January 15
Israel and the Palestinian Authority sign the Hebron Agreement. Under the agreement, Hebron is divided into an area under complete Palestinian control (H-1) and an area in which Israel is responsible for security and the PA is responsible for civil matters (H-2). H-1 encompasses 18 square kilometers, in which one hundred and fifteen thousand Palestinians live; H-2 encompasses 4.3 square kilometers, in which thirty-five thousand Palestinians and five hundred Israeli Jews live.———
In the southern Gaza Strip, an international airport is opened. It is operated by the Palestinian Authority, and a limited number of flights to Arab countries take off from there weekly. Israel will bomb the airport in the beginning of the second intifada.
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Israel significantly expands the outline plans and jurisdictional area of the settlements with the objective of controlling as much land as possible prior to the continuing division of the West Bank into Areas A, B, and C.