This article analyzes the continuity of the Middle East conflict, having the period between the Oslo Agreement and the Camp David Summit as a reference. It inquires about the reasons that led the PLO and Israel to perform a drastic revision of its doctrines and even then, they were unable to close a deal in 2000, despite the relative political stability. The analysis was made in two steps. The first presents a history of diplomatic talks intermediated by Norway between Palestinians and Israelis. The second details the doctrines and political strategies that guided the actions of the two protagonists since the 1940s, and how they interacted with the international context. It argues that the Oslo accords were motivated by the end of the Cold War and the regional consequences of the first Gulf War of 1990. The doctrinal revisions made by Arafat and Rabin, however, lost the momentum in the late 1990s, when the regional political system suffered a crisis of legitimacy caused by a permanent social crisis. Absent from the political scene, the pan-Arabism and the Marxist left favored the strengthening of Islamic fundamentalism, becoming the main unifying opposition force in the Arab world. In Israel, a similar trend occurred with the hegemony of ultraconservative parties, declared enemies of the Oslo accords. Palestinians and Israelis plunged into a period of extreme violence, "Second Insurgency", a reissue of the existential struggles of the 1940s. However, the structural changes in the political life, caused by the "Arab Spring" now open a new window that favors the election of Palestinian moderates and progressive forces in the Arab world. It concludes asking whether the Israeli left have ambition and enough strength to regain the political initiative and negotiate a peaceful end to the conflict.
geopolitics; diplomacy; conflict resolution