The Palestine Papers

(2008)

In January 2011, confidential documents related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were leaked, including thousands of pages diplomatic correspondence, minutes from private meetings, transcripts of high level exchanges and strategy papers dated from 1999 to 2010. Documents are PDFs and listed below in chronological order.

• January 27, 2008: Meeting Minutes: Ahmed Qurei, Saeb Erekat and Tzipi Livni

  • Summary: Minutes of meeting among Qurei, Erekat, Livni and others in Jerusalem. The parties discuss Israeli disruption of Gaza; nature of each separate state; the need for committees; acceptable parameters for discussion (Clinton); borders; role of third parties; and other permanent status issues.
• May 6, 2008: Meeting Minutes: Bilateral Meeting on Security

  • Summary: A security committee meeting discussing the Palestinian Authority projects; i.e. weapons, riot control, etc. Discussion of security collaboration with Israelis and Palestinian Authority taking action on all uprising in West Bank.
• June 21, 2008: Meeting Minutes: Bilateral Post-Annapolis Plenary Session

  • Summary: The two sides discuss what they call a "gap" in their positions on core issues, from security and settlements to borders, Jerusalem and refugees. Israeli official Tzipi Livni refuses to agree on the issue of "compensation for occupation," saying Israel will not pay for the damage done to the Palestinian economy as a result of her country's decades-long occupation. Livni also suggests that an Arab village in Israel, Wadi Ara, could be swapped during the negotiations and made part of a future Palestinian state. PA official Qurei says "absolutely not."
• July 16, 2008: Meeting Minutes: U.S.-Palestinian Bilateral Session, Post Annapolis

  • Summary: Ahmed Qurei tells US officials that "nothing has happened" on the implementation of Israel's obligations under Annapolis or the Road Map. The parties go on to discuss settlements, refugees, and several other issues.
• November 2, 2008 - NSU Report: Progress on Security Negotiations, October 2008

  • Summary: Palestinian report on progress of Security committee negotiations as of October 2008.  Three key differences remain in the parties' agendas: Israeli security presence and control, Third party role and the Palestinian security sector.  The report includes problems, obstacles and issues that require political decisions.
• November 2, 2008 - Current Palestinian and Israeli Negotiating Positions as of November, 2008

  • Summary: Chart/matrix that identifies current Palestinian & Israeli positions, by committee and related specific issue, reflecting discussions up to November 1, 2008.
• November 3, 2008 - PLO Presentation: Security Issues In Permanent Status Negotiations

  • Summary: Presentation on security issues in Permanent Status Negotiations; the presentation provides an overview of the key issues and concludes that security solutions should target legitimate threats and concerns, not the economic and political viability of the state.
• November 3, 2008 - PLO Presentation: Road Map Implementation, Post-Annapolis Update
  • Summary: Presentation that provides a status on post-Annapolis and Road Map obligations.  The presentation also provides a detailed overview of the situation in Palestine with updated "facts on the ground" as of October 2008, including settlement/building permit data.
• November 5, 2008 - Meeting Summary: 10th Meeting of the Joint Legal Committee
  • Summary: Summary of the 10th Meeting of Joint Legal Committee in Jerusalem, on November 5, 2008.  The parties discussed agenda items and right to claims.  The Palestinians raised issues regarding end of claims and compensation for occupation (based on international law).  The Israelis insisted that the PLO dismiss the idea of bringing public claims, as the Israelis would be sure to retaliate, and to instead create mechanisms of private claims. 
• November 5, 2008 - Meeting Minutes: Economic Relations Committee
  • Summary: Minutes of Economics Committee meeting on November 5, 2008, where the parties discuss the future of negotiations after elections in Israel; implementation of Paris Protocol; the economic situation in Ramallah and Gaza; labor quotas; and trade agreements.
• November 5, 2008 - Meeting Minutes: 10th Meeting of the Joint Legal Committee

