wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. ♪ ♪ >> hamas unleashed a ferocious attack that seemed to come from

everywhere... >> narrator: as the war in gaza continues... >> israeli commanders have been deployed all over gaza as the bombardment continues... >> narrator: a special presentation of frontline's 2002 documentary, “shattered dreams of peace.” >> the time for peace has come. >> narrator: tracing how the hopes of the historic oslo accords were undone by politics... >> two thirds of the public supported oslo. they really thought that arafat meant peace. i didn't think that he meant peace. >>there are some points, which if you are in my place, you will not accept it. >> who can accept that? narrator: and violence. >> we are talking here about the toughest and most sensitive issues that humankind has ever dealt with. >> i know palestinians and israelis can make peace. my heart aches because i know we were so close. >> narrator: now on frontline, “shattered dreams of peace.”

>> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. additional support is provided by the abrams foundation, coitted to excellence in journalism... park foundation, dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more at macfound.org and by the frontlineournalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. and additional support from the fredric j. ridel living trust.

(guns firing) (explosion pounds) ♪ ♪ >> narrator: spring 2002: the cycle of violence between israelis and palestinians is spiraling out of control. hundreds are killed on both sides. for several weeks, it is war. >> (chanting) >> narrator: but only nine years earlier, everything looked different. ♪ ♪ in 1993, the oslo peace accords were signed on the white house lawn.

>> ladies and gentlemen, the time for peace has come. (crowd applauding) >> narrator: palestinians and israelis agree it is time to put an end to decades of confrontation and conflict, and strive to live in peaceful coexistence and mutual dignity and security, and achieve a lasting peace. (people cheering and applauding) soon, israel begins its withdrawal as promised. jericho and gaza are transferred to the palestinians. (people cheering) yasser arafat, israel's implacable enemy for 30 years, returns from exile to establish the palestinian authority.

(crowd cheering and whistling) the parties had agreed that the core issues-- permanent borders, settlements, palestinian refugees, and jerusalem-- would be addressed later. in an atmosphere infused with hope, prime minister rabin, his foreign minister, shimon peres, and chairman arafat are awarded the nobel peace prize. (audience applauding) >> (speaking arabic) (speech continues) >> narrator: but not everyone embraces the peace process. some palestinians nt to destroy israel,

not live side by side with it. (crowd shouting, car horns honking) and some israelis mistrust arafat and believe that all of ancient judea and samaria, the west bank, should be theirs. to them, rabin's policy of exchanging land for peace is anathema. (people singing in hebrew) >> narrator: then, on november 4, 1995, following a peace rally in tel aviv, prime minister rabin is assassinated by a jewish extremist. ♪ ♪ two days after the assassination, heads of state arrive from around the globe to mourn yitzhak rabin.

they come to pay tribute to the man who, as a general, had once conquered jerusalem and the west bank, and later, as a statesman, had chosen the path of peace. for most arab leaders, this is the first time they have ever set foot in israel. ♪ ♪ >> you lived as a soldier, you died as a soldier for peace. and i believe it is time for all of us to come out openly and to speak our piece. (man singing in hebrew) >> today, my fellow citizens of the world, i ask all of you to take a good, hard look at this picture. look at the leaders from all over the middle east and around the world who have journeyed here today for yitzhak rabin and for peace.

let me say to the people of israel: even in your hour of darkness, his spirit lives on. your prime minister was a martyr for peace, but he was a victim of hate. >> narrator: yasser arafat, rabin's partner in peace, does not attend the funeral for security reasons, and watches from his home in gaza. >> it was, uh, very, very difficult and painful for me, personally. but the most important thing for the palestinians, and for the israelis, and for the whole middle east area, is to return back to protect the peace of the brave,

which i had signed with my partner rabin, and to live together as we had decided. >> narrator: shimon peres, rabin's deputy anforeign minister, and the chief architect of oslo, now takes up the reins of government. as a young man, he had been charged with preparing israel for war, and had fathered israel's nuclear program. now, at 72, he faces the challenge of keeping the peace. >> i spent a lot of time with shimon peres in these days. he was under a state of grief, deep personal grief, of deep personal loss. i remember driving with him that night of the assassination to jerusalem, and he didn't speak all the way except for saying, "now i am alone." >> narrator: a month after rabin was killed,

peres and arafat meet to reaffirm their commitment to the oslo accords. israel would release 1,000 palestinian prisoners and withdraw from five major palestinian cities. reconciliation seems closer than ever. but within the israeli opposition, these concessions are seen as a dangerous strategic mistake. >> i listen to politicians talking about strategy and strategy and strategy. the real choice, the profound choice, is never a strategic one; it's an ethic one. there is something above strategy, d it is the moral choice. it is there where peace and war begins. it is there where the life of people are being decided. >> you know, i remember shimon peres, a friend of mine, shimon peres. when i negotiated with him, and i get frustrated and angry,

he used to tell me, "saeb, negotiating frustration for five years "is cheaper than exchanging bullets between us for five minutes." he's right. (drums pounding) >> narrator: the palestinian people rejoice. the negotiations had led to israel's withdrawal from the major population centers of the west bank, handing control to arafat's authority. (crowd cheering and whistling, drumming continues) >> when we entered jenin first, i remember i said, "now, we are "in the true and real process toward having our own independent state." (crowd cheering, car horns honking) the feeling of the people, the way that the people received the palestinian authority, was a proof to the new era, a new situation,

a new history that we were building with the israelis. (playing fast rhythm, crowd exclaiming) (crowd cheering) (gun firing, car horns honking) >> narrator: the transfer of power is peaceful. the palestinians carefully put away the israeli flag and begin flying their own. >> you know, we have the most important thing that happened in the last five years: the withdrawal from jenin, tulkarm, nablus, qalqilya, ramallah, bethlehem. (crowd cheering and applauding) the withdrawal from the church of nativity, the place of jesus' birth. that made, made me so proud, and that made me hopeful. (woman singing)

♪ ♪ (rifles firing) (crowd chanting) >> narrator: but other voices oppose any compromise with israel. (man speaking arabic) an islamic fundamentalist organization called hamas gained power among palestinians by controlling the mosques and providing food and education to the poor. (man speaking arabic over loudspeaker) (crowd cheering) >> hamas were in a difficult situation. they never believed in any kind of understanding or agreement

with the israelis. 'cause all the time they were trying to spoil everything. >> narrator: the military wing of hamas, izz al-din al-qassam, is already responsible for scores of israeli deaths. it is dedicated to the destruction of israel through a campaign of terror, especially suicide bombings. yehiya ayash is its chief bomb maker and number one on israel's most-wanted list. >> i went to arafat. i told him, "ayash is in gaza. please put your hand on him, put him in prison." he told me, "mr. peres"-- or, as he called me, "your excellency," all the time-- "i am telling you that he's not in gaza." i told him, "look, he's in gaza and is planning more attacks." arafat repeated, "i am telling you," he says, "i am sure that he's not in gaza."

