This is an incomplete timeline of notable events in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century are marked by the birth of two major nationalist movements among the Jews and among the Arabs, both geared towards attaining sovereignty for their people in the Middle East. The collision between those two forces in The Land of Israel a.k.a. Palestine is the essence of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is a part of the larger Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East.
At the First Zionist Congress, held from August 29 to August 31 in Basel, Switzerland, the World Zionist Organization was founded. Theodor Herzl, author of Der Judenstaat and initiator of the congress, was elected as its first president. From 1897 to 1946, a Zionist Congress was held every two years in various European cities, save for interruptions during the two World Wars. Their goal was to build an infrastructure to further the cause of Jewish sovereignty in The Land of Israel or Palestine.
Muslim intellectuals and politicians from throughout the Levant formed al-Fatat ("the Young Arab Society"), a small Arab nationalist club in Paris. Its stated aim was "raising the level of the Arab nation to the level of modern nations." In the first few years of its existence, al-Fatat called for greater autonomy within a unified Ottoman state rather than Arab independence from the empire. They also requested that Arab conscripts to the Ottoman army not be required to serve in non-Arab regions except in time of war. However, as the Ottoman authorities cracked down on the organization's activities and members, al-Fatat went underground and demanded the complete independence and unity of the Arab provinces.[1]
Hussein-McMahon Correspondence promises an Arab state in the Middle East in return for revolt against the Turks. The region of Palestine was not explicitly mentioned. Disputes between Arabs and the British over whether Palestine was meant to be included in these documents would fuel the conflict over nationalism.
The secret Sykes-Picot Agreement was signed between Britain, France and Russia, in which it was agreed the lands of Palestine, Jordan and Iraq would become mandates for Britain, whilst France would be able to control Lebanon and Syria.
November 2:Balfour Declaration 1917: British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour sends a letter to Lord Rothschild, President of the Zionist Federation, declaring his government would "view with favour the establishment of a national home for the Jewish in Palestine"
Mohammad Amin al-Husayni founded the Jerusalem branch of the Syrian-based 'Arab Club' (El-Nadi al-arabi), which then vied with the Nashashibi-sponsored 'Literary Club' (Al-Muntada al-Adabi) for influence over public opinion, and he soon became its President.[2][3]
January 18: Faisal-Weizmann Agreement between Emir Faisal (son of the King of Hejaz, Sharif of Mecca Sayyid Hussein bin Ali), and Chaim Weizmann (later President of the World Zionist Organization).
January 30: The Supreme Council of the Peace Conference decided that the Ottoman Empire's Arab provinces would not be returned to Turkey.[4]
February 3: The Zionist Organisation submits its plan for implementation of the Balfour Declaration and urges the selection of Great Britain as Mandatory for Palestine.[4][5]
February 27: The leaders of the Zionist Organisation appear before the Supreme Council to explain their plan for implementation of the Balfour Declaration.[4]
March 28: American Zionist Felix Frankfurter submits a more detailed implementation plan on behalf of the Zionist Organisation.[4]
February 27: Over one thousand protesters take part in an Arab nationalist demonstration in Jerusalem carrying banners bearing the slogans "Stop Zionist Immigration" and "Our Country For Us".[6] Arab nationalists sought to resist the Zionist immigration - Aliyah, which comes mostly from Eastern Europe.
March 1: Jewish settlements in the Upper Galilee were attacked by Arab forces. Joseph Trumpeldor was among 8 who died defending Tel Hai.
March 7: Faisal proclaimed king of Greater Syria.[7]
March 8: A second large Arab nationalist demonstration takes place in Jerusalem.[7]
April 4–7: The 1920 Palestine riots - violent 4-day riot against the Jews in Jerusalem's Old City. Muhammad Amin Al-Husayni was charged with inciting the Arab crowds with an inflammatory speech and sentenced by military court held in camera (private)[8] to ten years imprisonment in absentia, since he had already violated his bail by fleeing to Transjordan to avoid arrest.
June 12: The April riots prompt the establishment of Haganah - a Jewish defense force.
Jaffa riots resulted in the deaths of 47 Jews and 48 Arabs, with 146 Jews and 73 Arabs being wounded. Most Arab casualties resulted from clashes with British forces attempting to restore order.[9] Thousands of Jewish residents of Jaffa fled for Tel Aviv and were temporarily housed in tent camps on the beach.
British High Commissioner Herbert Samuel pardons Jews and Arabs involved in the 1920 disturbances, including Mohammad Amin al-Husayni.
Mohammad Amin al-Husayni becomes the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. Until late 1921, al-Husayni focused his efforts on Pan-Arabism and the ideology of the Greater Syria in particular, with Palestine understood as a southern province of an Arab state whose capital was to be established in Damascus. The struggle for Greater Syria collapsed after Britain ceded control over present day Syria and Lebanon to France in July 1920. Al-Husayni then turned from Damascus-oriented Pan-Arabism to a specifically Palestinian ideology centered on Jerusalem, which sought to block Jewish immigration to Palestine. The frustration of pan-Arab aspirations lent an Islamic colour to the struggle for independence, and increasing resort to the idea of restoring the land to Dar al-Islam.[10]
A delegation of Arab leaders informs the Colonial Office that they cannot accept the Mandate or the Balfour Declaration and demand their national independence.[5]
The Churchill White Paper, 1922 clarifies the British position regarding Palestine.
