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How did Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination affect the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?

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Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), wearing the keffiyeh, 1996.

The assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on November 4, 1995, by a Jewish extremist significantly altered the trajectory of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Initially, the tragedy prompted a surge in public support for the peace process within Israel and led to a period of national soul-searching. Rabin’s successor, Shimon Peres, attempted to maintain momentum by proceeding with the Oslo II agreement, and by early 1996, most Palestinians were under self-rule.1

However, the political landscape shifted dramatically in the following months. Despite the progress, Hamas continued a campaign of suicide bombings, which undermined public confidence in the peace efforts. In the May 1996 elections, Peres was defeated by Benjamin Netanyahu, who had campaigned on a platform focused on security and had been a vocal opponent of the Oslo Accords. Following this transition, the Israeli peace movement became increasingly marginalized, and the momentum toward a final two-state solution stalled.21