>> narrator: but he is, and israel takes matters into its own hands. on january 5, 1996, ayash receives a call on his mobile phone. it is his last. the phone, packed with explosives, kills him instantly. (crowd chanting in arabic) ayash is declared a shaheed, a holy martyr, and a thousand others vow to follow in his footsteps. >> (chanting): allahu akbar! allahu akbar! >> (shouting in arabic): >> narrator: amid this unrest, the palestinian authority holds its first elections, as required by the oslo accords. an arafat victory would endorse the peace process.

hamas calls for a boycott of the elections in protest. (people talking in background) arafat wins an overwhelming victory. his mandate to pursue peace is stronger than ever. (people talking in background) but for hamas, peace with israel is sacrilege. >> (chanting in arabic): >> narrator: at a memorial for yehiya ayash, ten new living shaheeds, suicide bombers, are presented. two weeks later, they strike. (people talking in background) ♪ ♪

(siren blaring) israel is shattered by three suicide attacks, leaving 46 dead and hundreds wounded. fear, sorrow, and anger permeate israeli society. >> (chanting): (chanting continues) >> narrator: many israelis believe that if arafat cannot control terrorists, they should not be negotiating with him. the peace process and its principal advocate, shimon peres, come under increasing attack. (crowd whistling) >> i arrived, and i saw shimon peres, whom i hadn't seen for ten days, about ten years older.

>> it wasn't an easy experience. they called me "traitor." they called me "killer," "murderer." >> (chanting): >> the loneliness is when you face hatred, and then you face agitation, and you know in your heart that this is unfair, but those are your people. >> (chanting): (sirens blaring) (people shouting, sirens continue) >> narrator: the next day, anothesuicide bomber, this time in a tel aviv mall, killing 13 and wounding 157 more. all of the dead are under 17 years old. (man chanting)

>> everything was crumbling. people killed in tel aviv and, and jerusalem. it was also an attempt to further stab the peace process. (pounding on door) >> narrator: arafat orders his security forces to move against the islamic militants. (men talking on radio) ♪ ♪ (banging) >> (speaking hebrew) (translated): they arrested hamas leaders. some 2,000 were arrested. 2,000 people were sitting in jail. hamas saw it as the most intense blow to their organization.

this showed how well the security coordination between us and the palestinians could work. >> they killed, i think, 20 of the leaders of the different groups. they have discovered their archives, but it was too late. >> (chanting in hebrew) >> narrator: israeli opposition to the peace process coalesces around binyamin netanyahu, a brilliant orator who speaks to israel's fears. >> (speaking hebrew): (crowd cheering, whistling) (crowd shouting and whistling, speech continues) >> narrator: as the new leader of the conservative likud party, netanyahu is poised to challenge peres and his labor party in the upcoming election.

♪ ♪ fearing the defeat of shimon peres and the demise of the peace process, egypt and the united states, in an unprecedented move, convene world leaders in the sinai resort town of sharm el-sheikh. >> president mubarak contacted president clinton, and then he contacted arab leaders. and he thought that it was important, it was vital, for saving the peace process to get all these people together. >> for the first time ever, there was a creation of an anti-terror coalition with empathy towards israel having lost people against arabs fighting. (people applauding)

(people talking in background) >> narrator: they call it the summit of peacemakers, and hope it will influence the israeli electorate to support peres. >> everybody gathed in sharm el-sheikh. (chuckling): they, they wanted peres to win the election. ♪ ♪ >> narrator: and it is this image... (shutter clicks) ...they hope will do it. >> what do you tell hamas tonight? >> that they are not only the... they are doing these terrorist activities against the israelis, it is against the palestinians, against peace process, against the arabs, against the whole region. and it is against god. >> sharm el-sheikh was a beginning. the middle east is changing. we must not, we will not let terror reverse history.

(explosions pounding) >> (on loudspeaker): >> (shouting): (siren chirping) >> narrator: just six weeks before the elections, violence erupts along israel's northern border. hezbollah, a radical shiite movement based in lebanon that shares hamas's disdain for the peace process, fires missiles into israeli villages and towns. >> (translated): hezbollah created a situation in the north that was, in my opinion, unbearable. the state of israel could not do nothing. a reaction was necessary. >> narrator: israel launches a massive bombardment of hezbollah bases in southern lebanon.

(tanks firing) and then, on april 18, 1996, in a case of mistaketargeting, israeli artillery hits a united nations compound near the village of qana, where civilians seek shelter from the attacks. ♪ ♪ 102 men, women, and children are killed. >> (shouting, crying) ♪ ♪ >> and by full support of the egyptian... >> narrator: that same afternoon, peres and arafat are in the midst of a press conference about security coordination

when a military aide brings peres the tragic news. >> please remain in your seats. (people talking in background) please remain in your seats. (people talking in background) >> i took the helicopter with amnon shahak and we didn't speak one word. shahak was very depressed because this is something he had feared. i looked down at the seashore of israel knowing that, that everything would change. >> (chanting): >> narrator: israeli arabs are outraged. they had been among the most fervent supporters of peres and his labor party, but now they turn against him. >> we are not only israeli citizens. the very prominent factor of us is arab palestinians. we cannot see this kind of massacres.

>> (shouting) >> we can punish. we would like to punish labor party leaders, or the leaders of this country, when they are committing this kind of crimes against us. (crowd shouting) >> narrator: the punishment comes when israeli arabs, 20% of the population, call for a boycott of the election. >> (singing in hebrew): (song continues) >> narrator: when the votes are counted, netanyahu has defeated peres by a mere one-half of one percent. the israeli arab boycott made the difference. >> (chanting) (clapping and chanting)

(song continues) (song ends, crowd cheering) >> (speaking hebrew): >> peres (speaking hebrew): >> narrator: netanyahu, israel's youngest prime minister ever, at 47, now faces a dilemma. he's obliged to implement the oslo accords, agreements that he and much of his likud party oppose. >> you know, the whole world meets in order to prevent netanyahu's election, and then once he's in office, these same people come to you and started to look, "look, he is a pragmatic person. "he's not ideologically committed. "he's, you can make peace with him. "give him a chance. "don't rush into conclusions. don't..." and i raised my, i say, "what?"

(man speaking arabic) >> i told the chairman that he is very radical. i said then that i'm not sure that he is recognizing the palestinians as a people, as a nation, and he is focusing only on the palestinian as a terror issue. >> the, the likud party, not to forget that, that they were-- the majority of them, not all of them, but a big section of them-- were against oslo agreement. >> i thought it was important to lay down the ground rules so that arafat would know exactly where i was coming from. but two-thirds of the public supported oslo at the time; the international community supported it; they really thought that arafat meant peace. i didn't think that he meant peace. and i said i would honor it under two conditions. one, that arafat honor it. the second was that i would reduce the dangers in oslo, reduce the withdrawals,

reduce the price that israel would have to pay. >> after the election, mr. abu mazen was brought secretly to tel aviv. he came alone with the head of the security, the palestinian security forces, mr. mohammed dahlan. and the two gentlemen simply said the following: "you have to help us. "we don't know anybody in this new regime. "we have to start a dialogue with them and we should start immediately." (man speaking arabic) >> narrator: when the negotiators meet at arafat's compound early in 1997, the israeli delegation is made up of fresh netanyahu appointees from the likud party. >> we walk into his living room and we sit down, and i see in front of me a whole group of different p.l.o. advisers, officials, security men, all sitting around the living room. the two of us are sitting on the other side.

um... the p.l.o. spokespeople say to us, "the last time we came this close to somebody "from a likud government was on the outskirts of beirut, but these were very different circumstances, so..." >> the first thing, you know, dore gold wanted to do that night is to change the agreement signed, okay? (people talking in background) >> this was the very distressing beginning we had with the netanyahu government. at the end of this meeting, arafat was sure that there will be a real crisis with this government. ♪ ♪ >> narrator: three months after the election, the peace process is stalled. the american secretary of state, warren christopher, is sent to jerusalem to pressure netanyahu to meet with arafat. (camera shutters clicking)

