UN Partition Plan, 1947
The original idea for what Israel would look like came from the United Nation's Resolution 181, which divided the land into two states: one Jewish and one Arab, with Jerusalem as a neutral international zone. The plan was passed by the UN with a vote of 33-13 with 10 abstentions. Zionist leaders accepted the plan, though reluctantly, but Arab nations rejected the plan on the basis of the existence of a Jewish state.
1949 Armistice Agreements
Israel signed armistice agreements with Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon at the conclusion of the 1948 war, with mediation from the UN. These negotiations were meant only to be temporary, to be later replaced by permanent peace solutions. The most notable change in the map came with the establishment of the "Green Line" which today outlines the West Bank. At this time, the land east of the Green Line was Jordanian, and Gaza was to be controlled by Egypt. There were also several demilitarized zones along controversial borders.
Allon Plan, 1967
Israeli Minister of Labor and former war general Yigal Allon proposed this plan in 1967, shortly after the Six Day War. There were two versions of this plan. The first would establish Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank (with various ties to Israel), The second divided the west bank between Jordan and Israel. Israel would gain the Jordan Valley, a crucial strategic spot, as well as a pathway to connect it to Jerusalem. While neither plan was ever officially adopted, it was used as a guideline for negotiations surrounding the West Bank for years to come.
UN Security Council Resolution 242, 1967
Resolution 242 was a resolution passed by the UN Security Council during the aftermath of the Six Day War. The resolution passed unanimously and required the withdrawal of Israeli troops from all lands acquired during the war as well as reversing any claims to sovereignty over lands and respecting the independence of the States in the area. It was passed by the 15-nation council unanimously.
Rogers Plan, 1969
American Secretary of State William Rogers proposed this plan, which required that Israel return to the internationally-recognized border with Egypt, removing the Gaza Strip and a large Egyptian city in the Sinai from Israeli sovereignty, keeping Jerusalem unified and run by the three Abrahamic religions, and maintaining safe passage through the Suez Canal for Israeli ships. There were several small adjustments made later to the Jordanian front. When asked to renew the ceasefire between Israel and Egypt as a starting point for negotiations, Egypt agreed but Israel refused. After several edited proposals, the Rogers Plan was rejected by Israel entirely.
Geneva Conference, 1973
The Geneva Conference was headed by the US and the Soviet Union and was sponsored by the UN. Egypt and Jordan negotiated through mediators in order to not speak directly with Israel during the conference.
Sharon Plan, 1977
Ariel Sharon, then Minister of Agriculture at the time, proposed this plan in 1977, which was accepted by the Knesset. The plan included four parts and was aimed at extending the settlements in the West Bank. The plan involved adding urban settlements in "Western Seam Zone" (also known as the Samaria mountains) and expanding settlements in the Jordan Valley. Sharon also planned to link the sections with roads and protect them with more settlements as well as encircling East Jerusalem with Jewish settlements.
Camp David Accords, 1978
The Camp David Accords were the culmination of talks between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and US President Jimmy Carter. Israel and Egypt were both hesitant to come to the table, but when Sadat spoke for the Knesset in November 1977, talks began just 2 days later. The Accords were threefold: establishing an autonomous, self-governing authority in the West Bank and Gaza, fully implementing Resolution 242, and recognizing the "legitimate rights of the Palestinian people." The latter was supposed to guarantee full autonomy for the Palestinian people within five years. As a result of these negotiations, Egypt was suspended from the Arab League for 10 years.
Madrid Conference, 1991
This conference was co-chaired by President George HW Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. Delegations from Israel, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon were in attendance, along with a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation. There was little headway made during the five-day conference as most delegations remained stuck in their traditional positions, but opening up channels for direct negotiation did ultimately lead to the signing of the Oslo Accords just two years later.
Oslo Accords, 1993 & 1995
Under the guidance of US President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Palestine Liberation Organization's Mahmoud Abbas signed the Oslo Accords. In the agreement, both Israel and the PLO recognized each other as legitimate bodies. They also agreed to establish the Palestinian Authority as a governing body in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank over the course of five years, after which talks would begin related to borders, refugees, and the status of Jerusalem. The PLO also renounced terrorism in this agreement. However, the successes hoped for in the negotiations did not last long, since Israel's agreed to withdraw troops from Gaza and Hebron as well as reducing the number of new settlements was not held up, nor was the PA's ability to police or reduce terrorism fulfilled.
