Background:
The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government
Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993,
provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of
Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and
responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the
Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of
the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip
and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo
Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional
areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995
Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol
Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998
Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh
Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility
during the transitional period for external and internal security
and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct
negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank
had begun in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but have been
derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The
resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,
Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian
Authority continue to undermine progress toward a permanent
agreement.