A few final-status terms

Oslo accords: It started in 1993 with the signing of the Declaration of Principles in Washington by Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Over the past six years, Israelis and Palestinians have moved closer to peace than ever before. Terrorist acts and political maneuvering have slowed the progress of the final-status talks, which were to begin in May 1996.

Framework agreement: By Feb. 15, 2000, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have pledged to be in accord on the principles of how their final peace deal will look.

Compensation: Refers to both compensating Palestinians for property and home losses during the Israeli-Arab wars and compensating Israeli settlers who may be forced to leave homes they bought in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

UN Resolutions 242 and 338: These call on Israel to withdraw from territory they occupied after the 1967 Mideast war.

Yossi Beilin-Abu Mazen Plan: This is the only known joint proposal to date for settling these contentious issues. Mr. Beilin, a lead negotiator for Israel under the last Labor-led government, and Abu Mazen, Arafat' s chief deputy, had until 1996 discussed plans for dividing the West Bank and Jerusalem. It included creating a Palestinian capital in an Arab village on Jerusalem's eastern border. Palestinians would have a corridor giving them a direct access route to the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City. After their talks broke off in 1996, Beilin said he estimated that some 60 percent of the settlements - home to 75 percent of the settlers - would be annexed to Israel, while the rest would be dismantled.

(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society