The United States Senate and House of Representatives adopt a joint resolution favouring "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people."[5]
The League of Nations approves the draft British Mandate for Palestine. British express interest in Zionism, and describe their main intent of developing a Jewish National Home.
The Council of the League of Nations accepts the British Transjordan memorandum defining the limits of Trans-Jordan and excluding that territory from the provisions in the Mandate concerning the Jewish national home.[11]
British Mandate for Palestine and French Mandate for Syria come into operation.[12]
The 1929 Palestine riots erupt due to a dispute between Muslims and Jews over access to the Western Wall. 133 Jews killed and 339 wounded (mostly by Arabs); 116 Arabs killed and 232 wounded (mostly by British-commanded police and soldiers).
In the 1929 Hebron massacre 67 Jews are killed, all but 8 of them foreign students from the local yeshiva. The local residents are saved by Muslim families and neighbours. Nonetheless, the British order the Jewish communities to evacuate in Hebron and Gaza "to prevent another massacre", ending the ancient Jewish presence in the cities. Both communities would resume after the 1967 War.
The Black Hand Islamist group led by Shaykh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam begins a violent campaign against Jewish civilians and the British in Palestine.
October 20: In reaction to the disturbances of 1929, the Passfield White Paper and the Hope Simpson Royal Commission recommend limiting Jewish immigration.
The leader of the Black Hand, Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam is killed by the British.
May 7: The Arab leadership, led by Amin al-Husayni, declares a general strike which rapidly deteriorates into a violent rebellion, known as the Arab Revolt, that would last for three years. Roughly 5000 Arabs and 400 Jews are killed within the scope of the conflict.
The mainstream Jewish defense organization, the Haganah, maintains a policy of restraint, but the smaller Irgun (also called Etzel) group splits up and adopts a policy of retaliation and revenge.
July: The Peel Commission proposes a partition plan (map), rejected by the Arab leadership as it included a Jewish state. The Jewish opinion was divided as Jewish immigration was limited to only 12,000, and the Twentieth Zionist Congress ultimately rejected the proposal as well.
April — August: The Woodhead Commission reverses the Peel Commission's findings, considers two alternative partition plans, known as Plan B (map) and Plan C (map), and reports in November that partition was impracticable.
The St. James Conference ends without making any progress as the Arab delegation refuses to recognize or meet with its Jewish counterpart.
The White Paper of 1939 calls for the creation of a unified Palestinian state. Even though the White Paper states its commitment to the Balfour Declaration, it imposed very substantial limits to both Jewish immigration (restricting it to only 75,000 over the next 5 years), and Jewish ability to purchase land.
The Second World War erupts. The Haganah begins the smuggling of Jews from Europe to Palestine to provide refuge from the Holocaust. Arab leaders are split: while some assist the Allies, others like Iraqi Rashid Ali and the Palestinian Amin al-Husayni assist the Axis. Many of the Middle Eastern Jewish communities are hit by pro-Axis Arab regimes, and the early stage of Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim lands begins. Most Jewish and Arab Palestinian militant groups attain the policy of cease fire with each other and the British.
Lehi (also known as the Stern Gang) - the most radical jewish organization splits from Irgun.
On 19 June twenty Arabs were killed by explosives mounted on a donkey at a marketplace in Haifa. June 29, 13 Arabs were killed in multiple shootings during a one-hour period.
The Arab Palestinian leader Mohammad Amin al-Husayni arrives to Rome with an attempt to form close ties with the Axis powers. Al-Husayni meets Benito Mussolini, and arrives to Germany for a meeting with Adolf Hitler on November 27. Al-Husayni would remain in Berlin until the end of the war, playing a major role in formation of Muslim Waffen SS units and active work preventing thousands of jewish refugees to escape the Nazis and reach Palestine.
British form the Palestine Regiment, consisted of 3 Jewish and 1 Arab battalions, which assist the British forces in North Africa against the Axis. Another larger unit would be formed in 1944 enlisting Jews alone - the Jewish Brigade.
February 12: After a period of reconciliation with the British, the Irgun launches a bomb attack on British immigration offices in Palestine, no casualties reported. Soon after Lehi also renews its anti-British attacks.
Summer: From Berlin, Palestinian Arab leader Amin al-Husayni plans a chemical attack upon the Jews in Palestine. A joint German-Arab commando unit was dispatched into Palestine with chemical weapons to kill 250,000 Jews in what is known as operation "Atlas". The parachutists' team members with the poison were caught near Jericho by Jordanian and British Police forces.[13]
May 1: The Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry proposes admission of 100,000 Jewish refugees into the Mandate.
July 22: King David Hotel Bombing. Irgun members detonate bombs in the basement of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, where the British had brought a large amount of documents confiscated from the Jewish Agency. The attack kills 91 people and injures 45 more, mostly civilians. The hotel was a center of British administration at the time, although Arabs and Jews were also victims. The Jewish National Council condemns the attack.
Great Britain announces intention to hand the Mandate to the United Nations.
With a two-thirds majority international vote, the UN General Assembly passes a Partition Plan dividing the British Mandate of Palestine into two states. The Jewish leadership accepts the plan, but the Arab leadership rejects it.
