In 1988, the PLO recognized Israel. What did the Palestinians get for that?

[eridani]

In 1988, in the context of a two state settlement--

http://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/08/world/arafat-says-plo-accepted-israel.html

Yasir Arafat said today that the Palestine Liberation Organization accepted the existence of the state of Israel. His statement, which he presented as a milestone, was immediately dismissed in Israel and greeted coldly by the United States.

In 2004, Arafat backed off on the Palestinian right of return.

Arafat recognises Jewish state and limit to return of refugees

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jun/19/israel

Yasser Arafat has told an Israeli newspaper that he recognises Israel's right to remain a Jewish state and is, therefore, prepared to accept the return of only a fraction of the Palestinian refugees.
In an interview with Ha'aretz, published yesterday, the Palestinian leader was asked if he understood that "Israel has to keep being a Jewish state"?

"Definitely," he replied.

The reward for this was massive acceleration of illegal settlement construction

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_law_and_Israeli_settlements
http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.nsf/3822b5e39951876a85256b6e0058a478/1807bb005cc3fdb085256efd004c4fbd?OpenDocument

[oberliner]

1. A degree of autonomous governance in the West Bank and Gaza

Were in not for the actions of extremists at that time - both Palestinian and Israeli - there would probably be a completely independent Palestinian state today.

[Jefferson23]

2. Right, more settlements and death. n/t

[MisterP]

3. moving goalposts is always only a first step: the second is to make everyone forget it happened

or make it irrelevant

[Israeli]

5. Yup ...

The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin took place on November 4, 1995 (12th of Marcheshvan, 5756 on the Hebrew calendar) at 21:30, at the end of a rally in support of the Oslo Accords at the Kings of Israel Square in Tel Aviv. The assassin, an Israeli ultranationalist terrorist named Yigal Amir, strenuously opposed Rabin's peace initiative and particularly the signing of the Oslo Accords.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Yitzhak_Rabin

[hack89]

4. Gaza and the PA

Unfortunately they gave back a Intifada while Hamas returned the favor with a suicide bombing campaign that killed thousands of Israelis.

[eridani]

6. You mean a hundred or so, right?

Naturallly one Israeli life is worth about 300 Palestinian lives.

[Shaktimaan]

10. A hundred what?

Israeli deaths? It's around 1,100 since 2000.

Naturallly one Israeli life is worth about 300 Palestinian lives.

No idea what you're implying here.

[azurnoir]

7. the 18% of the West Bank the Palestinians got under what we see claimed as autonomous rule is a joke

as IDF invades. detains, and destroys at will in this autonomously ruled part of the West Bank, it is a smoke screen and nothing more

[Shaktimaan]

8. What'd they get?

You've chosen two (three really), statements that Arafat made to the world press; acceptance of Israel in 88, and, more importantly, the acceptance of Israel as a Jewish state with an implicit need to limit the number of palestinian refugees who can return. And renouncing violence and terrorism.

that's three huge scores for the I/P peace process... Three solid concessions to advance the peace process.

And they actually did get quite a lot in exchange. With the promise of a permanent agreement and a viable, autonomous state.

I'm not going to denigrate the importance of those statements by Arafat, but they ignore the actions that were taking place continuously in the decades surrounding those three, isolated, unattainable/unenforced, statements.

Terrorism didn't just continue... It evolved into a truly terrifying tactic that brought the previously invisible war into tel aviv proper. And it continued. A lot.

Hamas won gaza's election in 2005 following Israel's withdrawal. They committed their resources towards attacking Israel. It's going poorly there. They don't seem to remember arafat's thing about Israel remaining Jewish and limiting RoR either.

Whatever, point is that they got opportunities; the same thing everyone else gets. And they really did get legit opportunities during the Oslo years.

You got military disengagement, your own police force, free elections, greater amounts of control and governance over the state you were purportedly building. There was investment. A peace treaty with a timeline we saw being met (at first.) there was actually a peace offer.

What did Israel get in response to their offer at camp David? The intifada.

[eridani]

9. And the massive increase in illegal settlements and water theft? n/t