page_title: 1996 Israeli general election
section_title: Peace process
hierarchical_section_title: 1996 Israeli general election / Background / Peace process
caption_attribution_description: Čeština: Izraelský premiér Jicchak Rabin, americký prezident Bill Clinton a předseda Organizace pro osvobození Palestiny (OOP) Jásir Arafat. English: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, U.S. president Bill Clinton, and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat. Svenska: Israels premiärminister Yitzhak Rabin, USA:s president Bill Clinton och PLO:s ordförande Yassir Arafat. العربية: رئيس الوزراء الإسرائيلي إسحاق رابين، والرئيس الأمريكي بيل كلينتون، ورئيس منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية ياسر عرفات خلال التوقيع على اتفاق أوسلو.
context_page_description: General elections were held in Israel on 29 May 1996. For the first time, the prime minister was elected on a separate ballot from the remaining members of the Knesset.
  The elections for Prime Minister resulted in a surprise victory for Benjamin Netanyahu, by a margin of 29,457 votes, less than 1% of the total number of votes cast, and much smaller than the number of spoiled votes. This came after the initial exit polls had predicted a Shimon Peres win, spawning the phrase "went to sleep with Peres, woke up with Netanyahu". Although Peres lost the prime ministerial vote – his fourth and last defeat as Labor leader – Labor emerged as the largest party in the Knesset, winning two more seats than the Likud–Gesher–Tzomet alliance.
context_section_description: On 13 September 1993, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed the Oslo Accords (a Declaration of Principles) on the South Lawn of the White House. The principles established objectives relating to a transfer of authority from Israel to an interim Palestinian authority, as a prelude to a final treaty establishing a Palestinian state.
  On 25 July 1994, Jordan and Israel signed the Washington Declaration, which formally ended the state of war that had existed between them since 1948 and on 26 October the Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace, witnessed by U.S. President Bill Clinton.
  Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat signed the Israeli–Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on 28 September 1995, in Washington. The agreement allowed the PLO leadership to relocate to the West Bank and Gaza Strip and granted autonomy to the Palestinians with talks to follow regarding final status. In return the Palestinians promised to abstain from use of terror and changed the Palestinian National Covenant, which had called for the expulsion of all Jews who migrated after 1917 and the elimination of Israel.
caption: Yitzhak Rabin, Bill Clinton, and Yasser Arafat during the Oslo Accords on 13 September 1993
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