xxii Chronology 9 November 1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall. 12 March 1990 The Arab League decides to return its headquarters to Cairo. 20 June 1990 President G.H. Bush suspends dialogue with the PLO. 2 August 1990 Iraq invades Kuwait. 17 January 1991 The US launches Operation Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait. 30 April 1991 The Lebanese parliament orders the disbanding of all militias by this date. Hezbollah remains active and the South Lebanon Army (SLA) refuses to disband. 26 August 1991 The Lebanese parliament grants an amnesty for all crimes committed during the civil war, 1975-90. 18 October 1991 Invitation to the Madrid Peace Conference. The US letters of assurance to the Palestinians and Israelis. 30 October 1991 The Middle East Peace Conference opens in Madrid. Face-to-face bilateral talks for the first time between Israeli and Arab delegations, as well as with a joint Palestinian-Jordanian delegation. 16 December 1991 UN General Assembly Resolution 46/86 (Zionism-Racism). 26 December 1991 Formal dissolution of the USSR. 23 June 1992 Israeli Labor Party wins the elections. Yitzhak Rabin becomes Prime Minister. January 1993 Secret Israeli-PLO talks begin in Oslo, and develop into full-scale official negotiations in May that year. 20 August 1993 Secret signing of the Oslo Accords in Oslo by Israeli Foreign Minister Peres, Palestinian Chief Negotiator Qorei and Norwegian Foreign Minister Holst. 9 September 1993 Israel and the PLO exchange letters of recognition. 13 September 1993 Signature of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self- Government Agreements in Washington. 14 September 1993 Israel-Jordan Common Agenda. 11 October 1993 Letter from Israel’s Foreign Minister Peres to Norway's Foreign Minister Holst on the Status of East Jerusalem. 5 November 1993 Establishment of the AHLC. 25 February 1994 _— An Israeli opens fire at the Ibrahimi Mosque or Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, killing 29 Palestinians. 18 March 1994 UN Security Counci