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Israel and the Palestinians ·

The Madrid Conference

An opening conference for negotiations, not an agreement: no binding document was signed, and it only set the framework for the talks that followed.

In 30 seconds

At the end of October 1991, Israel, its neighbours and Palestinian representatives met in Madrid for direct talks, sponsored by the United States and the Soviet Union1. The conference produced no agreement, but it opened negotiating tracks from which the Oslo Accords and the peace treaty with Jordan later grew1.

Where it stands today

A historical event that is over; there is nothing here to be “in force”. According to the US State Department's Office of the Historian, the Washington talks it launched were deadlocked by 1993 and the parties bypassed them through secret channels1.

In one sentence

To seat all the parties to the Arab–Israeli conflict at direct talks for the first time.

The challenge

Until 1991 only Egypt had signed a peace with Israel. After the Gulf War, US Secretary of State James Baker made rounds of talks in the region to convene a conference that would open direct negotiations1.

Palestinian representation was a central obstacle. In the end the Palestinians were represented only by delegates from the occupied territories, inside a joint delegation with Jordan, without PLO officials and without residents of East Jerusalem1.

The road there

  1. The conference opens in Madrid, co-chaired by US President George H. W. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev1.
  2. End date of the conference according to the US Office of the Historian1.
  3. Bilateral talks between Israel and its neighbours begin in Washington1.
  4. Multilateral talks begin in Moscow1.

The people

Mediated
James Baker

What came out of it

  • No agreement was signed. The parties kept their familiar positions but agreed to go on talking1.
  • A bilateral track: direct talks between Israel and each Arab delegation, held in Washington1.
  • A multilateral track: regional talks that opened in Moscow1.

The geography

100%
Schematic map of Israel and its neighbours with line typesMediterranean SeaGulf of AqabaGulf of SuezEGYPTSinaiISRAELJORDANSYRIALEBANONSAUDI ARABIAWest BankGaza StripGolan HeightsJerusalemTel AvivGazaRamallahAmmanCairoDamascusBeirutSharm el-SheikhEilat · Aqaba · TabaRafahNaharayim / BaquraSuez

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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

  • Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir headed the Israeli delegation; Israel did not sit opposite the PLO, and the Palestinians came without formal PLO representation1.

What was carried out

  • The bilateral and multilateral talks did open, in December 1991 and January 19921.

What was not

  • The Washington talks produced no agreement and were deadlocked by 19931.

What changed in real life

  • For the first time, all the parties to the Arab–Israeli conflict sat together for direct talks1.
  • A secret channel in Norway, opened in January 1993, led to the Declaration of Principles between Israel and the PLO23; secret talks between Israel and Jordan led to the peace treaty of October 19941.

What remains open

  • Madrid shows that a broad public framework can open a door, but the decisions were later taken in small, secret channels that bypassed it1.
  • The Syrian and Lebanese tracks did not mature into peace treaties; see the talks with Syria.

Sources

  1. Official archive U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
    The Madrid Conference, 1991
  2. Official archive Government of Norway (regjeringen.no)
    Norway's involvement in the peace process in the Middle East
  3. Primary PA-X Peace Agreements Database, University of Edinburgh · 13 September 1993
    Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements ('Oslo Accords')

Further reading