♪ ♪ christopher is persuasive. the next month, arafat and netanyahu meet at the erez border crossing between gaza and israel. ♪ ♪ (people talking in background) the meeting is fraught with tension, as netanyahu sits across from the very man he'd condemned as a terrorist only a few months earlier. but their handshake, though largely ceremonial, is still a symbol of hope. (camera shutter clicks) >> benjamin netanyahu-- and i remember two things he said to president arafat very clearly. the first thing he said, "we should have met a long time ago." and the second thing he said, "we will make it, mr. chairman. "we will make it together, mr. chairman.

we will make peace, mr. chairman." ♪ ♪ >> narrator: the harmony is short-lived, disrupted by events in the old city of jerusalem. in an area extremely sensitive to both muslims and jews, whe the al-aqsa mosque on the temple mount sits above the western wall, netanyahu changes the status quo. he opens an ancient tunnel that runs along the wall. this action could be seen as provocative, but netanyahu has a different explanation. >> i was actually approached by palestinian merchants in the via dolorosa who wanted me to open the, the tunnel wall that was abutting the via dolorosa. about half a million tourists a year were going through this tunnel, coming to the end, touching the via dolorosa, but insteaof getting out there, they had to go back,

make a u-turn. and the merchants said, "why don't you open the door? "and we could get the benefit of all this, of all this commerce, all this traffic." >> narrator: but israeli security officers had foreseen tuble. >> (speaking hebrew) (translated): there waa discussion in the security cabinet, and we expressed a determined opinion that at this time it would be wrong to open the kotel tunnel. >> (translated): we warned against the possible consequences of such an action. (people talking in background) >> (translated): i got a telephone call, and bibi told me, "we opened the kotel tunnel." i said, "what? why didn't you let me know in advance?" >> it was not a surprise that if mr. netanyahu opens the tunnel, the confrontation immediately will come, as touching jerusalem will burn everything.

>> (shouting and calling) >> narrator: radicals are quick to exploit the situation. marwan barghuti, one of arafat's militia leaders, spearheads the campaign. >> we organized these demonstrations from the birzeit university students, and other people, and i s there. and it started 11:00 in the morning. >> (shouting) (car horn honking, guns firing) (sirens blaring, guns firing) >> what the israelis' response? they start to shoot. (guns firing) >> (shouting) (weapons firing) (sirens blaring, gun fires) (people shouting, guns firing) >> (speaking hebrew) (translated): the soldiers were across the road, shooting at the palestinians. then another wave arrived, and so on, repeatedly.

(guns firing) i saw that and said, "it's inconceivable to expect the palestinian police, "with their kalashnikov guns, to just stand there. "you're diminishing their authority. "they will shoot back. this will not end well." (guns firing) >> narrator: for the first time since oslo, the palestinian police use their guns against the israeli army. >> i gave an order to move our tank forces into striking positions all across the fronts. >> narrator: the violence leaves 59 palestinians and 16 israelis dead. hundreds more are wounded on both sides.

only active cooperation between palestinian and israeli security forces brings an end to the fighting. >> part of palestinian leadership and palestinian officials think that everything be achieved only by negotiations without pressure. i don't agree with that. i don't think that they really understand the situation. they don't. (woman vocalizing) for your liberty, for your freedom, for your independence, you should always fight and sacrifice. (crowd cheering and applauding) >> narrator: in an attempt to prevent further violence and restart negotiations, arafat and netanyahu are summoned to washington by president clinton.

>> what i was always concerned about in a case like this, where you have a, a cycle that takes on a life of its own, you have to find a way to give people a reason to take a step back, to pause, to think, so that things don't continue to spiral out of control. that's what was happening then. so that's why we basically came up with the thought that we would bring them here. >> narrator: clinton also asks king hussein of jordan to join the talks. >> netanyahu, when he came, did not agree to anything other than a negotiating process. >> i'm a man of peace. i'm not a man of false peace. i'm not a man of suicidal peace that would say, "all right, we sign any peace agreement, "any piece of paper, in order to say that we made peace, "but at the same time, arafat will continue the terror "and continue telling his people to, that the goal is to destroy israel." >> it was so tense, the atmosphere. king hussein delivered a speech very, very critical of netanyahu.

he told him-- i remember that line still-- "i hope that you will grow up to the wisdom and courage of rabin." >> narrator: but by the end of the summit, it seems like clinton's chemistry has worked. netanyahu and arafat agree to resume talks on further implementation of oslo. (crowd cheering) (people talking in background, man talking on loudspeaker) >> narrator: after four months of difficult negotiations, israel agrees to withdraw from hebron, leaving behind only a small enclave of jewish settlers. now arafat will control all the major cities of the west bank and gaza. >> (cheering and whistling) >> (speaking arabic):

(repeating, crowd chanting) >> narrator: palestinians cheer, but jewish settlers tear their garments in a ritualistic gesture of mourning. they feel netanyahu has betrayed them by relinquishing hebron. >> (chanting in hebrew) ♪ ♪ >> hebron was difficult to do because it's part of my homeland, it's part of the place where my ancestors, the prophets and the kings of israel and so many generations of jews had, had walked on and had dreamed of coming back to. but this was an agreement that had been ratified by peres,

and i was going to carry it out, but with one major idea. the idea was essentially to trade the arab part of hebron for the rest of judea and samaria, or almost the rest of it. ♪ ♪ >> narrator: although jewish settlements were not mentioned specifically in oslo, rabin had promised no additional ones would be built. but on march 18, 1997, netanyahu allows construction to begin for a new settlement on a contested hill near jerusalem. >> the commitment to unify jerusalem under israeli sovereignty is not just from, just a cosmetic commitment, it's not just a verbal commitment. and i, i made it very clear that i will do it, that i was willing to face the music when the music came. ♪ ♪

(man speaking on loudspeaker) (people talking in background) >> settlements to palestinians is equivalent to bus exploding in tel aviv to israelis. that's the ultimate threat. it's land, it's future, it's people who want to... settlements are put there to stop us from having our future independent state, freedom. (sirens wailing) >> narrator: tensions remain high throughout the area. in tel aviv, a suicide bomber explodes himself in a packed café on a busy friday morning. (siren wailing) (horn honks) four months later, two suicide attacks rip through jerusalem's main market within ten minutes of each other. 16 are killed, hundreds wounded. ♪ ♪ in response, israel limits access in and out of palestinian territories

and enforces a strict curfew. life in the territories becomes more and more difficult. >> (speaking arabic): ♪ ♪ >> narrator: to try to contain the growing crisis, the new american secretary of state, madeleine albright, is dispatched to the area. >> i feel that it's important to try to make this place safer for the people who live here, and i'd like to do everything i can to do my part. (camera shutters clicking) with arafat, it took a while for me to get so that we could actually have good conversations. we had talked on the telephone shortly after i became secretary of state, and he would be so emotional that i had to hold the phone away from my ear, because he would just get so bad.