Following the announcement of the Partition Plan, Palestinian Arabs react violently and fighting broke, known as the "Civil war".
1947 Jerusalem riots. The Arab Higher Committee declared a strike and public protest of the vote. Arabs marching to Zion Square on December 2 were stopped by the British, and the Arabs instead turned towards the commercial center of the City, burning many buildings and shops. Violence continued for two more days, with Arab mobs attacking a number of Jewish neighborhoods. 70 Jews and 50 Arabs are killed.
Haifa Oil Refinery massacre. Irgun militants hurl two bombs into a crowd of Arab workers from a passing vehicle, killing 6 workers and wounding 42, damaging the relative peace between the two groups in Haifa. Later that day the Arab crowd broke into the refinery compound, killing 39 Jews and wounding 49. Skirmishes continued in Haifa and around the region.
Semiramis Hotel bombing carried out by Haganah.
"Battle of the Roads". The Arab League sponsored Arab Liberation Army, composed of Palestinian Arabs and Arabs from other Middle Eastern countries, attacked Jewish communities in Palestine, and Jewish traffic on major roads. The Arab forces mainly concentrated on major roadways in an attempt to cut off Jewish communities from each other. Arab forces at that time had engaged in sporadic and unorganized ambushes since the riots of December 1947, and began to make organized attempts to cut off the highway linking Tel Aviv with Jerusalem, the city's only supply route. The Arab Army controlled several strategic vantage points overlooking the sole highway linking Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, enabling them to fire at convoys going to the city, and cutting off supply lines between the two cities. By late March 1948, the vital road that connected Tel Aviv to western Jerusalem, where about 16% of all Jews in the Palestinian region lived, was cut off and under siege.
1948 Ben Yehuda Street Bombing. Arabs arrange three car bombs killing 52 Jews, injuring 123, all civilians.
Operation Nachshon. The Haganah decided to launch a major military counteroffensive to break the siege of Jerusalem. On April 6 the Haganah and its strike force, the Palmach, in an offensive to secure strategic points, took al-Qastal, an important roadside town 2 kilometers west of Deir Yassin. But intense fighting lasted for days more as control of that key village remained contested.
Deir Yassin massacre. IZL-Lehi forces attack Deir Yassin, as part of Operation Nachshon to relieve Arab siege of Jews in Jerusalem. In the aftermath between 100 and 254 Palestinians were killed, including women and children, and also 4 among the IZL-Lehi forces.
Hadassah medical convoy massacre. Claimed as retribution for the Deir Yassin massacre, Arab mobs attack a large convoy, mostly of unarmed Jewish doctors set off carrying patients, equipment, and supplies, travel from Jerusalem to the besieged hospital which treated the majority of Jewish residents in Jerusalem. 77 Jews are killed. Road attacks continue and convoys were unable to reach the hospital for a week.
Kfar Etzion massacre was an act committed by Arab forces, after the surrender of the Jewish village to Arab Legion. Out of 133 Jewish villagers and defenders, 129 were murdered in the massacre,[14] 4 survived. Bodies were left unburied until November 1949.
Israel declares Independence from British rule, before the expiration of the British Mandate of Palestine at midnight.
Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Transjordan, Holy War Army, Arab Liberation Army, and local Arabs attack the new Jewish state with the intent of destroying it. The resulting 1948 Arab-Israeli War lasts for 13 months.
Violent confrontation between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) under the command of David Ben-Gurion, and the paramilitary Jewish group Irgun known as The Altalena Affair results in the dismantlement of the Irgun, Lehi, and all Israeli paramilitary organizations operating outside the IDF.
Infiltration by fedayeen from Egypt across Israeli border resulting in many minor skirmishes, raids and counter-raids, resulting in hundreds of casualties on both sides, including many civilians.
Israel concludes Armistice Agreements with neighbouring countries. The territory of the British Mandate of Palestine is divided between the State of Israel, the Kingdom of the Jordan (changed from Transjordan) and Egypt. During and after the war about 700,000 Palestinian Arabs become refugees.[15][16][17] A very comparable number of Jewish refugees from Arab lands flee and become refugees during and after the war.[18]
The State of Israel is confronted by a wave of Palestinian infiltrations. In 1951, 137 Israelis, mostly civilians, are killed by such infiltrators.
162 Israelis, mostly civilians, are killed by Palestinian infiltrators.
160 Israelis, mostly civilians, are killed by Palestinian infiltrators.
Qibya massacre. Ariel Sharon in command of Unit 101 carries out a raid in the village of Qibya. Over 60 Arabs are killed, two thirds of which were women and children.
Israel invades Egypt's Sinai Peninsula with covert assent from France and Britain. The European nations had economic and trading interests in the Suez Canal, while Israel wanted to reopen the canal for Israeli shipping and end Egyptian-supported fedayeen incursions and attacks.
Kafr Qasim massacre. 48-49 Arab civilians are killed by Israel Border Police as they return to their village from work.
Egypt expels its Jewish population and confiscates their property.
Israel withdraws its forces from the Sinai Peninsula, ending the Suez Crisis.
