Even before the current war in the Gaza Strip — let alone after it — Gaza has held, and continues to hold, a special place in the Israeli collective consciousness. This document collection offers a glimpse into the techniques and methods of control that Israel exercised over the Palestinians in Gaza and its surroundings over the course of decades: following the 1948 war, through its occupation in 1956 and again in 1967, and up until the late 1980s and the outbreak of the Intifada.

Recently unsealed records from the Kafr Qasim Massacre Trial (1957-1958) contain closed-door testimonies that reveal new information about Plan Mole, which provided the backdrop for the massacre and has been banned from publication, or even mention. We now provide access to these records, which help paint a comprehensive picture of the plan to forcibly displace Triangle-area Palestinians, Israeli citizens, from their homes.

From May 1948 to December 1966, Israel imposed a harsh Military Rule on most of its Palestinian citizens. While portrayed as a security imperative, it served as a means of controlling and monitoring Palestinian society while maintaining Jewish supremacy. This collection provides a window into a time in Israeli history largely erased from collective memory.

Until recently, official documentation regarding Israel’s positions during the rounds of talks led by U.S. Secretary of State James Baker in the region and records from the Israeli delegation’s negotiations with the joint Jordanian Palestinian delegation were virtually inaccessible to the public. In recent years, some of the relevant records kept in the Israel State Archives (ISA) were opened to the public at the request of Akevot Institute and are now listed and publicly accessible. Most of the records, however, are still sealed.

In the year preceding the signing of the agreement, connections with the leadership of the PLO slowly began to form, ultimately leading to secret talks, helmed by Deputy Foreign Minister Yossi Beilin and brokered by Norway in the capital, Oslo. Starting in June 1993, Rabin became increasingly involved in the talks with the PLO leadership and sent his own representative (amid his strained relationship with Peres). Very few people were aware of the talks underway in Oslo, and when news broke about the agreement’s signing on August 20, the world was caught by surprise – none more than the Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian and American representatives to the Washington talks.