AS THE DECADE of the 1990s arrived, the Israelis and the Palestinians were still in constant conflict. After more than forty years, Palestinians were no closer to their own homeland. The Israelis were no closer to a lasting peace. Aging leaders of both Israel and the PLO were growing weary, and they realized that the use of force or violence brought them no closer to resolution. Nevertheless, these factors might not have led to a historic agreement had the world not been undergoing some dramatic changes.

A changing world

Several world events finally tipped the scales toward peace in the Middle East. First was the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. The Middle East had long been a battleground in the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union, with the Soviets backing the Arab nations and the United States backing...