The Palestine Liberation Organization is founded in Cairo by the Arab League with Ahmad Shuqeiri as its leader. Even though Ahmad Shuqeiri is the official leader, the organization is more or less controlled by the Egyptian government. The PLO states their goal as the destruction of the State of Israel through armed struggle, and replacing it with an "independent Palestinian state" between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
The Six-Day War. Israel launches a defensive strike on Egyptian Air Force (June 5), following Egyptian naval blockade of the Straits of Tiran (May 22) and Egyptian military buildup in the Sinai Peninsula (May 16), interpreted as acts of war. attack quickly turns into a regional war, in which Israel defeats the combined forces of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and their supporters. It captures Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt, East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. The number of war casualties is estimated between 15,000 to 25,000.
The Khartoum Resolution issued at the Arab Summit with eight Arab countries adopts the "three nos": 1. No peace with Israel, 2. No recognition of Israel, 3. No negotiations with Israel.
Israel fights the Battle of Karameh against Fatah and Jordanian forces.
Egypt wages the War of Attrition against Israel.
Yasser Arafat, head of the Fatah party, is appointed chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, replacing Ahmad Shukeiri, after Fatah becomes the dominant force in the PLO.
Avivim school bus massacre. Palestinian militants originating in Lebanon, attack a school bus, killing 12 (mostly children) and wounding another 19.
After Black September in Jordan, the PLO was driven out to Lebanon.
Sabena airplane hijacked and liberated in Lod Airport 4 commercial jets were taken to Jordan and blown up.
Lod Airport Massacre. On behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Japanese Red Army members enter the waiting area of Lod Airport in Tel Aviv and fire indiscriminately at airport staff and visitors. 24 people killed, and 78 injured.
Munich Massacre of Israeli Olympic team by Palestinian militant group, Black September. This leads Israel to launch reprisal assassinations known as Operation Wrath of God.
Israeli commando raid against PLO targets in Beirut, the Lebanon (Operation Spring of Youth).
The Yom Kippur War. Syria and Egypt surprise-attack Israeli forces in the Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula on the holiest day of the Hebrew calendar. Jordan, Iraq, and other Arab nations join in and/or support the Arab war effort.
Kiryat Shmona massacre, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command cross the border into Israel from Lebanon. They enter an apartment building and kill all eighteen residents, half of which are children.
Ma'alot massacre. Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack a van killing two Israeli Arab women, enter an apartment and kill a family, take over a local school and hold at least 90 students and teachers hostage. 26 Israelis killed, 60 wounded.
The Arab League recognizes the PLO as sole representative of the Palestinians. On November 13, Yassir Arafat addresses the UN General Assembly.
Savoy Operation. Eight Palestinian terrorists in two teams landed by boat in Tel Aviv. Shooting and throwing grenades, they capture the Savoy Hotel and take the guests as hostages. Five hostages were freed and eight were killed. Three Israeli soldiers were also killed.
A "refrigerator bomb" in Jerusalem kills 15 Israelis and wounds 77.
Operation Entebbe. Air France Flight 139, originating in Tel Aviv, Israel took off from Athens, Greece, heading for Paris, France, is hijacked by four terrorists (two from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine \u2014 External Operations and two from the radical German militant group Revolutionary Cells). Israel performs a rescue mission to free the 248 passengers and 12 crew members held hostage at the Entebbe Airport in Uganda. The rescue is only partially successful, with one Israeli fatality. Nevertheless, it is the first successful rescue mission over 2000 miles.
Coastal Road Massacre. Fatah Palestinians kill an American photographer, hijack a loaded bus and kill 36 more Israelis and wound 76.
Operation Litani. Israel, in alliance with the mostly Christian South Lebanon Army, launches a limited-scope invasion of Lebanon and attempts to push Palestinian militant groups away from the Israel border. The 7-day offensive results in about 285,000 refugees created and between 300 and 1200 Lebanese and Palestinian militants and civilians killed.
Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat sign the Camp David Accord, with Israel agreeing to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula in exchange for peace and a framework for future negotiation over the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Egypt becomes the first Arab country to officially recognize Israel.
Samir Kuntar from the Palestine Liberation Front kills 4 Israelis including a four year-old girl in the Israeli town of Nahariya.
July 17: Israel bombs PLO headquarters, which had been located in a civilian area of Beirut and caused more than 300 civilian deaths. This led the United States to broker a shaky cease-fire between Israel and the PLO.
August 29: The 1981 Vienna synagogue attack on the Stadttempel of Vienna, Austria carried out by Palestinian terrorists of the Abu Nidal organization. October 20: 1981 Antwerp bombing on October 20, 1981, when a truck bomb exploded outside a Portuguese Jewish synagogue in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium.
Israel launches Operation Peace for Galilee into southern Lebanon. Israel claims the invasion was in order to remove PLO forces after several violations of a cease-fire, most notably an assassination attempt against Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, by the Abu Nidal Organization. Israel is allied with the Lebanese Christian army against the PLO, Syria, and Muslim Lebanese. As a result of the war, the PLO leadership is driven from Lebanon and relocates to Tunis.
Sabra and Shatila massacre. Lebanese Phalangists massacre between 700-3500 Palestinians in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila, almost all civilians. While no Israeli soldiers were present in the fighting, Israeli Defense Minister, Ariel Sharon, was found to be indirectly responsible by negligence for the massacre by the Kahan Commission, and was asked to resign his position. The commission's conclusions are controversial and remain a subject of debate.[19]
The Israeli Army withdraws from most of Lebanon, maintaining a self-proclaimed "Security Zone" in the south.