This failure led to the renegotiations of Oslo II. Most notably, Oslo II created what is now known as Area A, B, and C. Area A was to be governed entirely by the Palestinian Authority, C was entirely governed by Israel, and B was to have joint leadership. This was planned to be handled by Israeli leadership over Jewish settlements as well as Israeli security over the whole area, while administrative and police jurisdiction over Arab neighborhoods was left to the PA (like Area A). These areas are still implemented and restricted approximately according to the points of Oslo II.
Camp David Summit, 2000
The hope of the Camp David summit of 2000 was to negotiate a final peace deal in accordance with the 1993 Oslo Accords (I). In attendance at the summit was US President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and PA & PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. In early talks before the summit, Arafat spoke of being willing to make large concessions, including those regarding Israeli settlement and the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. However, Barak only make verbal proposals to Arafat, never putting anything in official writing. Among these proposals was a map which would have separated a Palestinian state into 4 pieces, connected by roads. The summit ended without agreement, and despite Clinton's promise not to lay blame, blame was cast on the Palestinian negotiating team.
The Clinton Parameters, 2001
After the failure of the negotiations at Camp David, Clinton proposed the Clinton Parameters, his idea of a possible agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. He envisioned a Palestinian state residing on between 94 and 96 percent of the West Bank, with land swapping with Israel to make up for the remaining 4-6 percent annexed to Israel. An international force would maintain the security over the area, and Israel would maintain a presence in the Jordan Valley for three years as an added precaution. The solution also proposed Israel and neighboring countries absorbing a limited number of Palestinian refugees as a solution to the refugee crisis resulting form the conflict.
Beirut Summit, 2002
The Arab League Summit of 2002, also known as the Beirut Summit, was a meeting of the Arab League focused on the Arab Peace Initiative, or the "Saudi Initiative". Absent from the conference, however, was Yasser Arafat, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and King Abdullah of Jordan. The document was unanimously endorsed by the members attending as a plan to end the Arab-Israeli conflict. It required that Israel withdraw from all occupied territories, including the Syrian Golan Heights and parts of southern Lebanon. It also includes a just end to the refugee crisis and acceptance of an established Palestinian state on the occupied territories in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital city. In exchange, the Arab nations would consider the conflict over, sign a peace agreement with Israel, and establish normal relations with Israel. The agreement faced opposition to the armed resistance-inclined Syria as well as Lebanon, who hoped its Palestinian residents would not remain in their country.
The Road Map for Peace, 2003
President Bush's goal in the Road Map was a permanent, two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by the end of 2003. It called on both parties to reduce violence and create an environment in which peace can thrive. It asked that Israel dismantle settlement outposts and Palestinians take immediate actions to curb terrorism as well as toward developing a democratic government. However, both sides claimed that the other hadn't made significant strides toward reaching their individual goals, and the plan fell apart.
Annapolis Conference, 2007
The Annapolis Conference was a conference hosted by the United States and President George W Bush and was attended by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The conference aimed to gather international support for the revival of the peace process and begin negations on all core issues on the path toward establishing a Palestinian state. Abbas demanded the establishment of a Palestinian state on territory spatially equal to that of the West Bank and Gaza, as well as the discussion of right of return, the status of Jerusalem, borders, security, and water issues. During the conference, Olmert conceded that he would be willing to give up parts of East Jerusalem, causing the leader of the Shas party to threaten leaving the coalition and toppling the government. By the end of the conference, both parties had signed a statement committing to a two-state solution and continued peace talks.
Abbas's Peace Plan, 2014
Abbas submitted a peace plan to the US Secretary of State in 2014 which envisioned Israel retreating to pre-1967 borders in a period of three years. It also included a Palestinian state on those lands with East Jerusalem as its capital. In the deal, Abbas agreed to nine months of peace talks with Israel, under the condition that there be no settlement expansion during that time and that Israel release the Palestinian prisoners he has expected to be released 6 months prior.
Trump's Vision for Peace, 2020
The Trump administration released a comprehensive, 50-page plan for peace and a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It suggested a Palestinian state on land comparable to the size of pre-67 West Bank and Gaza. The map pieces together a Palestinian state out of disjointed pieces of Gaza, the West Bank, and parts of the Negev to compensate for Jewish communities retained by Israel in the West Bank. Jerusalem would largely remain in israel (including the Old City, which would be open to all worshippers), though a small part of East Jerusalem would become the capital of a demilitarized Palestinian state. A board of Israeli, Palestinian, and American representatives would monitor road and border crossings between countries and between sections of a Palestinian state. The plan also promised some kind of compensation to Palestinian refugees, though notably not the "right of return" Palestinians often call for.
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