I was wondering today when the last mideast peace conference occured. So, I looked it up. It was in 2000. We went along trying trying trying for years……. and then came George W. No attempts under Reagan’s watch, either. If you’re curious as I am……here’s the list.

Past Mideast peace conferences

Sept. 5-17, 1978

Venue: Camp David, Thurmont, Md.

Participants: President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin

Outcome: The talks yielded the Camp David Accords, which in turn led to the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty of 1979. It was the first time Israel had signed a treaty with any of its Arab neighbors.

Oct. 30 -Nov. 1, 1991

Venue: Madrid, Spain

Participants: President George H.W. Bush, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Jordanian Foreign Minister Kamel Abu Jaber, chief Palestinian delegate Haider Abdul-Shafi and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa

Outcome: The 3-day conference was the first time Israel negotiated directly with Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinians about disputed land that could become part of a Palestinian nation .

September 1993

Venue: Washington

Participants: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, PLO Executive Council Member Mahmoud Abbas and President Bill Clinton

Details: Peres and Abbas signed the Oslo Accord, which created the Palestinian Authority, which in turn agreed to recognize Israel’s right to exist.

Oct. 15-23, 1998

Venue: Wye River Conference Centers, Queenstown, Md.

Participants: Clinton, Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Details: Israel agrees to hand over an additional 13% of the West Bank (bringing Palestinian control to about 40%), to release Palestinian prisoners and to lift trade restrictions. Palestinians agree to arrest militants, give up some guns and annul a clause in their charter that negated Israel’s right to exist.

January 2000

Venue: Shepherdstown, W.Va.

Participants: Clinton, al-Sharaa and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak

Details: The talks fail over details of an Israeli offer to withdraw from the Golan Heights.

July 11-25, 2000

Venue: Camp David

Participants: Clinton, Arafat and Barak

Details: The talks broke down as each side accused the other of not going far enough, even as each leader argued he was doing all he could. A new round of violence between Israelis and Palestinians began shortly after these talks collapsed.