Sana'a Mouhadlyof the Syrian Social Nationalist Party detonates herself in an explosive-laden vehicle in Lebanon, killing two Israeli soldiers and injuring two more, becoming the first reported female suicide bomber.
After three Israeli civilians were killed on their yacht off the coast of Cyprus by Force 17 PLO, the Israeli Air Force carries out Operation Wooden Leg and strikes the PLO base in Tunis, killing 60 PLO members.
The Palestine Liberation Front hijacks the Achille Lauro, redirecting the cruise ship to Syria and holding its passengers and crew hostage, demanding the release of 50 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. One man was murdered; Leon Klinghoffer, a Jewish American, was celebrating his 36th wedding anniversary with his wife upon the Achille Lauro. At the age of 69 he was shot in the forehead and chest while sitting in his wheelchair.
Intending to hijack El Al jets and blow them up over Tel Aviv, Fatah - Revolutionary Council gunmen open fire with rifles and grenades at the international airports in Rome and Vienna, killing 18 civilians and wounding 138. 6 of the 7 terrorists were either killed or captured.
First Intifada begins. Violence, riots, general strikes, and civil disobedience campaigns by Palestinians spread across the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces respond with tear gas, plastic bullets, and live ammunition.
After the outbreak of the First Intifada, Shaikh Ahmed Yassin creates Hamas from the Gaza wing of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Until this point the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza had enjoyed the support of the Israeli authorities and had refrained from violent attacks, however, Hamas quickly began attacks on Israeli military targets, and subsequently, Israeli civilians.
King Hussein of Jordan abandoned to the PLO its claim for the West Bank.[20]
An independent State of Palestine was proclaimed by the Palestinian National Council meeting in Algiers, by a vote of 253 to 46.
First Palestinian suicide attack inside Israel's borders: Tel Aviv Jerusalem bus 405 massacre.
Yitzhak Rabin of the Labour Party elected Prime Minister.
Mehola Junction bombing, the first suicide attack by Hamas. One Palestinian bystander was killed by the blast, and eight Israeli soldiers were slightly injured.
Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin sign the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government in Oslo. This event is also seen by many people as the definitive end to the First Intifada[21] (although some argue it had effectively ended by 1991-1992). By 1993, the violence of the Intifada had claimed the lives of 1162 Palestinians and 160 Israelis. The IDF criticized these numbers from not distinguishing combatants and non-combatants.
Cave of the Patriarchs attack, Baruch Goldstein opens fire on a group of Palestinian Muslims worshipping at a Mosque, killing 29 and injuring 125. He is subsequently overpowered and beaten to death by survivors.
Hamas carries out their second suicide bombing, in Afula, Israel, killing 8 people.
Israeli forces withdraw from Jericho and Gaza City in compliance with the Oslo accords.
Arafat returns from exile to head Palestinian National Authority.
22 Israelis are killed by a Hamas suicide attack on a bus in Tel Aviv. This was the first major suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.
Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty is signed by Yizhak Rabin and King Hussein with the mediation of the US government.
Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
A double suicide bombing by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaves 21 killed in one of the biggest attacks which further divides the Israeli public over the peace process.
Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, also known as Oslo II, signed in Washington, DC.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated in Tel Aviv by Jewish extremist Yigal Amir. Shimon Peres assumes the position of acting Prime Minister.
A series of suicide attacks in Jerusalem (Jerusalem bus 18 suicide bombings and in the French Hill), Tel Aviv and Ashkelon leave more than 60 Israeli dead. These events are said to have had a major impact on the Israeli elections in May.
Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud is elected Prime Minister.
Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron was signed. The agreement called for an IDF withdrawal from 80% of Hebron, and initiation of withdrawal from rural areas in the West Bank, as well as remaining parts of the West Bank apart from settlements and military locations. Israel and the PA agreed to begin negotiations on the permanent status agreement to be completed by 4 May 1999.
16 Israelis are killed in a double suicide attack in the major market of Jerusalem. This was the worst killing during Netanyahu's time which is regarded as a relatively quiet period, attributed by Netanyahu to his tit-for-tat policy and his objection to the Palestinian revolving door policy. A nearby attack on September 4, 1997 killed four Israelis and led to Chicago's Persian heritage crisis.
Benjamin Netanyahu and Yasser Arafat sign the Wye River Memorandum at a summit in Maryland hosted by Bill Clinton. The sides agreed on steps to facilitate implementation of the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip of September 28, 1995 and other related agreements including the Hebron Protocol of January 17, 1997 so that the Israeli and Palestinian sides could more effectively carry out their reciprocal responsibilities, including those relating to further redeployments and security.
Ehud Barak of the Labour Party is elected Prime Minister under the One Israel banner.
The Israeli Army withdraws from southern Lebanon, in compliance with U.N. Resolution 425. Syria and Lebanon insist that the withdrawal is incomplete, claiming the Shebaa Farms as Lebanese and still under occupation. The UN certifies full Israeli withdrawal.
The Camp David Summit between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat aimed at reaching a "final status" agreement collapses after Yasser Arafat would not accept a proposal drafted by American and Israeli negotiators.
