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Clinton Parameters (2000)

Location
Washington, DC
Date
2000-12-23
People
Bill Clinton, United States: Author
A set of basic parameters for a permanent settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, proposed verbally by outgoing US President Bill Clinton during bilateral negotiations in Washington, DC, on 23 December 2000. The negotiations followed the failure of the Camp David Summit and the outbreak of the Second Intifada. Clinton envisioned the establishment of a Palestinian state over 94–96 percent of the West Bank, with territorial exchange giving the Palestinians the equivalent of 1–3 percent in Israeli territory, with the possibility of additional lease arrangements. Israel would retain settlement blocs containing 80 percent of the settler population. The proposed security arrangements would be based on an international force, Israeli early warning stations in the West Bank and continued Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley for three years. Jerusalem would be partitioned along ethnic lines, with special arrangements pertaining to the Historical Basin. The proposal suggested a solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees that mainly involves repatriation to the Palestinian state, with other countries, including Israel, consenting to receive a limited number of refugees. The proposed agreement would constitute the end of the conflict and all related claims. The Parameters, along with reservations by both sides, served as the basis for negotiations at the Taba Summit in January 2001, but no agreement was reached. The Clinton Parameters were cited in the Geneva Initiative, a draft permanent status agreement to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict published in 2003 by an informal Israeli-Palestinian team.