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For Israelis and the neighboring Arabian nation, peace was as close as it had ever been in 1995. Through out that year, acts of violence brought home the difficult task of finding a solution that would last to end the long conflicts between them. The most dreadful of those acts was the assassination of the Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, on November 4, 1995. Rabin had been a leader in the peace movement, and his death would trouble not only the Israelis, but people around the world.
Yitzhak Rabin was involved in almost all of his country's history. He was born on March 1, 1922 in Jerusalem. Believe it or not, Rabin grew up planning to be a farmer. He was sidetracked by the movement to create a Jewish State. This prompted him to join the Palmach, which was an elite group in the Jewish underground army. After World War II, this was the group that fought to drive the British out of Palestine. In 1945, Rabin helped to free 200 Jewish refugees from a British detention camp. He was arrested and imprisoned.
Rabin played a major role in the Arab-Israeli war the followed Israel's creation in 1948. After the war, he stayed in the military and became the chief of staff of the Israeli army in 1964. During this time, he helped to lead Israel to victory over Egypt, Syria, and Jordan in the Six-Day War of 1967. This victory tripled Israel's territory and, of course, made him a national hero.
Rabin would then turn to politics by serving as the ambassador to the United States. In 1974 he became the leader of the Labor Party and prime minister. He would be forced from office three years later, when the people learned that he maintained bank accounts in the United States. This was a direct violation of Israel's currency laws. This would not keep Yitzhak down for long, and in the late 1980's, as defense minister, he took a stand against an uprising that swept through the Palestinian areas.
In 1992, Rabin would regain the Labor Party leadership, and once again would be the prime minister. This was the time, Rabin thought, for peace. So he began secret negotiations with the PLO. Those negotiation led to the 1993 peace agreement.
The conflict between Arabs and Israelis goes back to the time just after World War II, when the region that is now Israel was a part of the territory of Palestine. In 1948, the United Nations created Israel as a Jewish homeland. The Palestinian Arabs thought that by doing this the United Nations had taken away land that had belonged to them. The Arabs, nor the surrounding countries of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan ever accepted the plan. They maintained that Israel did not have the right to exist.
The Israelis and Arabs would fight repeatedly over the years that followed. As a result of these wars, Israel gained control of many new lands.
The Palestinian Arabs had not state of their own. Some became refugees in other neighboring countries, while some lived in Israel itself. Still some lived in countries that Israel had taken over as a result of the wars. The Palestinians formed groups to promote their cause. This was sometimes done by peaceful measures and sometimes (many) there was violence involved. The Palestine Liberation Organization, also known as the PLO, was the largest of these groups.
In 1979, Egypt became the first Arab country to make peace with Israel. A treaty that was signed that year, returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. There was a great hope that this would lead to wide spread peace. This did not happen. Though the 1980's tension seemed to only grow larger.
Finally in 1991, Israel and the PLO began to negotiate. In 1993 they signed an agreement. It would allow for the Palestinians to slowly take over the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. All except for the Jewish settlements that were there. During this time, the two sides would work toward a more permanent peace agreement.
This agreement was just a first step in many that needed to be resolved. Both sides would struggle to work out the details of a self-rule plan. In May of 1994, the first phase was agreed upon. The Palestinians would be allowed to take control of Gaza and Jericho.
An agreement for the next step to the plan would not be reached until September 1995. There was argument from both sides over many things. Most important, was over the guarantees for the safety of Jewish settlers to the West Bank. This agreement was formally signed on September 28 in Washington, D.C.
On the evening of November 4, 1995, Rabin spoke at a peace rally in Tel Aviv. After the speech, as he was walking to his car, a man shot the prime minister three times. Rabin was taken to a hospital, but it was too late. His heart had already stopped beating.
News of the prime ministers death both saddened and shocked the world. Even the Israelis who had opposed the peace plan were amazed to hear that one of their own countrymen had killed their prime minister. Leaders from around the world attended his funeral. Among those who attended were Egypt and Jordan. President Clinton spoke and represented the United States.
Shimon Peres, the deputy prime minister took over after Rabin's death. He promised to continue Rabin's fight for peace. Those around the world could only hope and pray that he would succeed.
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