The Sharm el-Sheikh Summit is a series of peace summits held in Egypt since 1996, with a focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The first summit failed to achieve a resolution, but laid the groundwork for the Roadmap to Peace. The most important summit was in 2005, with the goal of ending the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Hamas resumed hostilities, but subsequent summits reaffirmed the Roadmap and pledged to improve the Palestinian state.
The Sharm Summit, or as it is formally known, the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit, is actually not just a summit, but a series of peace summits that have been held in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh since 1996. Optimistically Known as “the city of peace”, Sharm el-Sheikh has hosted numerous summits and conferences, but those concerning peace in the Middle East, and more specifically the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, are the most significant.
In 1996, the first Sharm summit was held, called the “Summit of Peacemakers”. In attendance were US President Bill Clinton, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, among other dignitaries and government officials. Its goals were to formulate a peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in order to end the violence and begin the process of establishing a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip. While this Sharm Summit and subsequent summits in September 1999 and October 2000 largely failed to achieve a real resolution, they did lay the groundwork for the Roadmap to Peace.
The Roadmap to Peace is a plan that sets out specific goals for ending terrorist violence, withdrawing from Israeli settlements, and laying out the nuts and bolts for establishing a Palestinian state complete with infrastructure and governance. While it has suffered many setbacks since its inception in 2002, it has remained the most well-received and accepted peace plan in the region.
One of the most important summits took place on February 8, 2005 and saw the participation of Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, Ariel Sharon, Israeli prime minister, Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian president and Jordanian king Abdullah II. The goal of the February 2005 Sharm Summit was to end the bloody Al-Aqsa Intifada that had been raging since October 2000 between Israelis and Palestinians. The four leaders discussed the future of the Palestinian state, the cessation of all violence between Jews and Palestinians and their continued support for the Roadmap.
It was a very public summit and should have been the end of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Also relevant was the fact that it was the first summit that included Abbas, first appointed president by Yasser Arafat, but then democratically elected by the Palestinian people. This was thought to be a good step towards establishing a legitimate Palestinian government recognized by Israel.
While the leaders had the best of intentions, Hamas has resumed hostilities. Another Sharm summit was held on August 3, 2005, during which the situation in Iraq and the Arab-Israeli conflict were discussed. In June 2007, the Sharm Summit met again, this time including Mubarak, Abudullah II, Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in office since 2006. The Roadmap was reaffirmed and Olmert renewed his cooperation with Abbas to improve the security and economic situation of the Palestinian state. He pledged to further improve the current state of the Palestinian movement and improve trade relations and humanitarian assistance. Olmert passionately asked for the support of other Arab nations to support the peace process and recognize the need for Jews and Palestinians to enjoy their own nation.
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