and then finally, we developed a way that we could actually talk with each other. the next day, i went to a school for palestinian students, and it was, i think, of the various meetings as secretary that i had, one of the hardest, because the palestinian students were very clear in the way they asked the questions, saying, "we don't understand what our future is," and i didn't have very good answers for them. the initial help... the truth is that that meeting really stuck in my head and made me realize that i needed to learn a lot more about the palestinians' needs. >> (shouting) >> narrator: in september, three more suicide bombers strike at the heart of jerusalem. five israelis are killed and over 200 wounded, many of them teenagers. netanyahu declares that no more land will be handed over

to the palestinians as long as terror continues. >> oslo dead! dead! oslo dead! (shouting) >> narrator: netanyahu knows that the force behind the suicide bombers is hamas. he orders the head of the israeli mossad, danny yatom, to eliminate a top hamas officer who lives in amman, jordan. on september 25, two mossad agents disguised as canadian tourists arrive in amman. their mission: to inject khaled mash'al with a chemical that will cause a fatal heart attack. >> (speaking arabic) (translated): i was on my way to the office when two mossad agents assaulted me from the back. (speaking arabic) (translated): one of them had a sophisticated device

which discharged poison. the poison eered my skin and the substance reached my brain. and within two hours, i started to feel the effects. >> narrator: but the israeli plan goes awry. the mossad agents are discovered and arrested by jordanian authorities. khaled mash'al is rushed to a hospital. the affair is a major embarrassment for netanyahu, and threatens relations between israel and jordan. >> i must say that, uh, my, my memories of this are somewhat kafkaesque, because the first thing i, when i learned about the failure, i wanted, first of all, to inform king hussein. >> the palace was enraged. the king expressed his opinion to me, and he said, "it's like inviting a guest to my house,

and i find out that the guest has raped my daughter." >> narrator: to placate king hussein, netanyahu tries to save mash'al's life. >> i sent danny yatom, the head of mossad. as he was about to leave, i said, "danny, i think you forgot something." he said, "what?" i said, "well, the antidote to the poison." >> narrator: by noon, the head of the israeli mossad himself is on his way to save the life of a man he sought to kill only two hours earlier. jordan also demands the release of sheikh ahmed yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of hamas, after nine years in an israeli prison. it's a triumph for the extremists. (camera shutters clicking) >> (chanting in arabic): >> man (leading chant, crowd repeats): (man chanting, crowd repeats): (chant continues):

(man chanting over loudspeaker) (people talking in background) >> narrator: continuing to assert israeli control over jerusalem, netanyahu allows jewish settlers to buy and occupy houses within arab sections of the city, once again changing the status quo. (people talking in background) (child giggles) (metal clanging, people chanting) (people clamoring, man grunting) >> narrator: palestinians demonstrating against jewish settlers are joined by groups of israelis who oppose netanyahu's policies. (people shouting) >> we hope that mr. netanyahu would realize

that he's really pushing palestinians and israelis towards the cycle of violence and counterviolence. >> (chanting in hebrew): (people shouting) >> narrator: early in 1998, ehud barak, the leader of israel's labor party, begins to challenge netanyahu's leadership. >> (speaking hebrew): (speech continues) i used the metaphor of the titanic. i said, "we're, it's clear to me that we are heading into an iceberg." and i demanded from netanyahu's government ministers to open their eyes-- they will immediately see the iceberg. if we won't try seriously to solve it, at certain point it will explode,

and we will be torn from within, since at least part of our own society will believe and say that their own government is responsible. ♪ ♪ >> narrator: october 1998: in yet another attempt to revive the peace process, the americans call a summit meeting at the wye plantation in maryland. >> we wanted to work on how to transfer this percentage of land from the israelis to the palestinians, and work on some of the issues of security that the israelis had. ♪ ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen of the pool, ladies and gentlemen of the pl, if you could please head out. (people talking in background)

>> narrator: prior to the summit, israeli and palestinian security officials had held preliminary talks on several issues, including how to cooperate to fight terrorism, collect illegal weapons, and prevent the financing of terrorist cells. (all talking indistinctly) >> (speaking arabic): (talking indistinctly) >> the relationsp between some on the israeli side and some on the palestinian side, especially the security people, was an extraordinary relationship. they got along very well. i mean, i often used to say the security people could talk to each other the way that nobody else talked to each other. and it was true. >> narrator: the security agreement is presented to the leadership for final approval. but netanyahu reopens the package. >> i'm a very tough negotiator, and i come in with a specific purpose.

my goal was to have a very measured agreement that all the time forces arafat to pay for what he gets. the reciprocity list of ten major commitments, i think it was, was fleshed out in very great detail: security, the work plan on security; the people to be jailed, in what order, in what sequence, how it would be monitored; the collection of weapons; the cessation of propaganda against israel; and the creation of a monitoring committee which would include, tripartite, israeli, american, and palestinians; and so on. we put real meat on this. >> narrator: netanyahu also insists that provisions in the p.l.o. charter which call for the destruction of israel be rescinded. ♪ ♪ (people talking in background) an active participant at the talks is ariel sharon. an ardent opponent of oslo, sharon was appointed foreign minister

and a delegate to the wye meetings only one day before the talks began. >> sharon was kind of watching over whether netanyahu would move forward on something or not. watch your step. one of t things that president clinton tried to do was to get the parties together in various ways. sharon came to one of these dinners, and he would not shake hands with arafat. arafat wanted to, and sharon did not shake hands with him. (people talking in background) >> narrator: the trust that had developed between the security officials does not carry over to the politicians. >> (translated): we did not get clear answs from arafat about his willingness to do his part, especially regarding the elimination of terror, arresting terrorists, and dismantling their infrastructure, collecting the weapons, and stopping the incitement. we did not get answers. (people talking in background)

>> narrator: netanyahu is unwilling to compromise on security. six days into the meeting, he orders his delegation to pack its bags. >> i went back to president arafat, and i told him that they're leaving. and president arafat said, "i knew it. "he doesn't want peace, he doesn't want an agreement, he doesn't want anything." >> all the suitcases were set out outside. we heard that they had asked to get the cars and helicopters ready to leave. >> the secretary said to me, "what do," you know, "what do you think we should do?" i said, "order the plane for them." i said, "it's a game." i said, "if someone is serious about leaving, they don't go through the show of putting their luggage out." >> no, it was, it was clear and obvious that they want to, to squeeze me and to squeeze the palestinian delegation. but the time had passed and we came back to the negotiations.

>> narrator: to no one's surprise, it takes little persuasion by the americans to get the israelis to unpack their bags. it is also netanyahu's 49th birthday. >> (speaking hebrew): (talking in background) (people laughing and talking in background) (speaking hebrew): >> narrator: flowers are delivered from arafat, who follows up with a personal phone call. >> hello. >> (whispering in background) >> mr. chairman, you're very kind. thank you. on a personal basis, it's very, very much appreciated. insha'allah, i think if we work together, that we can do more than with the intermediaries.

but whatever happens, mr. chairman, i very much appreciate this gesture, and i shall remember it. thank you, bye-bye. ♪ ♪ >> narrator: the next day, president clinton thrusts his full weight behind the negotiations. after a marathon 21-hour session, the sides agree to what becomes known as the wye accords. >> it really did show what can happen when a president with the kind of knowledge that bill clinton had on this issue, and an understanding of both sides and his ability to listen, and then to kind of take the issues out of the box and rearrange them, that, that there is a role for an american president who, to bring the parties together. >> narrator: then, when everything seems to be going well, netanyahu dends the release of american-born israeli spy

jonathan pollard. securing his release would help netanyahu with his right wing back home. >> at 4:30 or 5:30 in the morning, as we were concluding, i hear voices. (people talking in distance) and then i see that there was, you know, finger pointing between president clinton and netanyahu. >> everything was more or less finished, ready to be concluded and signed. and i had met the president, and i said, "well, what about pollard? when will he be released?" and he explained that he could not carry out his promise, because he had a threat of mass resignations in his defense establishment. >> the two of them had a very different impression of their conversation. i mean, i recall talking to danny naveh and itzik molcho afterwards, when i went down to see them,

when we were stuck in the morning. and i said, "look, one thing is clear. "you can't hold up the whole agreement on pollard. "it won't be understandable. "it won't be understandable in this country, "because no one will see the relationship. "and even in israel, you will be sacrificing "an agreement that is heavily focused on israeli security "for the sake of pollard. it's not tenable, you can't do it." and what they said to me was, "it's, bibi's in a very difficult political position, "because he was counting on this to be able to sell the agreement." >> netanyahu, in the end, made a very important decision, after a lot of difficulty. he really, i think we all felt a sense of admiration for him when we arrived at the white house for the signing ceremony. (audience applauding) >> this agreement is designed to rebuild trust and renew hope for peace between the parties.