September 28-29: Right wing Israeli Opposition Leader Ariel Sharon visits the Temple Mount which is administered by a Waqf (Under Israeli law, each religious group is granted administration of their holy sites). The day after the visit, violent confrontations erupt between Muslims and Israeli Police. Arafat names the second intifada the Al-Aqsa Intifada after Sharon's visit, for the Al-Aqsa Mosque contained within the Temple Mount compound (holy also to Jews and Christians). This event is considered by some to be one of the possible catalysts of the second intifada, however, it is commonly accepted in most circles that there had been numerous underlying causes.
October 1–9: October 2000 events in Israel. Solidarity demonstrations held by Palestinian citizens of Israel escalate into clashes with Israeli police and Israeli Jewish citizens. 13 Arab civilians (12 with Israeli citizenship) are shot and killed by Israeli police and one Jewish civilian is killed by an Arab citizen. In Hezbollah cross-border raid 3 Israeli soldiers are killed and their bodies kidnapped and Northern Israel is shelled in an attempt to ignite the Israeli-Lebanese border too, but Israelis decide on limited response.
October 12: The lynching in Ramallah. Two Israeli reservists accidentally enter Ramallah, to be arrested by Palestinian Security Forces, later to be publicly lynched and videotaped inside the Police station.
November 22: Two Israeli women killed and 60 civilians were wounded in a car bomb attack in Hadera.
December 10: Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak, resigns.
January 21–27: Taba Summit. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority aimed to reach the "final status" of negotiations. Ehud Barak temporarily withdraws from negotiations during the Israeli elections, subsequently Ariel Sharon refused to continue negotiating in the face of the newly erupted violence.
February 6: Ariel Sharon of Likud is elected Prime Minister and refuses to continue negotiations with Yasser Arafat at the Taba Summit.
June 1: Dolphinarium massacre. A Hamas suicide bomber exploded himself at the entrance of a club. 21 Israelis killed, over 100 injured, all youth. Five months prior to the bombing, there was a failed terrorist attempt at the same spot.
August 9: Sbarro restaurant massacre. A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt weighing 5 to 10 kilograms, containing explosives, nails, nuts and bolts, detonated his bomb. In the blast 15 people (including 7 children) were killed, and 130 wounded. Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad initially claimed responsibility.
August 27: Abu Ali Mustafa, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, is assassinated by an Israeli missile shot by an Apache helicopter through his office window in Ramallah.
October 17: Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi is assassinated in Jerusalem by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
March: 25: 9 Palestinians and 130 Israelis were killed within the scope of the Second Intifada.
March 13: The U.S. pushes through the passage of Resolution 1397 by the Security Council, demanding an "immediate cessation of all acts of violence" and "affirming a vision of a region where two states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within secure and recognized borders".
March 14: Israeli forces continue the raid on Ramallah and other West Bank towns. A helicopter attack near Tulkarm kills Mutasen Hammad and two bystanders. A bomb in Gaza City destroys an Israeli tank which was escorting settlers, killing 3 soldiers and wounding 2. A taxi in Tulkarm explodes, killing 4 Palestinians. Palestinians execute two accused collaborators in Bethlehem, planning to hang one of the corpses near the Church of the Nativity until Palestinian police stop them.
March 27: Passover massacre. The Park Hotel in Netanya held a big Passover dinner for its 250 guests. A Palestinian suicide bomber enters the hotel's dining room and detonates an explosive device. Thirty people are killed and about 140 injured, all civilians. Hamas claims responsibility.
March 28: The Beirut Summit approves the Saudi peace proposal.
March 29: Israeli forces begin Operation Defensive Shield, Israel's largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.
March 30: A suicide bomber explodes in a Tel Aviv café at around 9:30 PM local time, wounding 32 people. President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell (USA) call on Yasir Arafat to condemn the wave of suicide bombings in Arabic, to his own people. Israeli spokespeople make similar demands. Arafat goes on television and swears in Arabic that he will "die a martyr, a martyr, a martyr". Members of Arafat's personal Al-Aqsa brigade state that they will refuse any form of cease-fire, and that they will continue suicide bombings of civilians in Israel.
March 31: Matza restaurant massacre. A Palestinian Hamas bomber blows himself up in an Arab-owned restaurant in Haifa, killing 15 and injuring over 40 people.
April: Israeli troops exchange gunfire with guards of Yasir Arafat in Ramallah.
April 2: Israeli troops occupy Bethlehem. Dozens of armed Palestinian gunmen, many of whom Israel has identified as terrorists, occupy the Church of the Nativity and hold the church and its clergy.
April 12: The Battle of Jenin, as part of Operation Defensive Shield, Israeli forces enter a Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin, where about a quarter of suicide bombings since 2000 had been launched from. The battle costs the lives of 23 Israeli soldiers and 52 Palestinians, of which 30 were militants and 22 were civilians. This particular event sparked a great deal of controversy.
May 9: Muhammad al-Madani, governor of Bethlehem, leaves the Church of the Nativity.
May 18: Israeli Shin Bet officials announce they have arrested six Israelis for conspiring to bomb Palestinian schools in April, including Noam Federman, a leader of the illegal Kach movement of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, and Menashe Levinger, son of Rabbi Moshe Levinger.
