Yitzhak Rabin's death 20 years later: Was it end of Israel peace movement?

JERUSALEM — The upcoming anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination 20 years ago by a Jewish extremist may also mark the death of Israel's peace movement.

Two decades later, Israel appears further away from the prospect for peace than ever. Quite a change from the time Rabin famously shook hands on the White House lawn with Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat in 1993 and signed the Oslo Peace Accords, giving Palestinians limited self-governance over parts of the West Bank and Gaza.

Since then, Israel has moved to the right politically and no one is talking about an independent Palestinian state happening anytime soon. A small but vocal group of young Israeli extremists have built nearly 100 unauthorized settlement outposts and initiated confrontations with Palestinians.

And just this week, Hagai Amir, the brother of Rabin's assassin, was arrested in Tel Aviv for posting alleged threats to Israel's president on Facebook.

Rabin, a hawkish general-turned prime minister, was gunned down in Tel Aviv on Nov. 4, 1995, during a pro-peace rally in what's now called Rabin Square. He was 73. A ceremony to honor him will be held there Saturday night, and guests will include former U.S. president Bill Clinton, who brokered that handshake with Arafat.

Although peace talks have continued since Rabin was slain, “there was no one in Israel with Rabin's combination of political will, the political clout, defense credentials and the courage to stand up to all the opponents of peace,” Ephraim Sneh, a former government minister and close confidant of Rabin, told USA TODAY.

Rabin’s daughter, Dalia, said this week, “There is no peace process. We are facing terrorism. Blood is being shed again. I have no other country and my country has changed.”