now both sides must build on that hope, carry out their commitments, begin the difficult, but urgent, journey toward a permanent settlement. >> it was very important, no doubt. not netanyahu alone-- netanyahu and sharon. they were together there. (audience cheers and applauds) in the end, both of us accepted the agreement. (audience cheering and applauding) ♪ ♪ >> narrator: the wye agreement allows for the construction of an international airport for the palestinians in the gaza strip. it opens on november 24, 1998. ♪ ♪

israel agrees to pull back its forces from an additional 13% of the west bank. but only about half of this would be done. israel also agrees to release 750 palestinian prisoners without blood on their hands. but only 250 would be released. the palestinian thority agrees to combat terrorist organizations, to arrest those involved in terrorist activities, and to collect all illegal weapons and explosives. but, in fact, little or none of this would be done. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ seven weeks after the wye meetings, in an extraordinary gesture, president clinton comes to gaza to lend his prestige

to the implementation of portions of thegreement. it is seen as a state visit, affording arafat and the palestinian authority de facto national recognition. (audience clapping) >> (speaking arabic): >> narrator: in clinton's presence, the palestinian national council takes a historic step. they vote to rescind the clause in the p.l.o. charter that calls for the destruction of the state of israel. (applauding) >> it was a stunning moment. they raised their hands, and they stood up still holding up their hands

just to be sure that no one, everyone could see that their hands were raised, and three-quarters of that audience responded. (audience applauding) (people exclaiming) and this sort of brought into focus this incredible sense that here is the beginning of genuine reconciliation. here is the beginning of those who've rejected the very idea of peace understanding this is over, it's passed. ♪ ♪ (people applauding) >> narrator: but it is not to be. the very extremists arafat is supposed to control stage violent protests against the recognition of israel. and in israel, the very people that had brought netanyahu into power see the handover ofore territory as an act of betrayal,

and begin to work for his downfall. on january 4, 1999, the knesset convenes in an extraordinary session to decide the future of the government. netanyahu has a hard time making his case. >> (speaking hebrew): (man calls out, chairman responds) >> man (speaking hebrew): (chairman speaking, members shouting) (dispute continues) >> narrator: over two-thirds of the members of the knesset, from all across the political spectrum, rebuke netanyahu and call for new elections. (crowd chanting) opposing netanyahu is labor party head ehud barak, a former chief of staff,

israel's most decorated military hero, and a disciple of the late yitzhak rabin. he runs on platform of peace and reconciliation with the palestinians. >> (singing in hebrew): >> (speaking hebrew): (crowd chanting) (chanting continues) (hebrew song playing) ♪ ehud barak, ehud barak ♪ >> narrator: on may 17, 1999, ehud barak wins a landslide victory

becoming israel's 14th prime minister. (crowd singing in hebrew) (crowd cheering and applauding) (song continues) (crowd cheers and applauds) (cheers roaring) >> (speaking hebrew): (crowd cheers and applauds)

(crowd cheers and applauds) >> i felt great, and the same time, very moving, since it was clear to me that i'm about to continue the legacy of rabin that had been cut at this very place a very short time ago. it was clear to me that we have a major interest in trying to disengage ourself, to separate ourself from the palestinians, to have two states for two nations. and it was clear to me that without taking active steps, it will erupt. you cannot stretch this reigning over another, another people for another generation. (crowd cheering and applauding) >> that night, it justn of 1996 till 1999, netanyahu's years, sharon's years, mordechai years.

and we are getting out of this? oof. (fanfare playing) >> narrator: in a deeply symbolic act, barak pays his first official visit to egypt, the most powerful arab state and one that has been at peace with israel for over two decades. barak also wants to enlist egypt's help in advancing the peace process. (people talking in background) >> he said that he is determined to work for peace and that he had the support of the people, and he, although he was not quite confident of the intentions of the palestinian authority and chairman arafat, but we told him that we would be with him on the peace process, we'd help, we'd mediate. >> good morning.

i welcome prime minister ehud barakwho's a friend. i know him before. i have great hopes since the prime minister took office. and we are looking forward, but we have to give him some time to make the reshaping of the situation to come to the very practical situation. i wish you good health and wish you good progress in the peace process, which all the people are waiting for that. thank you. >> narrator: while his mandate is strong, barak wants to push for a permanent agreement quickly, skipping the interim redeployments called for in the wye accords. he envisions a two-state solution that will finally put an end to the conflict. (people talking in background) on july 11, he flies to the erez crossing on the israel-gaza border for his first official meeting with the palestinian leadership.

>> hello, hello, long time no see. >> (speaking hebrew): >> i remember barak said, "great leaders will make tough decisions, "courageous decisions. "it's we who will make these decisions for your generations and my generations." >> (laughing) >> narrator: the palestinians expect to obtain a commitment from barak to immediately implement the long-delayed third redeployment. >> and then barak jumped to say, "we don't need to waste our times on little issues. "we don't need to concentrate "on the third phase of the third redeployment. we should go at it to get the whole thing done." and at that moment of history, the third phase of the third redeployment

constituted the most cardinal point in palestinian politics, in palestinian thinking, in palestinian relations with the israelis. ♪ ♪ but president arafat was so much touched negatively by barak that first meeting. >> i told him, "let us suggest an alternative." there is nothing to win by stretching the conflict for another generation. we will have to bury our, they will have to bury their dead, and we will end up with the same topography, the same demography, the same problems on the table, and open a way toward kosovo- or belfast-type situation,

which we don't need. (speaking hebrew on speakerphone): >> narrator: gilead sher is israel's new principal negotiator. it's now his turn to work with saeb erekat, who has headed the palestinian delegation since the process began. sher represents the fourth israeli administration erekatas had to deal with. >> our first meeting was a meeting of setting our minds together to the possibility of concluding peace agreements with our neighbors. >> i sense a level of trust develop, developing between us, and i hope that this trust will go to the level of mr. barak and president arafat. >> when you talk eye-to-eye with your interlocutor, with your counterpart, and when he knows after a couple of times that even the most difficult things that you have to tell him

is done with sincerity, you never lie to him, then you gain his confidence, and erekat knows that. >> i hope that one day, very soon, within a year, we can have a palestinian state with, next to israel, and this is not a dream now, it's a fact. i hope that once i get to this point here, because that's what separates, separating line of 1967, i hope that i will go visit my israeli friends and present my passport at this entrance here, going from east jerusalem to west jerusalem. >> narrator: after five weeks of negotiations, they've agreed on a framework and timetable for the final peace agreemt. the palestinian and israeli delegations assemble in egypt, at sharm el-sheikh, to celebrate the fruits of erekat and sher's efforts. (people talking in background) >> it's the first time you could have felt

the hope in the, in the air in jolie ville, this, this hotel in sharm el-sheikh. ♪ ♪ (audience applauding) >> narrator: it seems the peace process is back on track. as a confidence-building measure, israel agrees to release 350 security prisoners in two phases. the palestinians, for their part, agree to enforce the existing security understandings. then, suddenly, the very next day, three suicide bombers strike in haifa and tiberia. miraculously, only the bombers themselves are killed. (sirens wailing, horns honking) >> (speaking hebrew) >> (speaking hebrew): (band playing)

