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Israel and the Palestinians ·

Letters of Mutual Recognition

An exchange of letters of mutual recognition, not a peace treaty and not recognition of a Palestinian state: the PLO recognised the State of Israel, and Israel recognised the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people.

In 30 seconds

On 9 September 1993 Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin exchanged letters: the PLO recognised Israel's right to exist in peace and security and renounced terrorism and violence; Israel recognised the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people2. The recognition is not symmetrical: a state on one side, a representative organisation on the other.

Where it stands today

The letters were exchanged, so the step itself was carried out; every later agreement between Israel and the PLO rests on this recognition24. As of October 2026, the Security Council Report survey describes no permanent-status negotiations between the parties6.

In one sentence

To turn two sides that refused to recognise each other into formal negotiating partners.

The challenge

Until 1993 Israel and the PLO did not recognise each other. At the Madrid Conference in 1991 the Palestinians were represented without PLO officials, inside a joint delegation with Jordan1.

To sign an agreement, each side needed something from the other: Israel needed recognition of its right to exist and a commitment to stop violence; the PLO needed to be recognised as the representative of the Palestinian people and as a negotiating party2.

The road there

  1. The secret channel in Norway between Israelis and PLO officials opens3.
  2. The Declaration of Principles is initialled in Oslo3.
  3. The date carried by all three letters2.
  4. The Declaration of Principles is signed in Washington4.

The people

What was agreed

  • Arafat to Rabin: the PLO recognises the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security2.
  • The PLO accepts Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and commits itself to resolving the conflict through negotiation2.
  • The PLO renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of violence and undertakes to enforce this on its members2.
  • The PLO declares that the articles of the Palestinian Covenant denying Israel's right to exist are no longer valid, and undertakes to submit the changes to the Palestinian National Council for approval2.
  • Rabin to Arafat: Israel recognises the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people and will begin negotiations with it within the peace process2.
  • Arafat to Norwegian Foreign Minister Johan Jørgen Holst: the PLO will call on Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to reject violence and terrorism and to take part in normalisation steps and economic reconstruction2.

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The geography

100%
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

  • The recognition is unequal in weight: the PLO recognised a state and its right to exist, while Israel recognised an organisation as the representative of a people. Rabin's letter contains no recognition of a Palestinian state and no commitment to create one2.
  • Rabin's letter is far shorter than Arafat's: it contains recognition and agreement to negotiate, without a matching list of commitments2.

What was carried out

  • The letters were exchanged, and four days later the Declaration of Principles was signed between the Government of Israel and the PLO4.
  • The Wye River Memorandum of 1998 records a reaffirmation of the annulment of the Palestinian Covenant articles5.

What was not

—

What changed in real life

  • According to the Norwegian government, Holst, who became foreign minister in April 1993, played a major role as intermediary for the mutual recognition3.

What remains open

  • The letters opened negotiations; they did not end a conflict. They set no border, decide nothing on Jerusalem or the refugees, and do not deal with a Palestinian state2.

Sources

  1. Official archive U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
    The Madrid Conference, 1991
  2. Primary United Nations Peacemaker · 9 September 1993
    Israel–PLO Mutual Recognition, Letters and Speeches
  3. Official archive Government of Norway (regjeringen.no)
    Norway's involvement in the peace process in the Middle East
  4. Primary PA-X Peace Agreements Database, University of Edinburgh · 13 September 1993
    Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements ('Oslo Accords')
  5. Primary United Nations, Division for Palestinian Rights (UNISPAL)
    Middle East peace process documents, 1998–1999 (Wye River and Sharm el-Sheikh memoranda)
  6. Research Security Council Report · 1 October 2026
    The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question — October 2026 Monthly Forecast

Further reading