“Earlier this year, Al Jazeera and the Guardian released 1,600 documents related to the mislabelled “peace process” negotiations between Palestine and Israel. Covering more than ten years of talks (1999-2010) between Israel and the PLO, these “Palestine Papers” illustrate the tragic consequences of a highly inequitable and destructive political process grounded on the assumption that the Palestinians could effectively negotiate their rights and achieve self-determination while enduring the hardship of the Israeli occupation.

The “peace negotiations” were a deceptive farce, whereby biased terms were unilaterally imposed by Israel and systematically endorsed by the US and EU capitals. Far from enabling a negotiated fair end of the conflict, the pursuit of the Oslo process has deepened Israeli segregationist policies and justified the tightening of the security control imposed on the Palestinian population as well as its geographical fragmentation. Far for preserving the land on which to build a State, it has tolerated the intensification of the colonisation of the Palestinian territory. Far from maintaining a national cohesion, the process proved to be instrumental in creating and aggravating divisions amongst Palestinians”.

Read the full story from participant Ziyad Clot here:  https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/05/201151432144832519.html

The papers reveal scale of confidential concessions forced on Palestinian negotiators in desperate attempts to get any kind of deal, including on the highly sensitive issue of the right of return of Palestinian refugees, but which were still rejected by Israel. source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/23/palestine-papers-expose-peace-concession

FAQ on the Palestine Papers: https://www.aljazeera.com/palestinepapers/2011/01/2011123114726552723.html