June: Israel begins construction of the West Bank Fence. Palestinian terror attacks on Israelis subsequently drop by 90%.[22]
June 18: Patt junction massacre. A Palestinian Islamic law student and member of Hamas explodes himself with a belt filled with metal balls for shrapnel on a bus in Jerusalem. 19 Israelis are killed, and over 74 wounded.
June 24: US President George W. Bush calls for an independent Palestinian state living in peace with Israel. Bush states that Palestinian leaders must take steps to produce democratic reforms, and fiscal accountability, in order to improve the negotiations with Israel. He also states that as Palestinians show control over terrorism, Israel must end operations in the West Bank, and in areas which it entered under Operation Defensive Shield.[23]
July 23: An Israeli warplane fires a missile at an apartment in Gaza City, killing the top of their most wanted list, Salah Shehadeh, top commander of Hamas' military wing, the Izzadine el-Qassam. The apartment building is flattened and 14 civilians are killed (including nine children).[5]
July 31: A Hamas member plants a bag containing a bomb in the cafeteria of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, killing 9 Jewish students (four Israeli, five foreign), and injuring 85 others (different nationalities, including a number of Arabs). Palestinians rally in Gaza waving Hamas flags to celebrate the attack. On August 17, Israeli Security Forces expose a terrorist cell of Hamas operatives in East Jerusalem that had been responsible for the attack. The members had been planning another attack until arrested by Israel.[6] [7] [8]
August 14: Marwan Barghouti, captured April 15, was indicted by a civilian Israeli court for murdering civilians and membership in a terrorist organisation.
November 21: Jerusalem bus 20 massacre. Hamas Palestinian suicide bomber explodes himself on a crowded bus in Jerusalem, killing 11 people, and wounding over 50.
March 16: Rachel Corrie, an American member of the International Solidarity Movement is crushed by an IDF bulldozer, becoming the first ISM member to die in the conflict. Members of the group who witnessed her death allege murder, while Israel calls it a "regrettable accident".
March 19: Mahmoud Abbas appointed Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority.
March 24: Hilltop 26, an illegal Israeli settlement near the city of Hebron, is peacefully dismantled by the IDF.
April 30: The Quartet on the Middle East announces the Road map for peace.
May 27: Ariel Sharon states that the "occupation" of Palestinian territories "can't continue endlessly."
June 2: A two-day summit is held in Egypt. Arab leaders announce their support for the road map and promised to work on cutting off funding to terrorist groups.
June 29: Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah agree to a three-month cease-fire.
August 19: Jerusalem bus 2 massacre. A Hamas Palestinian disguised as a Haredi Jew detonates himself with a bomb spiked with ball-bearings on a bus crowded with children. 23 Israelis are killed and over 130 wounded, all civilians.
September 6: Mahmoud Abbas resigns from the post of Prime Minister.
October 4: Maxim restaurant suicide bombing. A 28-year-old Palestinian female suicide bomber, Hanadi Jaradat, explodes herself inside the Maxim restaurant in Haifa. 21 Israelis (Jewish and Arab) were killed, and 51 others were wounded. The restaurant is co-owned by Jewish and Christian Arab Israelis, and was a symbol of co-existence.
July 9: The International Court of Justice rules in a non-binding advisory opinion that the Israeli West Bank barrier is illegal under international law,[24] the United Nations has also condemned the construction of the wall as "an unlawful act of annexation". The United States and Australia defend the security fence saying the wall is a counter-terrorism protective measure and that the onus is on the Palestinian Authority to fight terrorism. The U.S., Canada, Israel and some 30 other democratic states objected to the ICJ consideration of the UN General Assembly request, finding the request loaded and prejudicial, and expressing concern of the ICJ's credibility.[25][26][27]
October 16: Israel officially ended a 17-day military operation, named Operation Days of Penitence, in the northern Gaza Strip. The operation was launched in response to a Qassam rocket that killed two children in Sderot. About 108-133 Palestinians were killed during the operation, of whom one third were civilians.
November 11: Yasser Arafat dies at the age of 75 in a hospital near Paris, after undergoing urgent medical treatment (since October 29, 2004).
February 25: Young Israelis arrive for a surprise birthday party at the Stage Club in Tel Aviv. A Palestinian teenage suicide bomber detonates himself at the entrance to the club. 5 Israelis killed, and about 50 wounded. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility.[28]
August 7: An individual IDF deserter and member of the banned Kach group in Israel, Eden Natan-Zada, opens fire on a crowded bus in the Arab town of Shfaram, killing 4 Palestinians and wounding twenty-two. When he runs out of bullets, the bus is stormed by Arab bystanders and Zaada is beaten to death. PM Ariel Sharon and several Israeli leaders condemn the attack and offer condolences to the families.
August 17: A Asher Weissgan shoots and kills 4 Palestinians in the West Bank as a protest against the disengagement plan.[29]
September 12: Completion of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan. Israel removes all Jewish settlements, many Bedouin communities, and military equipment from the Gaza Strip. Although there is no permanent Israeli presence or jurisdiction in Gaza anymore, Israel retains control of certain elements (such as airspace, borders and ports), leading to an ongoing dispute as to whether or not Gaza is "occupied" or not. Since the disengagement, Palestinian militant groups have used the territory as a staging ground from which to launch rocket attacks and build underground tunnels into Israel.
October 14: Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora announces Lebanon will be the last Arab country to have any peace with Israel.
