The question of Israel and PalestineIn 1993, in Oslo, Norway, a historic peace agreement was secretly drafted in the hopes of ending all violence between Palestinians and Israelis. Yasser Arafat, chairman of the PLO, and Yitzhak Rabin, then prime minister of Israel, shook hands at the White House in front of President Bill Clinton to finalize the agreements. It was the first step toward peace in a long time between the warring nations, and many believed it would end the fighting. These agreements were important because it was the first time that Israel recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization as the representative of Palestine. Oslo's goal was to withdraw all Israeli troops from the West Bank and Gaza and give Palestinians the opportunity to govern themselves there. Ariel Sharon was strongly opposed to the Oslo Accords because he viewed the withdrawal of his troops from Palestine as a threat to Israel's security. Even after the agreement was signed, Palestinians were still unhappy and violence continued. When Rabin was killed and Sharon took power after winning the elections, he ultimately canceled the Oslo Accord, and the Israeli military continued to punish Palestine in response to Palestinian attacks. Sharon is in no hurry to achieve peace with Palestine, he does not have confidence in himself....