>> narrator: despite the terror attacks, barak releases 199 palestinian prisoners as planned. >> (screaming) >> (ululating) >> (exclaiming) >> (ululating) ♪ ♪ >> the president of the united states, accompanied by the prime minister of israel and the foreign minister of syria. >> narrator: barak now shifts his attention away from the palestinians to syria, israel's long-time enemy to the north. >> good morning. for the first time in history,

there is a chance of a comprehensive peace between israel and syria, and indeed all its neighbors. we'll do everything we possibly can to help the parties succeed, for a comprehensive peace in the middle east is vital not only to the region, it is also vital to the world. (birds chirping) >> narrator: but after two months of effort, the talks between israel and syria break down. all the while, arafat has been suspicious of barak's overtures to the syrians, concerned that a deal with syria will ease the pressure on barak to compromise with the palestinians. >> any agreement with any arab countries will not stop us. but he, used it to lose time. >> we are looking around us, asking... "who are our counterparts on the israeli side

"for the interim negotiations and for the permanent status negotiations?" >> narrator: land and the settlements, still expanding under barak, become the main issues when negotiations resume. what will happen to the 180,000 israeli settlers in the west bank and gaza? how much land will the israelis cede to the palestinians? how much land will they want to keep? >> the settlement policies continued. we were supposed to start talking about the future of the land, and our counterpart, the israeli, was determining, unilaterally, through the confiscation of land the future of this land. >> narrator: israeli negotiator oded eran asks barak to present the palestinians with a map to show how they propose to divide the west bank. >> he agreed, and, um, i was authorized to show the palestinians a scheme.

it wasn't a map, it was just a general outline. >> the palestinians had constantly been saying, "we need to see a map, we need to see a map." oded had not been allowed to show a map by barak. he was allowed tshow a drawing, basically. and what happened here was, the, what the palestinians saw was a, an approach that basically would have, in their mind, carved up the west bank. >> cutng west bank into three. even inside each one of these small cantons, there will be holes of settlements. so, if this is, if this is the situation, they know that we will not accept it. we will not accept it at all. >> they were enraged. uh, they were really, really angry. and one of them opened a barrage of almost ten minutes

of, of cursing in arabic, and in english, in hebrew. and the palestinians walked away from the room. >> and i went to them, and i said, "you want to be angry with him? "fine. "you don't like what he presented? "it's fine. "but you don't walk out on me. "you walked out on me. "you want me tbe here for negotiations, you stay in the negotiations." >> dennis ross said, "why, why did you leave? i was going to ask him questions about it." i told him, "okay, you can ask him question by letter, "but not in front of us. and what kind of question?" he said, "one question i wanted to ask is "why the israeli area here is so big, why it's not smaller." "thank you very much for this question. "keep this question for yourself. "i will not accept this question even to be asked in my esence."

♪ ♪ >> narrator: meanwhile, a secret negotiation in stockholm deals with another contentious issue: the palestinian refugees, three million displaced people who demand the right to return, a number equaling roughly half the population of israel. their return would alter the nature of the jewish state. ♪ ♪ >> we felt that we were making progress. we were in the, managing to turn the highly, uh, emotional and the historically awesome, uh, problem into a mechanism. we were differing about numbers. we say that we, israel will be ready to absorb a minimal number, in fact, symbolic number of refugees, but only within a scheme of, uh, family reunification,

humanitarian purposes... >> i know how difficult it is for them, but they should know how it is difficult for us. we cannot go for any agreement supported by half of our people, or less than half of our people. an agreement should be supported from the majority of the palestinian people. and without solving the refugee problem, there will be no agreement. >> narrator: the refugee problem would continue to haunt the negotiations. meanwhile, barak moves to fulfill a campaign promise and end israel's 22-year occupation of southern lebanon. he had hoped to do it as part of an agreement with syria, but now he decides to act unilaterally. ♪ ♪ under cover of darkness, israeli forces withdraw.

♪ ♪ >> (cheering and exclaiming) ♪ ♪ >> narrator: hezbollah, the shiite muslim fundamentalist militia that had been fighting the israeli army in lebanon for years, sees israel's flight as a massive victory. a few ill-armed guerrillas have made the mighty israeli army retreat. >> we did it! yes! >> narrator: many palestinians now believe they, too, can achieve their aims by fighting rather than negotiating. >> (shouting) >> (translated): the minute the palestinian people see your soldiers running away and allowing the lebanese to liberate themselves, they ask, "why don't we do it their way?" >> abu ala came to see me, anhe said, "listen. "with us, the israeli negotiated a deal.

"four years, we gave them security, "killed palestinians in cooperation with them, "for israeli security, "and virtually got nothing "except a postponed redeployment, in terms of land. "hezbollah killed israeli soldiers, and now they're measuring the fourth of june '67 line." he said, "the message to every palestinian will be clear: 'kill and get the land.'" >> (shouting) >> (chanting in arabic): >> we were very worried that violence would come, and we wanted to avoid it, d maybe, by going into the permanent status issues, we were gonna be able to, um, to do that. >> arafat said, "i want them to deliver things to me. don't talk about resolving everything." so, we focused on trying to create a package of things that would allow us

to address arafat's concerns, on the one hand, and pave the way to a summit on the other. >> narrator: at home, barak faces intense political pressure. he is under fire for his lack of success with syria, for his withdrawal from lebanon, and for being ineffectual with the palestinians. he urges president clinton to hold a summit to resolve everything once and for all. >> (speaking hebrew) (translated): barak's strategy before camp david was, either there will be an agreement that will bring peace and the end of the conflict between israelis and palestinians, or it will be a failure that will lead to violent confrontation. i remember i asked him, "what if there is only some progress, but we don't have an agreement?" ehud barak held a pencil in his hand. he told me, "gadi, do you see this pencil? "it stands because i'm holding it. "either we'll find a way to anchor it "because there is a peace agreement, or if not, i take off my hand, and the pencil falls."

♪ ♪ >> narrator: on july 10, 2000, the leaders head off to a hastily prepared summit at camp david. >> i am now leaving for camp david to join prime minister barak and chairman arafat in their effort to reach agreement on the core issues that have divided israelis and palestinians for half a century now. the two leaders face profound and wrenching questions, and there can be no success without principled compromise. both leaders feel the weight of history. but both, i believe, recognize this is a moment in history which they can seize. the road to peace, as always, is a two-way street.

(camera shutters clicking) (men talking indistinctly) (laughing) >> camp david broke open the, the nut that had never been opened before, the final status issues: jerusalem, statehood, boundaries, security, refugees. those issues had never been discussed at senior levels between israelis and palestinians. and suddenly they're sitting there, out there on the table. >> narrator: early in the negotiations, israeli foreign minister shlomo ben-ami presents a map showing israel's opening position. >> they want 11% of the west bank, which is the same figure i heard on june 25 (unintelligible).

