Refers to the process of creating ‘normal’ diplomatic and economic relations between the State of Israel and its Arab neighbors. Egypt was the first to normalize relations in 1979 and was expelled from the Arab League for a time; Jordan followed suit in 1994. Normalization prior to the creation of a Palestinian state is viewed by many Palestinians and their supporters as a betrayal of the Palestinian struggle for self-determination. The Arab Peace Initiative is the most comprehensive offer of normalization by the Arab world, under the condition of Palestinian statehood, although different parties view the normalization with tremendous skepticism. Israeli and Palestinian groups or individuals willing to work with their counterparts toward a solution to the conflict or to work together as if “things are normal” have also been accused of normalization. For different perspectives on official normalization between Arab states and Israel, see “Arab normalization gestures to Israel.” 23 July 2009. Bitterlemons-international.org. 8 August 2011. http://www.bitterlemons-international.org/previous.php?opt=1&id=282. For a perspective against Palestinian normalization with the Israeli state but supportive of certain joint Israeli-Palestinian grassroots endeavors, see Ibrahim, Nassar and Michael Warschawski. “The Case Against Palestinian Normalization with Israel.” 4 September 2007. Alternative Information Center. 8 August 2011. http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/blogs/nassar-ibrahim/986-the-case-against-palestinian-normalization-with-israel. For a background on different kinds of joint Palestinian-Israeli ventures and their challenges, see Edy Kaufman, Walid Salem, and Juliette Verhoeven, Eds. Bridging the Divide: Peacebuilding in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005.  http://www.justvision.org/glossary/normalization