October 14, 1994
Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. At the time, Rabin was Prime Minister of Israel and Peres was the Israeli Foreign Minister. The prize was given to them for promoting peace with then PLO Chairman, Yasser Arafat, by negotiating and signing the Oslo Accords. The Oslo Accords were the first direct negotiations between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Arafat won the prize jointly with Rabin and Peres.
In the press release announcing the award, the Norwegian Nobel Committee stated, “The award of the Nobel Peace Prize for 1994 to Arafat, Peres and Rabin is intended by the Norwegian Nobel Committee to honor a political act which called for great courage on both sides, and which has opened up opportunities for a new development towards fraternity in the Middle East. It is the Committee’s hope that the award will serve as an encouragement to all the Israelis and Palestinians who endeavor to establish lasting peace in the region.”
The photo shows the three accepting their awards on December 10, 1994 (left to right: Arafat, Peres, Rabin)
To visit the official Nobel Peace Prize page for 1994