Israel and the Palestinians · 28 September 1995

Oslo II – the Interim Agreement

An interim agreement that extended Palestinian self-government to the West Bank — not a peace treaty and not a permanent-status settlement; it fixes no border and creates no state.

In 30 seconds

On 28 September 1995 Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat signed the Interim Agreement in Washington³. It divided the West Bank into Areas A, B and C and provided for an elected Palestinian Council³. It was designed for five years, but the division it created still exists today.

Where it stands today

The agreement was meant for a five-year interim period³, but with no permanent-status agreement the division into Areas A, B and C still applies by default. As of October 2026, Security Council Report records thousands of settlement housing units being advanced in Area C and more than 1,600 settler attacks on Palestinians since the start of the year¹⁴.

In one sentence

To extend Palestinian self-government from Gaza and Jericho to the towns and villages of the West Bank until a permanent settlement is reached.

The challenge

Since 1994 the Palestinian Authority had operated only in the Gaza Strip and the Jericho area¹. The Declaration of Principles required a detailed agreement to widen self-government and allow elections².

Palestinians wanted control of their own lives in the towns and villages; Israel wanted to keep responsibility for security and control of the settlements until permanent status³.

The road there

4 May 1994The Gaza–Jericho Agreement is signed in Cairo¹.
28 September 1995The Interim Agreement is signed in Washington³.
6 October 1995The Knesset approves the agreement by 61 votes to 59⁴.
25 October 1995The date set for the start of the Israeli withdrawal from Jenin⁴.
4 November 1995Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated in Tel Aviv⁵.
20 January 1996Elections for the Palestinian Council and for the head of the Authority⁶.

The people

Led: Yitzhak Rabin · Yasser Arafat
Signed: Yitzhak Rabin · Yasser Arafat

What was agreed

Area A: the Palestinian cities (except Hebron) — full Palestinian civil and security responsibility³.
Area B: Palestinian rural communities — Palestinian civil responsibility, with overriding Israeli responsibility for security and counter-terrorism³.
Area C: the settlements and open land — remaining under full Israeli control³.
Democratic elections for a Palestinian Council³.
The agreement replaced the Gaza–Jericho Agreement and transferred further powers to the Palestinian Authority¹.
A planned duration of five years, during which permanent-status negotiations were to take place³.

The geography

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Layers · Legend

Place names Cities Boundary and separation lines

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 percentages given here do not come from a primary source and should be read as estimates: according to Wikipedia, in the first phase Area A was about 3% of the West Bank, Area B about 23%–25% and Area C about 72%–74%⁷; according to the aid organisation Anera, after the later redeployments the split is about 18% A, about 22% B and more than 60% C⁸.
The Knesset approved the agreement on 6 October 1995 by 61 votes to 59 — a margin of two⁴.
On 4 November 1995, at the end of a peace rally in Kings of Israel Square in Tel Aviv, Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir, an Israeli law student. According to ECF, the motive was his opposition to the Oslo process⁵.
Hamas rejected the process and boycotted the 1996 elections⁶; in February–March 1996, 59 people were killed in Israel in four suicide bombings by the organisation⁹.

What was carried out

The withdrawal from West Bank cities began in autumn 1995; the withdrawal from Jenin was scheduled for 25 October to 17 November⁴. Hebron stayed outside Area A until the Hebron Protocol of 1997¹⁰.
The elections were held on 20 January 1996; Arafat was elected head of the Authority⁶.

What was not

No permanent-status agreement was reached within the five years, and the interim arrangements were never replaced¹¹.
The further redeployments the agreement envisaged were not completed on schedule; the Wye River Memorandum of 1998 was meant to advance their implementation¹².

What changed in real life

Residents of the Palestinian cities came to live under Palestinian administration and police³¹³.
According to Anera, about 300,000 Palestinians and about 400,000 Israeli settlers now live in Area C, with extensive restrictions arising from military zones and state land⁸.

What remains open

Rabin's assassination removed the Israeli leader who had signed the agreement. Shimon Peres succeeded him and lost the election of May 1996⁵. According to the US Office of the Historian, the murder was followed by a string of Hamas terrorist attacks that undermined support for the Labor Party¹¹. The assassination is one of several factors that damaged the process, not a single explanation for its failure.
An arrangement designed for five years has shaped life in the West Bank for more than thirty. Borders, Jerusalem, refugees and settlements remain open².
The agreement did not prevent settlement expansion in Area C; as of 2026 construction there continues¹⁴.

Photos, videos and quotes

4 November 1995 Iconic momentLink supplied by the site owner

כן לשלום - לא לאלימות - הנאום בעצרת, יצחק רבין 4.11.95

Yitzhak Rabin’s full speech at the “Yes to Peace, No to Violence” rally in Kings of Israel Square, Tel Aviv, 4 November 1995. He was assassinated minutes later.

Dan-Eyal Gazit · Opens on the source site in a new tab

4 November 1995 Iconic moment

ISRAEL: RABIN ASSASSINATION: LAST SPEECH AT RALLY

Yitzhak Rabin's last speech at the peace rally in Kings of Israel Square, Tel Aviv, 4 November 1995 – archive footage. The description rests on the video title; the video itself was not viewed.

At the rally held under the slogan “Yes to peace, no to violence”, Rabin gave his last speech. Minutes after leaving the stage he was shot dead by a Jewish Israeli assassin; the square has borne his name ever since.

AP Archive · Opens on the source site in a new tab

4 November 1995 Iconic momentNot from an official or archival channel

ערוץ 2: הנאום האחרון לפני רצח רבין, 04.11.1995

Rabin's last speech at the rally, 4 November 1995 – according to the video title, the Israeli Channel 2 broadcast in Hebrew. Uploaded by a private archive-enthusiast channel, not an official one.

This is the speech in its original language, as broadcast to the Israeli public that evening. In it Rabin said violence was eroding the foundations of Israeli democracy; shortly afterwards he was murdered.

החדשות הישנות · Opens on the source site in a new tab

4 November 1995 Iconic moment

President Clinton's Remarks on the Death of PM Rabin (1995)

President Clinton's remarks on the death of Prime Minister Rabin, the White House, 4 November 1995 – filmed by the White House Television crew

Hours after the assassination, the US president bade Rabin farewell in a short statement that ended with the Hebrew words “Shalom, chaver”. The phrase became a symbol of mourning for Rabin in Israel.

clintonlibrary42 · Opens on the source site in a new tab

6 November 1995 Iconic moment

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's State Funeral Service

Yitzhak Rabin's state funeral on Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, 6 November 1995 – President Clinton's eulogy, from the presidential library channel

Leaders from around the world attended, among them the King of Jordan and the President of Egypt. Their presence showed how far the region had changed during Rabin's years in office.