On Oslo, thirty years later – Ofer Aderet in Haaretz:

‘Two weeks before the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords, then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin admitted that Israel was giving more in the deal than it was receiving from the Palestinians. He warned that “there is very little commitment by them” and stressed that it was far from certain that they were about to renounce terrorism.

Shimon Peres, then foreign minister, cautioned of a scenario in which “there will be a Hamas-like Iran.” And Ehud Barak, then the IDF chief of staff, warned of “the most profound damage” to Israel’s ability to fight terrorism and protect settlers.’

(…)

‘Later in the discussion, Rabin addressed the ministers and implored them to approve the agreement. “My friends, the business is very complicated… There are things which in such a reality have no smooth solutions. The whole idea of autonomy, the interim agreement, is complicated,” Rabin said, criticizing the settlements endeavor. “Jewish settlement, particularly in the dense areas, complicated our lives – that was its political goal. It was a political settlement and not security related. With no security benefit.”’

(…)

‘Later, Rabin addressed Israel’s responsibility for the safety of its citizens residing in the territories, following the signing of the accords, under which the IDF withdrew from the Gaza Strip and Jericho. Rabin emphasized that the responsibility for non-harm, as he put it, to the state’s citizens in these locations rests with Israel. However, he qualified this by saying that: “this is an interpretation we will have to set on the ground.” Regarding that, then-Communications Minister, Shulamit Aloni, snapped: “You’ll chase him to Jericho?” and the PM replied: “Of course, if they attacked an Israeli.”’

(…)

‘Rabin concluded the meeting by saying: "The problems will be hard, and I must say, any form of autonomy will be more difficult than today. Because today you have total control, while you have a partnership when there’s autonomy. The test will be the partnership. I don’t suggest covering this up.” He added: “Despite it all, I believe we must take this path.”’

Read the article here.

We know where Oslo ended, we know where Rabin ended, we know where Ehud Barak Ended.

There are not too many people around who believed that Oslo could have worked. There were definitely quite a few missed opportunities. The killing of Rabin didn’t help, in short the extremists won. Violence turned out to be highly effective, as a tool to radicalize a population or at least the politicians, the skilled seducers. See also: 9/11.

And the settlements were a disaster. No security, just politics, Messianism.