>> it was a shock and a big surprise to see the same map in camp david. camp david, the leaders there, mr. arafat, prime minister barak. president clinton is there. and to bring the same maps... >> abu ala didn't like what he saw, but he didn't want to talk about it. and so he got pretty angry, and then president clinton got quite angry at him. >> he told him, "listen, this is not the general assembly. "i didn't come here to, to waste my time. "let us be pragmatic. "let us put ideas on the table. "do you accept the concept of, uh, of border modifications? "you do not have to accept the map "that mr. ben-ami put on the table. "come with an alternative map, "negotiate, work on the, on the subject. don't give speeches." >> president clinton, at that room, he was a mediator or a facilitator.

and therefore, the mediator or the facilitator, to show his support to one side against the other is not fair. >> narrator: to break the impasse, clinton suggests a land swap, since israel wants to keep part of the west bank for settlers. arafat accepts border modification in principle, but wants other usable land in exchange. >> i accept, but to make swap in the value and in the area, not only to give me desert. >> barak said, "i'm ready to explore these ideas, subject to arafat's similar acceptance." >> prime minister barak was a man with great vision, but also a man who played things very close to his vest. we did not know, going into camp did,

where barak's bottom line was. >> narrator: after listening to both sides, clinton proposes a compromise: israel would return almost all of the west bank and gaza to the palestinians, they would swap small parcels of land important to each other, and they would agree to share control of jerusalem. barak uses clinton's proposal as a starting point and suggests several changes. arafat never replies. barak then refuses to negotiate with him directly. >> arafat had asked in front of me three or four times, "where is the other guy?" one of these dinners, he shook hands with arafat in a very, uh, i would say it bluntly, unpolite way. and when we sat at the table, he put his hands

over his face, and he took his hands away from his face only, uh, to eat. >> we are talking here about the toughest and most sensitive issues that humankind has ever dealt with. it's not only nationalism; statehood; refugeeism; colonization, or settlements, as it were; holiness; sanctity; religion, islam versus judaism. and what holiness? jerusalem. and not only jerusalem, temple mount. is anybody going to change his positions because of personal relations? >> narrator: ne days into the summit, president clinton has to leave for a meeting in okinawa. and barak, having heard nothing more from arafat, tells his people to prepare to leave.

delegates on both sides are distraught. they fear that the collapse of the camp david talks will lead inevitably to war. >> (translated): some team members thought we hadn't explored all the options for continuing the dialogue, and that we're about to return to the people of israel with a negative result, when we can't honestly claim to have tried everything. (speaking hebrew) ♪ ♪ >> there was a very strong sentiment that we should stay and continue the effort. and the dramatic efforts of clion, going back and forth between barak and arafat around midnight of that evening, eventually led to the fact that, uh, they reached some kind of understanding that allowed us to stay in camp david.

by tt time, we were all very hungry. so all of us walked down to have a late-night dinner. when we got there, the palestinian team was already there. and those on our side and those on the palestinian side that felt, uh, that felt that we should have stayed practically hugged each other. it was a very emotional moment. ♪ ♪ >> narrator: but in israel, anti-barak protests boil over, as news from camp david hits the street. a quarter of a million people gather at rabin square in tel aviv, the largest right-wing demonstration in the history of israel. and in the west bank and gaza, unrest grows among palestinians as news spreads that land compromises are being considered.

when clinton returns to camp david, jerusalem is again put on the table. immediately, there is a problem. arafat argues that the jews have no claim at all to the area of the temple mount. >> they had excavated everywhere, and no one single stone from the temple had been found, only some stones of herodos' temple. >> this is not something that we've invented, uh, in light of the negotiations or, or put as a sort of an argument in front of, in front of our friends the palestinians. this is a fact. >> facts, today, that there is no such a thing as a temple mount in existence today. there is a mosque.

>> this is the most ancient, holiest place that we have in our history. and, uh, we do not reject the palestinians' management, administration, religious custodianship over the mosques and over the esplanade. but we do think that our proposal to have a shared sovereignty, to have a spiritual sovereignty, to have sovereignty by god, to have, uh, anything that is, that is together. >> we're dealing with realities. there is no such thing called "sovereignty over history." history is in our books, in our memories, okay? ♪ ♪ >> narrator: on the last night of the talks, clinton offers a new bridging proposal that cers all the issues, including the main stumbling block, east jerusalem.

but arafat refuses any compromise over the temple mount. >> that last night, saeb, shlomo ben-ami, the president, and i sat for two-d-a-half hours, and, you know, we tried coming up with every conceivable approach. saeb, to his credit, was quite honest. >> i told them it's not, it's not gonna, it's not gonna fly. he said, "saeb, i'm not negotiating with you. "i'm asking you to carry a message to your leader. and to come back with an answer." >> and i replied him in details about what can be done from our side which will be accepted by the arab nation and by the christians and by the muslims. >> (inhales deeply): arafat said clearly, "well, look, do you want to attend my funeral?" this he said to clinton.

"you want me to be a traitor? are you serious?" >> the problem with arafat at camp david, whatever criticisms i have of barak, barak, in the end, was prepared to confront history and mythology. and you can't ask more of a leader than that-- he was. afat was prepared to confront neither history nor the mythology, and he created a new mythology by saying the temple doesn't exist there. it was the only new idea he raised in 15 days at camp david. >> arafat basically, for whatever reason, walked away from what is one of the best deals he could ever have. and it always brings back to mind, the abba eban statement is that the palestinians never lose an opportunity to lose an opportunity. >> narrator: arafat sees major problems. he's concerned with limits on sovereignty for the new palestinian entity. >> there are some points which, which can... if you are in my place, you will not accept it.

"i will give you the control"... (speaking arabic) >> airspace-- airspace. >> "the control of the airspace." what's the meaning of at? >> (speaking arabic) >> and also, they are insisting to have big military bases, uh, with all armaments in jordan valley under their control. what the meaning of that? and also the border to, between us and the egyptians. who can accept that? ♪ ♪ >> (in hebrew):

(car horn beeps) (drums playing, crowd talking in background) >> narrator: arafat returns to a hero's welcome. in the streets, calls for an uprising-- a new intifada-- are heavy in the air. (man chanting, crowd repeats) (chant continues, crowd yelling and whistling) despite the official demise of the talks, arafat and barak approve a new series of secret meetings between the negotiators. >> today will be our 34th secret meetings.

you're the only one who managed to get us, uh, on tape. and i believe we... this fragile peace process is the only vehicle to bring about (unintelligible). the israelis need an end of conflict frous. they need an end of claims from us. they cannot have an agreement without these two elements. these are the two cards in our hands. >> since camp david, we are trying to, uh, bridge whichever gaps are still existent in the different issues on the core matters between us. >> there is a lack of confidence between the two leaders, lack of trust. but i don't think that either of them object to meet the other. it's really possible. >> narrator: at this meeting, they agree that arafat will visit barak at the prime minister's private residence

the next day. >> there was a meeting on the 25th of september. barak was there, he was the host. his wife was there, nava. and comes arafat with all the palestinian leadership: abu ala, nabil shaath, abu mazen, erekat. all of them there. >> we had the most congenial, friendly meeting between palestinians and israeli you can ever imagine. with barak and arafat behaving like two lovers. >> barak and arafat went engagé and sat together with no note-takers, with no... no one else present except for the two of them. >> and in the middle of this delightful meeting

and delightful dinner, they speak on the telephone with clinton. and barak says to clinton, "i'm going to be the partner of this man in a way better than, than rabin did it." >> they've kind of blessed us, us negotiators: "go with allah and make the agreement. "make it possible. do it, and we'll come and sign." >> narrator: at the end of the evening, arafat makes a request of barak: that ariel sharon, the head of israel's right-wing party, be denied permission to visit the temple mount, as he'd planned. >> i told him that this visit will make a big story, not only with us, with all the muslims all over the world.

he didn'listen to me. (man chanting over loudspeaker) >> narrator: barak cannot prevent sharon's visit to the temple mount. he coordinates with the palestinian authority, who agree to try to keep peace in the area. (people shouting) ♪ ♪ >> i came here with a message of peace. i believe that we can live together with the palestinians. i came here to the holiest place of the jewish people in order to see what happens here and really to have the feeling that, how we need to move forward. (men shouting) >> i think mr. sharon is a provocateur, he and all the people who join him. he came here in order to burn up the area.

