Although Israel had made a tentative peace with its neighbors to the North and West, trouble within its borders remained. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, many displaced during the 1948 and 1967 wars, were living in camps in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Late in 1987, a general uprising began in the camps and surrounding areas. The Intifada, as it was known, was marked with day after day of clashes between stone-throwing Palestinians and Israeli soldiers. As the protests continued, diplomatic efforts were making tentative headway. In 1988, the Palestinian National Council accepted a U.N. partition, Israel's right to exist and renounced terrorism. The move sparked a new dialogue with the U.S. about becoming more involved in the peace process. Meanwhile, the Israeli government of Yitzhak Shamir proposed a form of self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza.

Both maneuvers opened the path to the first major all-party summit. The 1991 Madrid conference, organized by the U.S. and the Soviet Union, included Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestinian representatives. The three-day meeting paved the way to a series of bilateral talks, many overseen by the U.S., between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Starting in 1992, the sides began a series of discussions focusing on Israeli relations with its neighbors and the Palestinians. Throughout the year, working groups convened to discuss water rights, refugees, security matter and other topics. Following the tenth round of talks in the summer of 1993, Palestinian and Israeli officials said they had reached a provisional agreement in secret talks on partial autonomy in occupied territories.

The 11th round of talks opened in Oslo, Norway with Israel's announcement of an agreement on Palestinian self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho. Just a week later, the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Israeli government agreed to recognize each other after 45 years of conflict. The full series of agreements become known as the Oslo Accord.

On September 13, 1993, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat met and watched Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO official Abou Abbas formally sign the agreement reached at Oslo. President Clinton, who presided over the signing, said, "Today marks a shining moment of hope for the people of the Middle East; indeed, of the entire world."