January
Following terrorist attacks in Israel, the government of Israel establishes two committees to formulate a “separation plan” that will detach Israel from the territories, one headed by the minister of internal security, Moshe Shahal, which is directed to examine the security aspects of the separation, and one headed by the former director-general of the Finance Ministry, David Brodet, to examine the economic aspects. The Shahal Committee recommends establishment of a “Seam Zone” containing physical obstructions that extend for 320 kilometers, only 29 kilometers of it being a fence. It also recommends a permit regime for Palestinian entry into Israel, establishing organized crossing points, reducing the entry of vehicles from the West Bank, and employing a method of controlled transfer of goods into Israel.March
The Brodet Committee, appointed to examine the economic aspects of separation between Israel and the territories, issues the following recommendations: conditioning Palestinians entry into Israel upon security checks, increased law enforcement on Palestinians who enter Israel without a permit and on their employers, establishing an international Israeli-Palestinian institution to protect investment in the territories from political risks, and establishing a commercial zone alongside Israel’s border to reduce the entry of vehicles carrying goods from the territories to Israel.June
Israel also issues magnetic cards to Palestinian workers from the West Bank, as well as to those from the Gaza Strip, which the workers must carry along with their permits to enter Israel.September 28
Israel and the PLO sign Oslo II. This agreement divides the West Bank into Area A (an area that encompasses 18 percent of the West Bank and that includes the main Palestinian cities except for Hebron, in which the Palestinian National Authority has responsibility for all matters), Area B (22 percent of the West Bank, in which the Palestinians control civil matters and Israel controls security), and Area C (60 percent of the West Bank, in which Israel has complete control). In the framework of the agreement, the IDF redeploys and withdraws from Area A. In Area B, Israeli and Palestinian security forces conduct joint patrols, and District Civil Liaison Offices (DCLs) and District Coordination Offices (DCOs) are established to promote coordination and cooperation between the Israeli authorities and the Palestinian National Authority. With the beginning of the second intifada, the DCOs’ activity focuses on issuing movement permits and permits to enter Israel.November 4
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is murdered at the end of a peace rally in Tel Aviv by Yigal Amir, a twenty-seven-year-old law student at Bar-Ilan University.———
The Gaza perimeter fence is built. Over the years, various areas near the fence will be classified a “special security zone” into which soldiers are permitted to fire without warning.
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The Ministry of the Interior starts to implement a policy of “quiet deportation” in East Jerusalem. Relying on statutes, regulations, and administrative stratagems, the ministry revokes the residency status of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem who have moved outside Jerusalem’s municipal borders, including temporary stays abroad.