Oslo at 33: an ongoing Palestinian disaster
JVL Introduction
The Oslo Accords were signed with great fanfare and, for some, the belief that this would bring peace; that a historic compromise has been reached and a future Palestinian State was just a few years away. 33 years later a Palestinian State is a distant dream, a bitter memory for all that more countries have recognised Palestine. In reality the much insisted upon “two state solution” a meaningless political phrase obliterated by the depths of Israeli control, the genocide in Gaza and the dramatic expansion of settlements since the Accords were signed. Added to Israel’s appalling actions over the decades must also be added the collaboration of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Many warned of Oslo’s limitations at the time and the experience since shows that it served as a cover for Israel to have greater control over the whole of Palestine. This analysis is a timely reminder of where we are now and of how the West, even as more countries recognise Palestine, are at best deluding themselves and at worst colluding with apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide.
This article was originally published by Middle East Monitor on Thu 3 Sep 2026. Read the original here.
Oslo at 33: Anatomy of an ongoing Palestinian disaster
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The introduction says that ‘Many warned of Oslo’s limitations at the time and the experience since shows that it served as a cover for Israel to have greater control over the whole of Palestine.’
Well some people warned of Oslo’s limitations. Edward Said did for one. But Britain’s Palestine Solidarity Campaign held an emergency general meeting which voted 2-1 to approve the Oslo Accords. The majority of Palestine supporters backed the accords at the time and we should not forget this.
I resigned from PSC as did Roland Rance and others. Illusions in Oslo were widepread as was the belief that Zionism would settle for less than all of Palestine.
I debated in the pages of National Labour Briefing with Julia Bard of the Jewish Socialists Group. https://tinyurl.com/fx2rx7r2 My piece was headed ‘Birthright sold for a mess of potage’ whereas Julia’s was titled ‘a new politics for the region’. They speak for themselves.
I saw that what would happen was that the Palestinians would police themselves on behalf of the occupation and the IDF would go back into Area A. Julia believed that this was ‘a starting point for a new politics in the area.’ Which was also the position of most Palestine supporters.
Why has it gone wrong? Zionism. A ‘Jewish’ state cannot coexist with the self-determination of the indigenous population. The Israeli state is a watchdog of imperialism’s interests in the area as we see today.
The Oslo Accords were the biggest disaster that befell the Palestinians since the Nakba as they turned from resistance into their own policemen. We see the results today only too clearly.
Insightful & ACCURATE postmortem of the Oslo Accord.. Having been aware of it at the time I CANNOT believe it was swallowed .. it was practically written using the Nazi Handbook.. to FOOL us.. it has broken my heart for decades when Palestinians believed & celebrated every Israeli declaration of ceasefire.. They were ALWAYS a LIE..