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300px Yitzhak Rabin, Bill Clinton, and Arafat during the Oslo Accords on September 13, 1993
In the early 1990s Arafat engaged the Israelis in a series of secret talks and negotiations which would enevitably lead to the 1993 Oslo Accords, which called for the implementation of Palestinian self rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over a five year period. The following year he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin. Arafat returned back to Palestine a hero to some but a traitor and collaborator to others.
In 1994, Arafat moved to the Palestinian Authority (PA) — the provisional entity created by the Oslo Accords. In July 1995 he had a daughter, Zahwa, named after his deceased mother.
On January 20, 1996, Arafat was elected president of the PA, with an overwhelming 87% majority (the only other candidate was Samiha Khalil ). Independent international observers reported the elections to have been free and fair. However, some critics allege that because most of the opposition movements chose not to participate in the elections the elections were not truly democratic. Further elections were announced for January 2002, but were later postponed, purportedly because of inability to campaign due to Israel Defense Force incursions and restrictions on freedom of movement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
After 1996, Arafat's title as Palestinian Authority leader was "head" (Arabic ra'is). Israel translates the title as "chairman" and the U.S. uses this term, while Palestinians translate it as "president" and the U.N uses this term.
In mid-1996, following multiple suicide bus bombings, in which scores of Israeli civilians were killed, Benjamin Netanyahu was elected Prime Minister of Israel. Palestinian-Israeli relations grew even more hostile as a consequence of continued incidents. Netanyahu tried to obstruct the transition to Palestinian statehood outlined in the Israel-PLO accord. In 1998 U.S. President Bill Clinton intervened, arranging meetings with the two leaders. The resulting Wye River Memorandum of 23 October 1998 detailed the steps to be taken by the Israeli government and PA to complete the peace process.
Arafat continued negotiations with Netanyahu's successor, Ehud Barak, at the Camp David 2000 Summit. Due partly to his own politics (Barak was from the leftist Labor Party, whereas Netanyahu was from the rightist Likud Party) and partly due to immense pressure placed by American President Bill Clinton, Barak offered Arafat a Palestinian state in parts of the West Bank and all of the Gaza Strip with an outlying suburb of East Jerusalem as its capital. The final proposal proffered by Barak would have meant Israeli annexation of 10% of the West Bank (largely encompassing current settlement blocs) in exchange for a much smaller swath of land in the Negev desert. Many Palestinians claim that accepting the offer would have the effect of reducing the Palestinian state to what they characterized as " Bantustans:" scattered pieces of territory separated by highways for Israelis, security checkpoints and Israeli settlements. In addition, under the Israeli proposal, Israel would control the Palestinian state's water resources, borders, customs, and defense and a further 10% of the West Bank under nominal Palestinian sovereignty (chiefly along the Jordanian border). Also included in the offer was a return of a limited number of refugees and a compensation for the rest. In a move widely criticized abroad and even by a member of his negotiating team and Cabinet, Nabil Amr, Arafat rejected Barak's offer and refused to make a counter-offer. When the Al-Aqsa Intifada, or Second Palestinian Intifada, was launched (2000-present) the day after a visit by Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount, the peace process completely collapsed. After the start of the Second Intifada, Arafat's wife moved to live with her mother and daughter in Paris.
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