Brokered through secret talks in Norway, the accords established a framework for Palestinian self-governance in parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and marked the first direct, mutual recognition between Israel and the PLO. President Bill Clinton presided over the ceremony, famously nudging the two leaders together for a handshake neither seemed eager to initiate.
The agreement emerged from months of clandestine negotiations conducted largely outside official channels, hosted quietly by Norwegian diplomats in and around Oslo. Rabin, a former general who had fought against Palestinian militants for decades, later admitted the handshake with Arafat was one of the hardest gestures of his life.
Clinton, sensing both leaders' hesitation as they approached each other on the podium, reportedly spread his arms wide behind them, physically encouraging the two men to close the gap themselves. The photograph of that moment became one of the most iconic images of 1990s diplomacy.
The accords created the Palestinian Authority and set a five-year timetable for resolving final status issues like Jerusalem and refugees—a timetable that ultimately collapsed. Rabin was assassinated by an Israeli extremist just two years later, and the broader peace process he championed unraveled amid renewed violence, leaving Oslo's promise largely unfulfilled decades on.