(crowd yelling) (objects crashing) (crowd yelling) >> well, i landed that morning in israel from new york. (men shoutg) the chief of police in jerusalem, yair itzhaki, was hit by a stone in his head, and he was taken to the hospital. his second-in-command ordered his people to confront the mob. (men shouting) (guns firing) >> narrator: the next day, friday, the muslim day of prayer, the al-aqsa intifada is born. by day's end, seven protesters are dead and 160 wounded. (guns firing)

>> arafat decided to turn back to violence after camp david. this event on the mount, temple mount, especially the second day, fell into his hands as a ripe kind of a fruit, uh, becoming a very kind of natural excuse for him. >> you know that we are now in this century the only people who are under occupation? who can accept this? (crowd shouting and whistling in distance) >> arafat has a very hard time seeing himself actually as the president of a country. that in his own head, he is always the liberation fighter. arafat, for whatever his reasons, has not really taken the steps to condition the people for peace. >> narrator: the riots spread quickly throughout the west bank and gaza.

this footage of 12-year-old muhammad al-dura shocks the world and comes to symbolize the intifada. (guns firing) (men shouting) >> (shouting in arabic): (guns firing) >> our people saw these pictures in the tv, saw the picture of muhammad al-dura directly killed. we decided to demonstrate. >> narrator: riots engulf the israeli arab community, as well. >> the reaction of the israeli police was unprecedented.

they shot 13 of us, and killed them. (crowd chanting) (guns firing) >> narrator: after a week, 50 palestinians and five israelis are dead. (people shouting, guns firing) (crowd shouting) >> narrator: october 12, 2000. two israeli reservists accidentally stray into palestinian territory and ararrested by the police. soon, they are lynched by a palestinian mob. (crowd whistling and shouting) ♪ ♪ (crowd shouting) ♪ ♪ israel blames the palestinian authority for the murders, and within hours,

attack helicopters destroy the police station. (sirens wailing) (explosion bursts) israel also launches massive attacks on other targets in gaza and the west bank. >> what is your response? >> my response is our people is continuing their road to jerusalem, the capital of our independent palestinian state. to accept or not to accept, let them go to, to hell. ♪ ♪ >> narrator: each new day reaps its crop of victims. oslo has never seemed more remote. in israel, barak's policies are blamed for the rapidly deteriorating situation. >> (speaking hebrew):

>> narrator: the political pressure on ehud barak mounts. even among his staunchest supporters, many now distrust palestinian intentions. on december 9, barak announces his resignation. this will give him a window of 60 days to try and regain support before standing for reelection. but the violence has made his pro-negotiation stance difficult to defend. his people blame the palestinians. >> youe destroyed the peace camp in israel. >> that's unfair. >> torn it apart with these four months of violence. it's four months now. >> yeah, well. we've been quiet for the last month. what do you think we can do? >> you could have stopped it a week, a week after it started. >> mmm? >> two weeks after it started, one month after it started.

>> a greek tragedy. >> yes. >> you know? >> but you're well away... >> it's a chapter, it's a chapter. barak now is a new chapter in a greek tragedy. >> and you're playing the principal role in it. >> oh. >> oh, yes. >> oh-- do we have a, a (bleep) list of mistakes? do you want to do it? >> no, but that's the main one. >> mm-hmm. >> basically the main one. (crowd shouting) >> narrator: likud leader ariel sharon, a hard-line former general, is running on a platform of security and is far ahead in the polls. barak's only hope is to conclude a deal with the palestinians quickly. then he might win the election. he still believes the israeli people want peace. in a desperate attempt to reach agreement before the election, the negotiators meet in the resort town of taba. >> in taba, (murmurs), the most important progress has been achieved there.

inhe negotiation, when you are stuck on the principles, there are no progress. when you accept the principle and move to the details, there are a tangible progress. >> narrato they move rapidly toward reconciling the differences allowed for in a framework created by president clinton. >> we have made substantial progress. today, we are closer than ever to the possibility of strike, of striking a finite, a final deal between us and the palestinians. >> narrator: by late january 2001, they've run out of political time. they'll never be able to conclude an agreement with clinton now out of office and barak standing for reelection in two weeks. ♪ ♪ >> my heart aches because i know we were so close. i know we needed six more weeks

to conclude the drafting of the agreement. (crowd cheers and applauds) (crowd screaming happily) >> narrator: on february 6, 2001, ariel sharon is elected prime minister of israel, defeating barak in a landslide. (people talking in background) now two leaders who harbor deep mutual animosity and mistrust will shape the next chapter in the tumultuous history of the middle east. (bomb explodes, sirens wailing) (woman screams) the political process stops. the old cycle of violence and counterviolence continues.

palestinian suicide bombing becomes an almost-daily event, sometimes twice a day. >> (speaking arabic): >> (speaking arabic): >> narrator: israeli retaliation leaves hundreds of palestinians dead. then, on the eve of passover, a suicide bomber explodes himself just as people sit down for the holiday meal. 30 are killed, including entire families. on march 29, 2002, israel launches operation defensive shield. (automatic rifles firing) with overwhelming force, israel reenters palestinian cities and refugee camps,

hunting down terrorists and their infrastructure, often leaving massive destruction in their wake. and in ramallah,, israeli forces enter arafat's compound and hold him captive and isolated for 31 days. sharon had takenhe war to arafat's doorstep. >> (speaking arabic): >> narrator: when israeli forces eventually pull back, the peace process lies in ruins. the dream of oslo is shattered. >> how can we live like this? all the world is opening to each other. the world had become one. one entity.

europe is becoming one entity. the cultural barrier are breaking. everybody is becoming, is living with everybody! so why don't we become one thing together? one, one whole thing together? and all these stupid religious barriers, or national barriers, or all these non-human barriers will disappear. ♪ ♪ >> i'm not a political person, you know that. so i'm not saying we don't have a partner. we have a partner-- it's the palestinian people. we have a, we have a partner-- it's the palestinian leadership. and let me tell you, i don't know if you know that, i believe that with, that with any one of the members of the palestinian leadership-- six, seven, eight, ten people-- there could have been an agreement.

♪ ♪ >> maybe what we lacked is not only time. it is also a fundamental readiness, ripeness, of the parties to reconcile themselves with the most vital myth of the other. ♪ ♪ >> at the end of the day, i know it's doable, and i know palestinians and israelis can make peace. if it's not next year, if it's not in ten years, the day will come when palestinians and israelis will build on what i, my colleagues, and the israelis achieved in the negotiations of permanent status. i don't think they will ever reinvent the wheel.

and the difference between this moment and till the moment of reaching an agreement will be how many names-- palestinns and israelis-- will be added to the lists of death and agony. at the end of the day, there will be peace. >> go to pbs.org/frontline to read extended interviews with key participants in the peace process. >> reduce the withdraws, reduce the price that israel would have to pay. >> both of us accepted the agreement. >> and see a timeline of events since the oslo accords. visit the frontline archive where you can stream more than 300 documentaries. connect with frontline on facebook, instagram and x formerly twitter. and stream anytime on the pbs app, youtube or pbs.org/frontline.

>> russians have entered the city. the war has begun, and we have to tell its story. >> if the world saw everything that happened in mariupol, it would give at least some meaning to this horror. >> narrator: next time on frontline. >> frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. additional support is provided by the abrams foundation, committed to excellence in journalism... park foundation, dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues.

the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more at macfound.org and by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. and additional support from the fredric j. ridel living trust. captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org. >> for more on this and other frontline programs visit our website at pbs.org/frontline. ♪ ♪ frontline's "shattered dreams of peace: the road from oslo" is available on amazon prime video.

♪ ♪ you're watching pbs.

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