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Regional and civil initiatives ·

The Geneva Initiative

An unofficial initiative: a detailed model permanent-status agreement drafted by Israeli and Palestinian public figures. It was not signed by governments and binds neither side.

In 30 seconds

On 1 December 2003 a detailed text of a permanent-status agreement, drafted by an unofficial team led by Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo, was presented in Geneva1. It proposes two states based on the 1967 lines with equal land swaps, a divided Jerusalem, an agreed solution for refugees and international supervision2. No government adopted it1.

Where it stands today

As of October 2026 the Geneva Initiative remains a model agreement that neither Israel nor the PLO has adopted1, and no permanent-status negotiations are under way6.

In one sentence

To show, article by article, that a full permanent-status agreement between Israel and a Palestinian state can be written.

The challenge

The Taba talks ended in January 2001 without agreement, and the Second Intifada went on. Official negotiations on permanent status stopped.

An unofficial team of Israelis and Palestinians kept drafting what had been left unfinished. The result: a detailed document setting out a possible text of a permanent-status agreement on all the core issues1.

The road there

  1. The Clinton Parameters set out baselines for permanent status; the Geneva Initiative would later spell out similar ideas.
  2. The document is presented at a ceremony in Geneva under Swiss government auspices; the teams are led by Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo1.
  3. Detailed annexes completing the document are published1.

The people

What was proposed

  • A border based on the lines of 4 June 1967, with reciprocal 1:1 modifications shown on a map; Israel withdraws within 30 months; a corridor between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under Israeli sovereignty and Palestinian administration2.
  • Israel resettles inside its own territory the settlers living beyond the border, and the buildings in evacuated settlements pass to Palestinian sovereignty2.
  • Jerusalem is the capital of both states, with sovereignty divided by neighbourhood. The Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif is under Palestinian sovereignty with an international presence; the Western Wall under Israeli sovereignty; the Old City is open to movement2.
  • Refugees: compensation, and a choice of permanent place of residence – the State of Palestine, the areas transferred to it in the swap, third countries, the host countries, or Israel, which sets the number at its sovereign discretion. UNRWA ends its work within five years2.
  • Palestine is a non-militarised state with a strong security force; a multinational force is deployed on its territory; Israel keeps two early-warning stations and a small military presence in the Jordan Valley for a limited period2.
  • An international Implementation and Verification Group (the United States, Russia, the European Union, the UN and others) oversees implementation; disputes move from negotiation to mediation and finally to arbitration2.
  • Mutual recognition, full diplomatic relations, an end to the conflict and an end to all claims2.

Read the document

The geography

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

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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

  • According to a summary on Wikipedia, Ariel Sharon's government attacked the document sharply, and then Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom protested against its foreign funding as interference in internal affairs3.
  • According to the same summary, there was opposition on the Palestinian side to what was seen as trading the right of return for a state; one of the Palestinian drafters, Jamal Zakut, said the refugee article contains a certain ambiguity: it neither guarantees full return nor waives the right of return3.
  • According to the same summary, Yasser Arafat praised the initiative but reportedly approved it only in principle, not in its details3.
  • The structural barrier: this is an unofficial initiative. The drafters did not act on behalf of the Government of Israel or the PLO, and neither side officially adopted the document1.
  • The 2003 text was not complete: the articles on water and on economic relations refer to annexes, and the article on legal cooperation was left to teams of experts2.

Where accounts differ

According to The drafters of the initiative
The document sets out a complete agreement: an end to the conflict, an end to all claims, and mutual recognition of the two peoples' right to two separate states4.
According to The Sharon government (according to Wikipedia)
The government criticised the document sharply, and the foreign minister regarded foreign funding of the initiative as interference in Israel's internal affairs3.
According to Palestinian critics (according to Wikipedia)
The proposed arrangement for refugees does not guarantee return and trades the right of return for a state3.

What was carried out

—

What was not

  • Neither the Government of Israel nor the PLO adopted the document, and it never became official negotiations1.

What remains open

  • Later proposals build on the initiative: the 2022 Holy Land Confederation proposal bases its proposed border on the Geneva maps5.
  • The annexes added in 20091 were not reviewed for this page; the description here rests on the 2003 text alone.

Sources

  1. Research Economic Cooperation Foundation (ECF)
    Geneva Initiative (2003)
  2. Primary Geneva Initiative · 2003
    The Geneva Accord — Full Text
  3. Reference Wikipedia
    Geneva Initiative (2003)
  4. Reference Geneva Initiative
    The Accord (summary on the initiative's website)
  5. Primary Economic Cooperation Foundation (ECF) · 2022
    The Holy Land Confederation as a Facilitator for the Two-State Solution — English, 1st edition (2022)
  6. Research Security Council Report · 2026
    The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question — October 2026 Monthly Forecast