The Madrid conference: Israel State Archives
At Madrid, Israel, Syria, Lebanon and a joint Jordanian–Palestinian delegation sat together for the first time, under US and Soviet sponsorship.
The Madrid Conference
Visit or conferenceHistorical event
An opening conference for negotiations, not an agreement: no binding document was signed. It set the framework for the talks that followed.
In 30 seconds
At the end of October 1991, Israel, its neighbours and Palestinian representatives sat around one table in Madrid for the first time, under American and Soviet sponsorship.1 No agreement was signed, but channels opened from which the Oslo Accords and peace with Jordan later grew.1
Where it stands today
A historical event that is over. According to the US State Department's Office of the Historian, the Washington talks it launched were stuck by 1993, and the parties went round them through secret channels.1
In one sentence
To seat all the parties to the Arab–Israeli conflict around one table for the first time, for direct talks.
The challenge
Until 1991 only Egypt had signed a peace with Israel. After the Gulf War, US Secretary of State James Baker made rounds of talks in the region to bring everyone to direct negotiations.1
The hard question was who would represent the Palestinians. In the end delegates from the West Bank and Gaza came, inside a joint delegation with Jordan, without PLO officials and without residents of East Jerusalem.1 Haidar Abdel-Shafi spoke for the Palestinians.2
The road there
- The conference opens in Madrid, co-chaired by US President George H. W. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.1
- The opening speeches end, with direct talks due to start a few days later.2
- Bilateral talks between Israel and its neighbours begin in Washington.1
- Multilateral talks on regional issues begin in Moscow.1
The people
- Mediated
- James Baker
What came out of it
The geography
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Layers · Legend
- International boundary agreed in a peace treaty
- Treaty line with Jordan, “without prejudice to the status” of the territory beyond it
- 1949 armistice line (“Green Line”) — not an agreed final border
- “Blue Line” — UN line of withdrawal (2000), not a border
- Ceasefire / disengagement line with Syria (1974)
- Other international boundary
- West Bank and Gaza Strip: permanent status not agreed
- Golan Heights: held by Israel since 1967; annexation not recognised by the UN
- UN area of separation (UNDOF)
Classification follows the original research as of 7 Oct 2026. This schematic map is not a legal boundary map or a live update.
- International boundary agreed in a peace treaty
- Treaty line with Jordan, “without prejudice to the status” of the territory beyond it
- 1949 armistice line (“Green Line”) — not an agreed final border
- “Blue Line” — UN line of withdrawal (2000), not a border
- Ceasefire / disengagement line with Syria (1974)
- Other international boundary
- West Bank and Gaza Strip: permanent status not agreed
- Golan Heights: held by Israel since 1967; annexation not recognised by the UN
- UN area of separation (UNDOF)
Schematic map. Lines are approximate and are not a legal determination. Data: Natural Earth (public domain), 1:10m scale; line classification and place names by this site. Lines as of October 2026. Peace map
The hard decisions
- Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir led the Israeli delegation. Israel did not sit opposite the PLO, and the Palestinians came without formal PLO representation.1
What was carried out
- The bilateral and multilateral talks did open, in December 1991 and January 1992.1
What was not
- The Washington talks produced no agreement and were stuck by 1993.1
What changed in real life
- For the first time, all the parties to the Arab–Israeli conflict sat together for direct talks.1
- A secret channel in Norway, opened in January 1993, led to the Declaration of Principles between Israel and the PLO.34 Secret talks between Israel and Jordan led to the peace treaty of October 1994.1
What remains open
- Madrid shows that a big public stage can open a door, but the decisions were later made in small, secret rooms.1
- The Syrian and Lebanese tracks did not mature into peace treaties; see the talks with Syria.
Photos, videos and quotes
President Bush's speech opening the Madrid conference
Bush and Gorbachev opened the conference together. Bush said peace had to be built through direct negotiation, not imposed from outside.
Yitzhak Shamir's speech at Madrid
Shamir came to Madrid reluctantly and under US pressure, but simply sitting across from Arab and Palestinian delegates was a precedent.
Kissinger and Shamir on Face the Nation, November 1991
Madrid opened bilateral and multilateral channels that continued in Washington. Out of them, indirectly, came the Oslo Accords and peace with Jordan.
Madrid at 20: i24NEWS Arabic
Madrid was the first time Palestinian representatives formally faced Israel. The head of the delegation, Dr Haidar Abdel-Shafi, spoke there for the Palestinian people.
Sources
You do not have to agree with us. That is what the sources are for: open them, compare and check for yourself.
- Official archive U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
The Madrid Conference, 1991 - Primary United Nations, Division for Palestinian Rights (UNISPAL) · October 1991
Approaches towards the Settlement of the Arab-Israeli Conflict and the Question of Palestine, Issue 7, October 1991 (invitation to the Madrid Conference and statements made there) - Official archive Government of Norway (regjeringen.no)
Norway's involvement in the peace process in the Middle East - Primary PA-X Peace Agreements Database, University of Edinburgh · 13 September 1993
Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements ('Oslo Accords')
Further reading
- Official archive U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
The Oslo Accords and the Arab-Israeli Peace Process