This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.The Sharm El Sheikh Memorandum, full name: The Sharm El Sheikh Memorandum on Implementation Timeline of Outstanding Commitments of Agreements Signed and the Resumption of Permanent Status Negotiations, was a memorandum signed on September 4, 1999, by Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Barak and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat at Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt, overseen by the United States represented by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
To sum up the memorandum:[1]In an effort to break the deadlocked Israel-PA negotiations, the parties met in Sharm El Sheikh in the presence of Secretary Albright, President Mubarak and King Abdullah, and signed an agreement which called for the Israeli withdrawal from a further 11% of the West Bank; the release of 350 Palestinian prisoners; the opening of safe passages between the West Bank and Gaza; and a seaport to be built in Gaza.
Both sides agreed to make a determined effort to conclude a framework agreement and established a timetable to achieve this goal.
The memorandum states that neither side would initiate or take any step that would change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in accordance with the Interim Agreement.
This clause recognized the necessity to create an appropriate environment for negotiations, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators also discussed various issues: Palestine and Israel also called upon the international donor community to enhance its financial support for the Palestinian economic development and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.