The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation

In 1989, the world changed. There followed the First Gulf War, and the
collapse of the Soviet Union. These events had their effect on Middle
East politics. In 1991, the International Madrid Conference on Peace in
the Middle East took place. Between 1993 and 1995, the PLO and Israel
signed an interim agreement in Oslo, under which the Palestinian national
leadership was to be recognized by Israel. The agreement included
the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza and most of the cities of
the West Bank, but also divided the West Bank into three categories,
which permitted continued administrative and military controlled by Israel.
During this period, Israel also intensified settlement activities in the
occupied territories. Below the level of the agreed-upon peace, the bat -
tles between the settlers, backed by the Israeli government and the Israeli
army, and the Palestinians continued. In February 1994, an ex tremist
settler opened fire on Palestinians at the Tomb of Abraham in Hebron,
and killed twenty-nine people, before being killed himself. Hamas there -
upon organized suicide bombings in the centres of Israeli cities. On November
5, 1995, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was murdered by another
Israeli extremist. In the spring of 1996, in the midst of the Israeli elec tion
campaign, Hamas again organized suicide bombings, and thus contrib -
uted to the victory of Benjamin Netanyahu, an opponent of the Oslo process.
Nonetheless, an agreement was signed in 1997 for the withdrawal
of the Israeli army from Hebron, except for the protection of a small
group of settlers in the middle of the old town. These settlers were – and
still are – one of the most vocal and provocative groups, engaged in attacking
Palestinians, actions commonly known as “price tag” attacks –
terrorist acts against Palestinian civilians.
In 1999, Ehud Barak of the Labour Party became Prime Minister. In his
election campaign, with the support of the peace movement, he called
for continuing the peace process, and at the same time for continuing
the settlement policy. He returned from Camp David with no results. By
now, the time appeared ripe for a new wave of violence on both sides.
Ariel Sharon provoked that with his visit to the Temple Mount. Renewed
attempts to restart the peace talks, such as Bill Clinton’s Taba initiative,
failed; suicide bombings continued. The Second Intifada broke out, and
was considerably more violent than the first, due to “targeted assassi-
52