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The Madrid Peace Conference by Michael R. Fishbach “After the defeat of Iraq during the Gulf War of January-February 1991, the United States and the Soviet Union co-convened an international peace conference in Madrid, Spain, to discuss a diplomatic end to the Arab-Israeli conflict. They called for the conference to initiate two parallel negotiating tracks: a bilateral track that involved specific talks between Israel and the Arab parties, and a multilateral track that involved many delegations discussing region-wide issues. The conference opened on 30 October 1991, and included delegations from Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt and a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation, as well as observers from other nations and organizations. Israel and the United States refused to allow a separate Palestinian delegation to attend the conference, nor would they allow the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to participate openly in the process of choosing the Palestinian delegates and directing their activities. The Palestinian delegates in the joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation were nonetheless counseled by an advisory committee that maintained contact with the PLO, thereby giving the PLO a role in the discussions. The conference lasted until 1 November and was immediately followed by bilateral talks in Madrid between Israel and each of the Syrian, Lebanese, and Jordanian-Palestinian delegations. Israel agreed to meet with the Palestinians separately from the Jordanians. The multilateral talks commenced in January 1992 in Moscow.” |
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