would be under effective Israeli control. Despite the very limited authority being transferred to the Palestinians, Oslo II was backed by 72 per cent of the Palestinians – the highest level of support for the peace process.38 In Israel, the situation was the opposite. Likud politicians condemned the accord in the Knesset, while the settlers and their rabbi leaders warned Rabin of serious consequences – one of them described the peace effort as ‘the ugly face, the monstrous face of the false peace that is purchased by national betrayal’.39 In October 1995, at a public demonstration, Rabin was depicted in a Nazi SS (Schutzstaffel) officer’s uniform. On 4 November 1995, Rabin was assassinated by a young student, Yigal Amir, a disciple of Baruch Goldstein, who had killed twenty-nine Muslim worshippers at the Patriarch’s Mosque in February 1994. Despite this serious setback to the peace process, both Israeli and Palestinian leaders continued with the implementation...