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Palestine Papers
The Palestine Papers is a collection of confidential documents about the Israeli–Palestinian peace process leaked to Al Jazeera, which published them between 23 and 26 January 2011. Nearly 1,700 documents from the office of the main PLO negotiator, Saeb Erekat, and his team have been published, dating from 1999 to 2010.
Both Al Jazeera and The Guardian stated that they have authenticated the documents, and a media adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also affirmed their authenticity. Leaders of the Palestinian Authority have complained about the way the documents were presented by Al Jazeera.
The Palestine Papers include documents about the negotiations between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the government of Israel that took place intermittently between 1999 and 2010. The negotiations in 1993 that led to the Oslo Accords were the first direct negotiations between the parties. The following "peace process" focused on the formation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the territory it would govern. The PA, however, represents only the local people in the Palestinian Territories, not the Palestinians in the diaspora.
In 2011, when the Papers were published, the negotiations were in a deadlock after the refusal in September 2010 of the Benjamin Netanyahu government to extend the freeze of settlements building over ten months. Ziyad Clot, as of 2011 the only identified source, felt frustrated about the fact that the great majority of the Palestinian people, the refugees, being one of the "remaining issues" in the "peace process", were not properly represented.
The documents were obtained by Al Jazeera and shared in advance of publication with The Guardian in an effort to ensure the wider availability of their content. The Guardian has authenticated the bulk of the Papers independently, but has not sought or been given access to the sources of the documents. Al Jazeera, which published the Papers on their website, has redacted minimal parts of the papers to protect their sources' identities.
Most of the documents are from the Palestinian negotiation support unit (NSU). The NSU was the PLO's main technical and legal advice organ in the peace negotiations, set up in 1999 and headed by Saeb Erekat. Gershon Baskin, codirector of Israel/Palestinian Center for Research, said, "I'm 100 percent sure that it's a former disgruntled employed" member of the Negotiations Support Unit headed by Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat. Israel's Channel 10 news show also named the source of the leak as a former member of the NSU.
On 27 January 2011, following Al Jazeera's broadcast of the Palestine Papers, Saeb Erekat appeared on Al Jazeera Arabic, condemning the publication. He accused Al Jazeera journalist Clayton Swisher, who delivered the disclosure of the Palestine Papers, of being a CIA agent and of working for the NSU. He also said that former British intelligence officer Alastair Crooke was involved. Erakat later admitted to Ma'an News Agency that Clayton Swisher neither worked for the Palestinians nor the US intelligence agency.
A few weeks after the publication of the Palestine Papers, on 11 February 2011, Erekat resigned as Chief PLO Negotiator, citing the release of the papers and due to an internal Palestinian investigation that suggested the Palestine Papers leak had come from a source inside Erekat's office. However, he still held the position of Chief Palestinian Negotiator until his death in November 2020.
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Palestine Papers
The Palestine Papers is a collection of confidential documents about the Israeli–Palestinian peace process leaked to Al Jazeera, which published them between 23 and 26 January 2011. Nearly 1,700 documents from the office of the main PLO negotiator, Saeb Erekat, and his team have been published, dating from 1999 to 2010.
Both Al Jazeera and The Guardian stated that they have authenticated the documents, and a media adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also affirmed their authenticity. Leaders of the Palestinian Authority have complained about the way the documents were presented by Al Jazeera.
The Palestine Papers include documents about the negotiations between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the government of Israel that took place intermittently between 1999 and 2010. The negotiations in 1993 that led to the Oslo Accords were the first direct negotiations between the parties. The following "peace process" focused on the formation of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the territory it would govern. The PA, however, represents only the local people in the Palestinian Territories, not the Palestinians in the diaspora.
In 2011, when the Papers were published, the negotiations were in a deadlock after the refusal in September 2010 of the Benjamin Netanyahu government to extend the freeze of settlements building over ten months. Ziyad Clot, as of 2011 the only identified source, felt frustrated about the fact that the great majority of the Palestinian people, the refugees, being one of the "remaining issues" in the "peace process", were not properly represented.
The documents were obtained by Al Jazeera and shared in advance of publication with The Guardian in an effort to ensure the wider availability of their content. The Guardian has authenticated the bulk of the Papers independently, but has not sought or been given access to the sources of the documents. Al Jazeera, which published the Papers on their website, has redacted minimal parts of the papers to protect their sources' identities.
Most of the documents are from the Palestinian negotiation support unit (NSU). The NSU was the PLO's main technical and legal advice organ in the peace negotiations, set up in 1999 and headed by Saeb Erekat. Gershon Baskin, codirector of Israel/Palestinian Center for Research, said, "I'm 100 percent sure that it's a former disgruntled employed" member of the Negotiations Support Unit headed by Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat. Israel's Channel 10 news show also named the source of the leak as a former member of the NSU.
On 27 January 2011, following Al Jazeera's broadcast of the Palestine Papers, Saeb Erekat appeared on Al Jazeera Arabic, condemning the publication. He accused Al Jazeera journalist Clayton Swisher, who delivered the disclosure of the Palestine Papers, of being a CIA agent and of working for the NSU. He also said that former British intelligence officer Alastair Crooke was involved. Erakat later admitted to Ma'an News Agency that Clayton Swisher neither worked for the Palestinians nor the US intelligence agency.
A few weeks after the publication of the Palestine Papers, on 11 February 2011, Erekat resigned as Chief PLO Negotiator, citing the release of the papers and due to an internal Palestinian investigation that suggested the Palestine Papers leak had come from a source inside Erekat's office. However, he still held the position of Chief Palestinian Negotiator until his death in November 2020.