Smokescreen diplomacy: Excluding the Palestinians by Self-Rule

The document argues that the Palestinian self-rule scheme launched by Menachem Begin in December 1977 was a strategic mechanism of 'preventive diplomacy' designed to facilitate the Egyptian-Israeli peace process without conceding any sovereignty or territory to Palestinians. While President Jimmy Carter initially sought a comprehensive peace including Palestinian representation and Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza, he eventually accepted self-rule as a temporary starting point. The author contends that Begin never intended to implement the scheme, using it instead to sideline the PLO and maintain Israeli control over the West Bank and Gaza. The process culminated in the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, after which Begin further watered down the autonomy plan and eventually torpedoed the negotiations entirely with the July 1980 Jerusalem Basic Law, which declared Jerusalem the indivisible capital of Israel.

• Menachem Begin's 'self-rule' proposal was a diplomatic tool used to enable a separate peace treaty with Egypt by providing a nominal Palestinian solution that avoided any actual concessions of sovereignty or territory.
• The self-rule scheme was designed as 'state prevention,' ensuring that any Palestinian administration would remain under Israeli security control and would not evolve into an independent state.
• President Jimmy Carter's initial 'comprehensive approach' aimed for a full Arab-Israeli peace including Palestinian representation and Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza, but this was gradually replaced by the acceptance of self-rule as a temporary transition.
• The United States continued to exclude the PLO from direct negotiations throughout the Carter administration due to a 1975 secret pledge made by Henry Kissinger during the Sinai II negotiations.
• The Camp David Accords of September 1978 established a vague three-stage timetable for Palestinian self-governing authority but failed to secure a commitment from Begin regarding a final status or Palestinian sovereignty.
• The Israeli government purposefully ended the autonomy negotiations in July 1980 by passing a Basic Law declaring Jerusalem the indivisible capital of Israel, a move that Carter described as the 'final nail in the coffin' of the Camp David negotiations.

APA

Jensehaugen, J. (n.d.). Smokescreen diplomacy: Excluding the Palestinians by Self-Rule. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/77a51144-fb02-4732-8915-406a93c8debc/Smokescreen Diplomacy Excluding the Palestinians by Self-Rule.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Jensehaugen, Jørgen. Smokescreen diplomacy: Excluding the Palestinians by Self-Rule. Peace Research Institute Oslo, n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/77a51144-fb02-4732-8915-406a93c8debc/Smokescreen Diplomacy Excluding the Palestinians by Self-Rule.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jensehaugen |first1=Jørgen |title=Smokescreen diplomacy: Excluding the Palestinians by Self-Rule |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/77a51144-fb02-4732-8915-406a93c8debc/Smokescreen Diplomacy Excluding the Palestinians by Self-Rule.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jensehaugenndsmokescreen, author = {Jensehaugen, Jørgen}, title = {{Smokescreen diplomacy: Excluding the Palestinians by Self-Rule}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/77a51144-fb02-4732-8915-406a93c8debc/Smokescreen Diplomacy Excluding the Palestinians by Self-Rule.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }