On September 13, 1993, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat watched the signing of the Oslo Accords in front of the White House in Washington and then with US President Bill Clinton looking on, reached out and shook hands.
The handshake marked a historic moment and its participants went on to win a Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East."
But 25 years on, is the region any closer to a peace deal?
What were the Oslo Accords?
The Oslo Accords actually refer to two documents, one signed in 1993, and a follow-up one in 1995, commonly referred to as Oslo II.
The name came from the fact that talks between Israelis and Palestinians were brokered by Norway.
Houses under construction in the Jewish settlement of Amichai in the occupied West Bank, on September 7, 2018. /VCG Photo
Oslo I marked the first time that the two rival sides came together to discuss a roadmap to peace. Israel now recognized the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and the PLO, in turn, recognized Israel.
It was not, however, a peace deal in itself.
Signed by Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), the document's main provisions included:
• The establishment of an interim Palestinian Authority to govern the West Bank and Gaza;
• Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and Jericho;
• A five-year transitional period during which the parties should hold talks aimed at reaching a permanent settlement.
Palestinian children protest at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) school, financed by US aid, in the Arroub refugee camp near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, September 5, 2018. /VCG Photo
The accord did not settle the thorny issues of Israeli settlements, Palestinian refugees, Jerusalem's future status, or a future Palestinian state. These were meant to be decided in later talks.
How much was achieved?
The creation of a Palestinian Authority, affording a degree of self-rule that did not exist before, was probably the most notable change.
The Oslo Accords also established the practice of direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians.
However, the five-year transitional period set out under Oslo I expired without a permanent deal being reached.
Peace talks finally collapsed in 2014 without the issue of settlements, borders or security arrangements ever being resolved.
Instead, the two sides have accused each other of breaking promises and not being fully committed to reaching a settlement.
Palestinian protesters burn tires and throw rocks during a protest against US plans to move its embassy, in Bethlehem, West Bank, May 15, 2018. /VCG Photo
The security situation meanwhile remains tense. Since 1993, the region has seen a second Palestinian intifada and three wars in the Gaza Strip, which is still under an Israeli blockade.
As a result, the general feeling has been that the Oslo Accords failed.
What now?
Peace talks have stalled, but things have not remained static on the ground.
Under President Donald Trump, the US – a key broker in the Middle East – has made hugely controversial moves that have angered Palestinians, and led to accusations he is taking sides.
Washington decided last year to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved its embassy there in May from Tel Aviv, causing an international uproar.
US ambassador to Israel David Friedman listens as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem, May 14, 2018. /VCG Photo
More recently, it slashed millions of US dollars in aid to Palestinians and suspended funding to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. This week, it announced it was closing the Palestinian mission in Washington, established in 1994.
As a result of the US embassy move, the Palestinians broke off contact with Washington.
At the same time, they have been trying to bolster their position by seeking UN recognition. Since 2012, they have already been allowed to use the name "State of Palestine," much to the fury of the US and Israel.
Israel, for its part, has allowed the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and passed a law earlier this year making it harder to cede control over any part of Jerusalem in the event a peace deal is reached.
The White House has said it is now working on a new peace plan for the Middle East that National Security Adviser John Bolton has called "extraordinarily ambitious." Details have yet to be revealed, however.
(Top picture: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (L) and PLO leader Yasser Arafat shake hands for the first time as US President Bill Clinton looks on at the White House in Washington, September 13, 1993. /VCG Photo)