The Israeli Knesset approves the agreement sixty-one…

The Israeli Knesset approves the agreement sixty-one to fifty-nine on On October 6, 1995.

Implementation begins almost immediately with the handover of the civil administration building in Salfit and the release of about nine hundred Palestinian prisoners on October 10.

The interim agreement is made possible by the deferment of negotiations on the sensitive issues of final borders, Palestinian refugees, Jewish settlements, and Jerusalem.

"Final status" talks are scheduled to begin in May 1996.

The territorial concessions have aroused intense opposition among many Israelis, particularly settlers in the West Bank.

Although Oslo I had received strong parliamentary support, Oslo II is ratified by only one vote in the Knesset, signaling a significant loss of support for Rabin.

Many Israelis are angry over Arafat's erratic cooperation on security, and others, especially the Likud—now led by Israel's former ambassador to the UN, Benjamin Netanyahu—hotly oppose withdrawals or further dealings with Arafat.

Meanwhile, the Sephardic Shas Party has left the coalition in protest over the indictment of its parliamentary leader for fraud.

Bereft of his coalition's balance, Rabin has to depend on the vote of the Israeli Arab members of the Knesset for his majority.

He is also battered by demands from the Meretz Party ...