Room for Peace
עבריתالعربيةEnglish

Israel and the Palestinians ·

The Paris Protocol and the Gaza–Jericho Agreement

Two interim agreements implementing the Declaration of Principles — one economic, one on withdrawal and the transfer of powers — not a peace treaty or a permanent-status settlement.

In 30 seconds

In spring 1994 two agreements were signed: the Paris Protocol, which set the economic relationship, and the Cairo agreement, which arranged a partial Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the Jericho area and created the Palestinian Authority23. The Cairo agreement was replaced in 1995; the Paris economic arrangement still operates.

Where it stands today

The Gaza–Jericho Agreement was superseded in 1995 by the Interim Agreement3. The Paris Protocol mechanism — Israel collects taxes on goods bound for PA areas and transfers them to the PA — still operates; as of October 2026, Israel's withholding of that money is described as a main factor in the Palestinian Authority's fiscal crisis47.

In one sentence

To turn the Oslo principles into a first reality on the ground: an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Jericho, a Palestinian Authority and a shared economic framework.

The challenge

The Declaration of Principles said the interim period would begin with an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Jericho, but left the details to a separate agreement1.

The road there was not smooth: on 25 February 1994 worshippers were massacred at the mosque in Hebron, and the Israeli–Palestinian talks stopped. A temporary international observer presence was then placed in the city2.

The road there

  1. The Declaration of Principles is signed in Washington1.
  2. The massacre at the mosque in Hebron; the talks stop2.
  3. The Paris Protocol is signed by Finance Minister Avraham Shohat and Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala)2.
  4. The Gaza–Jericho Agreement is signed in Cairo by Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat3.
  5. The Agreement on Preparatory Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities is signed at the Erez crossing2.

The people

What was agreed

  • Cairo agreement: a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the Jericho area3.
  • Cairo agreement: creation of a 24-member Palestinian Authority with executive and legislative powers, to run the evacuated areas3.
  • Paris Protocol: the Palestinian Authority may set customs on defined import lists; the Israeli shekel is legal tender in PA areas; a Palestinian Monetary Authority is established2.
  • Paris Protocol: separate VAT systems, with the Palestinian rate kept close to Israel's (15–16% against 17% at the time)2.
  • Paris Protocol: arrangements for the movement of industrial goods and farm produce and for Palestinian workers employed in Israel, and a Joint Economic Committee to oversee implementation2.

Read the document

The geography

100%
Schematic map of Israel and its neighbours with line typesWest BankGaza StripJerusalemTel AvivGazaRamallahAmmanRafahNaharayim / Baqura

Choose a country on the map or in the list. Use + and − to zoom. On touch screens, enable gestures to drag and pinch; scroll the page outside the map. Keyboard: arrows to pan, + and − to zoom, Home to reset.

Layers · Legend
  • International boundary agreed in a peace treaty
  • Treaty line with Jordan, “without prejudice to the status” of the territory beyond it
  • 1949 armistice line (“Green Line”) — not an agreed final border
  • “Blue Line” — UN line of withdrawal (2000), not a border
  • Ceasefire / disengagement line with Syria (1974)
  • Other international boundary
  • West Bank and Gaza Strip: permanent status not agreed
  • Golan Heights: held by Israel since 1967; annexation not recognised by the UN
  • UN area of separation (UNDOF)

Classification follows the original research as of 7 Oct 2026. This schematic map is not a legal boundary map or a live update.

  • International boundary agreed in a peace treaty
  • Treaty line with Jordan, “without prejudice to the status” of the territory beyond it
  • 1949 armistice line (“Green Line”) — not an agreed final border
  • “Blue Line” — UN line of withdrawal (2000), not a border
  • Ceasefire / disengagement line with Syria (1974)
  • Other international boundary
  • West Bank and Gaza Strip: permanent status not agreed
  • Golan Heights: held by Israel since 1967; annexation not recognised by the UN
  • UN area of separation (UNDOF)

Schematic map. Lines are approximate and are not a legal determination. Data: Natural Earth (public domain), 1:10m scale; line classification and place names by this site. Lines as of October 2026. Peace map

The hard decisions

  • The economic agreement ties the Palestinian economy to Israel's — in currency, customs and tax collection — and leaves the transfer of the money in Israel's hands24.
  • The withdrawal was partial: the agreement did not deal with settlements, borders or Jerusalem, which were deferred to permanent status1.

What was carried out

  • According to the ECF database, Israeli forces left the designated areas by 25 May 1994, as scheduled, and the Palestinian Authority took over their administration3.
  • The US Office of the Historian describes the Cairo agreement as finalising Israel's withdrawal from most of the Gaza Strip and from Jericho5.
  • With the withdrawal, the five-year interim period set by the Declaration of Principles began to run1.

What was not

—

What changed in real life

  • For the first time a Palestinian authority ran daily life in Gaza and Jericho36.
  • According to Arab Center Washington DC, the tax money Israel collects and transfers under the Paris Protocol makes up about two thirds of the Palestinian Authority's revenue4.

What remains open

  • The Paris Protocol was designed for an interim period, yet it is still the basis of the economic relationship. According to Arab Center Washington DC, Israel has made deductions from the money since 2019, stopped the transfers entirely in May 2025, and by the end of 2025 about 4.5 billion dollars had been withheld4.
  • Security Council members have called on Israel to release the withheld revenues7.

Sources

  1. Primary PA-X Peace Agreements Database, University of Edinburgh · 13 September 1993
    Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements ('Oslo Accords')
  2. Primary United Nations, Division for Palestinian Rights (UNISPAL) · October 1994
    Developments related to the Middle East peace process, April–September 1994 (texts of the Paris Protocol and the Gaza–Jericho Agreement)
  3. Research Economic Cooperation Foundation (ECF)
    Cairo Agreement on Gaza and Jericho (1994)
  4. Research Arab Center Washington DC · 12 February 2026
    Running on Empty: The Deepening Fiscal Crisis of the Palestinian Authority
  5. Official archive U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
    The Oslo Accords and the Arab-Israeli Peace Process
  6. Reference נשים עושות שלום
    הסכמים מדיניים עיקריים במזרח התיכון
  7. Research Security Council Report · 1 October 2026
    The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question — October 2026 Monthly Forecast

Further reading