1994 - 1998
May 4, 1994 - At a ceremony in Cairo, Israeli Prime Minister Rabin and PLO Chairman Arafat sign the Agreeement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area. The new agreement sets out terms for implementation of the Declaration of Principles and includes annexes on withdrawal of Israeli military forces and security arrangements, civil affairs, legal matters, and economic relations.
August 29, 1994 - The Agreement on the Preparatory Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities is signed at Erez, a checkpoint between Israel and the Gaza Strip. The expansion of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank over education, taxation, social welfare, tourism, and health was completed by December 1994.
October 26, 1994 - The Treaty of Peace between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which had been initialed on October 17 by Israeli Prime Minister Rabin and Jordanian Prime Minister Majali, is signed at the White House. US President Clinton's participation in the signing ceremony underscores the US commitment to the peace process (stated in the Washington Declaration of July).
September 28, 1995 - The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is signed in Washington, DC. The agreement contains 31 articles and seven annexes (redeployment and security, elections, civil affairs, legal matters, economic relations, cooperation programs, and prisoner release). Following the signing, President Clinton hosts a summit attended by King Hussein, President Mubarak, Prime Minister Rabin, and Chairman Arafat. The leaders review progress toward a comprehensive peace and ways to reinforce and accelerate the progress.
September 29, 1995 - US Secretary Christopher, Foreign Minister Peres, and Chairman Arafat convene the first meeting of the US / Israel / Palestinian Trilateral Committee. The parties agree to promot cooperative efforts to foster economic development in the West Bank and Gaza, to explore the means to increase the availability and more efficient use of water resources, to consult on matters of mutual interest, and to promot cooperation on regional issues.
November 4, 1995 - Israeli Prime Minister Yizhak Rabin is assassinated following a peace rally in Tel Aviv by an Israeli university student, Yigal Amir.
December 27, 1995 - Direct Israeli / Syrian talks commence under US auspices near Washington but end inconclusively.
March 13, 1996 - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak hosts a "Summit of the Peacemakers" in Sharm El-Sheikh to call for a halt to extremism and violence.
April 30, 1996 - President Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres sign a US / Israeli Counterterrorism Accord at the White House.
May 31, 1996 - Labor Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu becomes Prime Minister of Israel, having defeated Labor's Shimon Peres in early elections called after the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.
January 17, 1997 - Following extensive mediation by Jordan's King Hussein, the Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron is signed between Israel and the PLO.
September 10-12, 1997 - With the peace process stalled for more than a year, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright makes her first trip to the Middle East as secretary. She calls on Israel to refrain from steps that could pre-empt final status negociations and urges the Palestinian leadership to curb terrorist attacks. She makes little headway and leaves vowing to return only when regional leaders have made hard decisions.
April 28, 1998 - US President Clinton marks the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, calling for reconciliation and a stop to extremism on all sides of the conflict in the Middle East.
September 28, 1998 - Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Chairman Arafat meet at the White House with President Clinton, who announces that Secretary Albright will return to the region for a further push to get direct Israeli-Palestinian negoications back on track.
October 15-23, 1998 - US President Clinton, Secretary Albright and other officials broker intensive negociations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority at the Wye River Conference Center on Maryland's Eastern Shore. A final, all-night session results in agreement upon the Wye River Memorandum, which is signed at the White House on October 23.
December 12-15, 1998 - US President Clinton visits the Palestinian Authority and Israel. Following an history address to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in Gaza, the President witnesses a PLC vote "fully and forever" rejecting conflict with Israel and revoking articles of the Palestinian Charter calling for the destruction of Israel.