Beilin-Abu Mazen agreement

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The Beilin-Abu Mazen agreement (or Beilin-Abu Mazen plan or Beilin-Abu Mazen document) is an unofficial draft agreement between negotiators Yossi Beilin and Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas), finished in 1995, that would serve as the basis for a future Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty. The proposal was never formally adopted by either the Israeli or the Palestinian governments, and has been disavowed by the Palestinian leadership.

Publication and reception

The document was finalized in October 1995.[1] It was never formally published and never adopted by the Israelis or the Palestinians. PLO officials disavowed its existence, but the proposal found its way into circulation.[2]

Then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was unable to give his seal of approval to this proposal due to his assassination just a few days after publication. New Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat did not completely accept this proposal, but supported using it as a basis for further negotiations and for a final status peace deal.[3]

Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) denied ever signing the agreement, but confirmed that there had been a dialog concerning the final status negotiations and the existence of some text.[1] Abbas later disavowed the proposal, leading some to call it the "Beilin-Abu Beilin agreements."[4] Yasser Arafat disavowed the proposal as well.[5] By 2001, Palestinian officials said that the proposal has no bearing on the refugee issue, a position that Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) supports as well.[6][7]

Although the proposal was never completely accepted, some of the ideas presented in it were thought to be good compromises in resolving certain issues in final status negotiations later on.[8]

Contents of the agreement

In the Beilin-Abu Mazen Agreement,[8] Israel would agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state on most of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In turn, the Palestinians would give up their right of return to Israel proper and instead encourage Palestinian refugees to settle in the new Palestinian state.

Jerusalem and Abu Dis

Jerusalem's municipal borders would be expanded to include nearby Arab neighborhoods such as Abu Dis, as well as the Jewish settlements Ma'ale Adumim, Givat Ze'ev, Givon, and adjacent areas, together to be called the "City of Jerusalem"; a two-third Israeli majority in the "City of Jerusalem" would be guaranteed.[9] One Municipality would be maintained in the form of a Joint Higher Municipal Council, with two (Israeli and Palestinian) sub-municipalities. The Western part of the city, "Yerushalayim", would be the capital of Israel; the Arab Eastern part, "al-Quds", the capital of Palestine.

"al-Quds" would become under Palestinian sovereignty with "extra-territorial sovereignty" (whatever that may be) over the Haram ash-Sharif. The ultimate sovereignty over the city inside the present municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, but outside West Jerusalem and Arab Eastern Jerusalem would be decided upon in future negotiations.

The Parties would guarantee freedom of worship and access to all Holy Sites for members of all faiths and religions without impediment or restriction.[8]

Dore Gold, the former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, stated by looking at negotiation documents that the Palestinians always wanted to have East Jerusalem as their permanent, long-term capital and never intended to accept Abu Dis as a permanent substitute to Jerusalem. Abu Dis was merely meant to be the provisional, temporary Palestinian capital before the Palestinians acquired East Jerusalem in future negotiations.[10]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 MidEastWeb, 1995, Beilin Abu-Mazen Agreement
  2. ↑ Katz, Mayn (2005). Song of Spies. Variocity. p. 65. ISBN 1933037733. 
  3. ↑ Israel's Rights as a Nation-State in International Diplomacy - Alan Baker (ed.) - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2012-07-30. 
  4. ↑ Ross, Dennis (December 2004/January 2005). "Lost Opportunities: The Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace". Boston Review. Retrieved July 26, 2012. 
  5. ↑ Beyer, Lisa (July 17, 2000). "Why Arafat's in a State". Time World (Jerusalem). Retrieved July 26, 2012. 
  6. ↑ Sedan, Gil (January 16, 2011). "Refugee issue could sink peace talks". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved July 26, 2012. 
  7. ↑ Toameh, Khaled Abu (August 28, 2011). "'UN recognition won't stop PA demand for right of return'". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved July 26, 2012. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Text on JewishVirtualLibrary:The Beilin-Abu Mazen Document
  9. ↑ The Beilin-Abu Mazen Document, ARTICLE VI: JERUSALEM, par. 2-3
  10. ↑ Gold, Dore (2007). The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, The West, and The Future of the Holy City. Regnery Publishing. p. 181. ISBN 159698029X. 

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