Yossi

Beilin Initiated the Oslo process in the spring of 1992 along with Terje Rød-Larsen and, in 1995, reached historic understanding with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on a final status agreement, which served as a basis for the Clinton parameters.

The Oslo I Accord, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles (DOP), was a framework treaty for the resolution of the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict. It was the first mutually recognized agreement between the government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Negotiations concerning the agreement were conducted secretly in Oslo, Norway and completed on 20 August 1993. The Accords were officially signed at a public ceremony in Washington, D.C., on 13 September 1993 in the presence of PLO chairman Yasser Arafat, the then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and U.S. President Bill Clinton.

The documents were signed and witnessed by Mahmoud Abbas for the PLO, foreign Minister Shimon Peres for Israel, U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher for the United States and foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev for Russia.

The main concern of the Accords was on Israeli withdrawal from the territories of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza strip in order to allow for the establishment of a self-governed Palestinian Authority until a more permanent arrangement could be established.

The signing of the declaration had dramatic consequences on the policy of Israel towards the PLO: Israel acknowledged the PLO as the representative of Palestinian people and announced its intent to being negotiations as part of a comprehensive peace process in the Middle East.

Arafat, in turn, acknowledged Israel's right for a safe and peaceful existence. Arafat committed himself to the peace process and to work towards a peaceful solution to the conflict: he obliged to refrain for the use of terror and violence.

The Beilin-Abu Mazen agreement (or Beilin-Abu Mazen plan or Beilin-Abu Mazen document) was a draft proposal written by Dr Yossi Beilin and Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) and their teams which included Yair Hirschfeld, Ron Pundak, Dr Ahmad al-Khalidi and Hussayn al-Agha.

The negotiations that took place between 1993 and 1995 would serve as the basis for a future Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty. It was one of the first proposals for a final peace treaty on which both Israelis and Palestinians worked together.  

Then Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin was unable to approve this proposal due to his assassination just a few days after this proposal was finished.

By 2001, Palestinian officials said that the proposal had no bearing on the refugee issue, a position that Abu Mazan also supports. 

In December 2003, Beilin co-launched the Geneva Initiative with Yasser Abed Rabbo, presenting a full model agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. He is still very much involved and working in the Geneva Initiative.

In recent years 500 pages of appendixes have been added to the Accord. These are additional generic outlines which can be used in a peace treaty even though they are not synonymous to the original document and its parameters.

The Geneva Initiative

"a model permanent status agreement between the State of Israel and the State of Palestine. The accord presents a comprehensive and unequivocal solution to all issues vital to ensuring the end of the conflict. Adopting the agreement and implementing it would bring about a solution to the historical conflict, a new chapter in Israeli-Palestinian relations, and, most importantly, the realization of the national visions of both parties."

Mission Statement

"The Geneva Initiative provides realistic and achievable solutions on all issues, based on the previous official negotiations, international resolutions, the Quartet Roadmap, Clinton Parameters, Bush Vision, and Arab Peace Initiative.

In addition to presenting a detailed blueprint for Israeli-Palestinian peace, the GI aims to bring that moment of peace closer by, showing the way and preparing public opinion and leadership to be accepting of the real compromises required to solve the conflict.

The Geneva Initiative NGOs educate and campaign, both locally and internationally, that it is in the best interest of Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate directly in order to reach a realistic, dignified, and sustainable 2-state solution in which both peoples can build a brighter future, as is embodied in the model Geneva Accord.

The GI and our activities are designed to reinstill in the Israeli and Palestinian peoples the hope that it is possible to reach an agreement that will serve their respective national and personal interests and aspirations. We are committed to exposing each side's public to the message of the other – despite the technical and psychological barriers.

After a century of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, the Geneva Initiative offers a real and mutually agreed upon possibility for ending the conflict between the two sides and obtaining a mutually acceptable peace that guarantees the vital national interests of both sides."