  • Summary: Minutes of the 10th Meeting of Joint Legal Committee in Jerusalem, on November 5, 2008.  The parties discussed agenda items and right to claims.  The Palestinians raised issues regarding end of claims and compensation for occupation (based on international law).  The Israelis insisted that the PLO dismiss the idea of bringing public claims, as the Israelis would be sure to retaliate, and to instead create mechanisms of private claims. 
• November 6, 2008 - Summary of Israeli Road Map Violations - November 2007 - November 2008

  • Summary: A summary of Israeli Road Map violations in the first nine months since Annapolis, during which many serious Israeli violations took place with respect to: (1) settlement activity, (2) attacks against Palestinians and their property, (3) internal closures, (4) Jerusalem institutions, and (5) other Road Map obligations.
• November 9, 2008 - Talking Points for President Mahmoud Abbas Re: Upcoming Quartet Meeting
  • Summary: The document discusses talking points for Quartet meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh on November 9, 2008. It states that a little progress was achieved after Annapolis Conference and that the main obstacle to it was a fundamentally different approach to permanent status negotiations. Agreements with Israeli's side include: We do not need bridging proposals from any third party; Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed; No media involvement in the discussions and all substantive aspects of discussions are completely confidential.
• November 13, 2008 - NSU Draft Talking Points - 20th Anniversary of Palestinian Declaration of Independence
  • Summary: Draft Talking Points for Palestinian representatives regarding the upcoming 20th Anniversary of Palestinian Declaration of Independence.  The points stress the Palestinian commitment to a two-state solution and criticize Israel for their failure to implement any post-Annapolis obligations, especially as regards settlement activity.
• November 17, 2008 - Draft PLO Press Release Re: Meeting between Mahmoud Abbas and Ehud Olmert

  • Summary: Draft press-release by NAD, which was never released, on meeting between Abbas and Olmert over Israel's Gaza blockade in November 2008.  The press release provided statistics on Palestinian suffering and condemned Israel for their flagrant violations of all previously-agreed accords.
• November 17, 2008 - PLO Statement Re: Curbing foreign involvement in Israeli settlement activity

  • Summary: This statement discusses failure of Annapolis Conference's agreements on Israel's settlements activities and urges all states to take concrete measures to ensure that they are not involved in contributing Israel's settlement activity. Two annexes to this statement are enclosed.
• November 24, 2008 - Meeting Minutes: Culture of Peace Committee Meeting

  • Summary: Minutes of Culture of Peace meeting where the parties discussed other countries' peace-making experiences and initiatives (South Africa, Bosnia-Herzegovina) as comparative research examples and related efforts.
• November 29, 2008 - Terms of Reference: Study on Recognition of Israel’s Responsibility
  • Summary: TOR document for research on recognition of Israeli responsibility. It mentions that the research should answer the following questions: 1) What are the relevant precedents of state recognition or apology for the Palestinian case? 2) What proposed language options and delivery scenario could be offered for a statement of recognition of responsibility from Israel?
• November 30, 2008 - Annapolis Joint Agreement - Palestinian Comments (Draft #12)

  • Summary: Draft of complete, joint Annapolis Agreement with Palestinian comments; draft version 12. 
• December 14, 2008 - Talking Points - Refugee Committee Meeting on December 14, 2008

  • Summary: Goals and talking points for Refugee Committee meeting on Dec. 14, 2008. These include the necessity to clarify the structure of an agreement on Refugees and the importance of reaching a resolution on the main related policy issues.  Includes Annex entitled "Progress Report on Refugee Negotiations, October 25, 2008."
• December 14, 2008 - Meeting Minutes: Refugee Committee

  • Summary: Minutes from Refugee Committee meeting on December 14, 2008. Discussion subjects include: territory exchange between Israel and Palestine (Palestine offers 1.9% of West Bank territory), points of agreement & disagreement derived from previous meetings etc.
• December 16, 2008 - Talking Points - Arab Peace Initiative, December 2008

  • Summary: Talking points that discuss the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative (API) in context of future regional stability and Israeli security. It also discusses permanent status issues in terms of the API, namely borders, refugees and Jerusalem.