On September 13, 1993, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Negotiator Mahmoud Abbas signed the Oslo Accords. Israel accepted the PLO as the representative of the Palestinians, and the PLO renounced terrorism and recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace.

Both sides agreed that a Palestinian Authority (PA) would be established and assume governing responsibilities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over a five-year period. But the provisional government still exists today, plagued by allegations of corruption and police brutality.

Major sticking points were left unresolved at the time of the signing of the accords. These included concerns about territory, illegal Jewish settlements, the status of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees and the right of return.

“Israel had no intention of agreeing to the emergence of a viable, contiguous, and independent Palestinian state,” says Osamah Khalil, professor of history. “Israel was able to pursue its occupation and settlement policies with the political cover of endless negotiations,” he says.