January 25: Hamas wins by landslide the majority of seats after the Palestinian legislative election, 2006. Israel, the United States, European Union, and several European and Western countries cut off their aid to the Palestinians; as they view the Islamist political party who rejects Israel's right to exist as a terrorist organization.
June 9: Following the Gaza beach blast, in which seven members of one family and one other Palestinian were killed on a Gaza beach, the armed wing of Hamas calls off its 16-month-old truce. Israel claims it was shelling 250m away from the family's location; Palestinians claimed that the explosion was Israeli responsibility.[30][31] Reports have concluded Israel had not been responsible for the blast.[32][33][34][35][36][37] An Israeli internal investigation report claims the blast was most likely caused by an unexploded Israeli munition buried in the sand and not by shelling.
June 13: Israel kills 11 Palestinians in a missile strike on a van carrying Palestinian militants and rockets driving through a densely civilian populated area in Gaza.[38] Nine among those killed are civilian bystanders.
June 25: After crossing the border from the Gaza Strip into Israel, Palestinian militants attack an Israeli army post. The militants kidnapped Gilad Shalit, killed two IDF soldiers and wounded four others. Israel launches Operation Summer Rains.
July 5: First Qassam rocket of increased range is fired into the school yard in the Southern Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon. This has been the first instance of an increased distance Qassam rockets can reach and the first time a significantly large city has been attacked. No one was injured in this attack.[39]
July 12: Hezbollah infiltrates Israel in a cross-border raid, kidnaps two soldiers and kills three others. Israel attempts to rescue the kidnapped, and five more soldiers are killed. Israel's military responds, and the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict begins.
July 26: Israel launches a counter-offensive to deprive cover to militants firing rockets into Israel from Gaza. 23 Palestinians killed, at least 16 are identified militants, 76 wounded.
August 14: 2006 Fox journalists kidnapping. Palestinian militants kidnap Fox journalists Olaf Wiig and Steve Centanni, demanding the U.S. to release all Muslims in prison. The two are eventually released on August 27, after stating they have converted to Islam.
September: Violence and rivalry erupts between Fatah and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Mahmoud Abbas tries to prevent civil war.[40][41] President Mahmoud Abbas and his moderate party advocate a Palestinian state alongside Israel, while Prime Minister Ismail Haniya and his Islamist party reject Israel's right to exist.[42]
September 26: A UN study declares the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip "intolerable", with 75% of the population dependent on food aid,[43] and an estimated 80% of the population living below the poverty line.[44] The Palestinian economy had largely relied on Western aid and revenues, which has been frozen since Hamas's victory. The situation can also be attributed to Israeli closures, for which Israel and the EU cite security concerns, specifically smuggling, possible weapons transfers and uninhibited return of exiled extremist leaders and terrorists; as well as an extremely high birth rate.[45][46][47][48]
October 11–14: In the midst of an increase of rocket attacks against Israel, the Israeli Air Force fires into the Gaza Strip over a three-day period. 21 Palestinians are killed (17 Hamas militants, 1 al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades militant, and 3 civilians). The two dozen wounded include gunmen and passersby.[49][50] Israel says the offensive is designed to track down the kidnapped soldier and to stop militants firing rockets into Israel. Spokesman Abu Ubaida for Hamas's military wing issued a statement vowing "we will bombard and strike everywhere" in response to the attacks. Make-shift rockets are immediately shot into Israel.
October 20: Brokered by Egyptian mediators, Fatah reaches a deal to end fighting between the Hamas and Fatah factions, both groups agreeing to refrain from acts that raise tensions and committing themselves to dialogue to resolve differences. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas brushes off comments by President Mahmoud Abbas, head of Fatah, who indicated he could dismiss the Hamas-led cabinet. Abbas unsuccessfully urges Hamas to accept international calls to renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist.
Palestinian gunmen (presumably of the Fatah faction) open fire at the convoy of Prime Minister Haniyeh as it passed through a refugee camp in central Gaza.[51]
November 8: Beit Hanoun November 2006 incident. Amidst ongoing rocket fire, Israel shells Beit Hanoun, killing 19 Palestinian civlians (seven children, four women) during the Gaza operations. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert apologises, saying the incident had been an accidental "technical failure" by the Israeli military.
January 19: Israel transfers $100 million in tax revenues to cover humanitarian needs to the office of the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, as part of a plan to bolster him and keep money out of the hands of the Hamas government.[52]
February: Negotiations in Mecca produced agreement on a Palestinian national unity government signed by Abbas on behalf of Fatah and Khaled Mashal on behalf of Hamas.[53]
March: The Palestinian Legislative Council established a national unity government, with 83 representatives voting in favor and three against. Government ministers were sworn in by Abu Mazen, the chairman on the Palestinian Authority, at a ceremony held simultaneously in Gaza and Ramallah.
May 4: The United States sets a timetable for easing Palestinian travel and bolstering Israeli security. Israel including steps like removing specific checkpoints in the West Bank and deploying better-trained Palestinian forces to try to halt the firing of rockets into Israel from Gaza and the smuggling of weapons, explosives and people into Gaza from Egypt. Israel is wary over certain proposals so long as Palestinian militants continue to fire rockets at Israel.[54] The Hamas-led Palestinian government rejected the initiative.[55]
June 7: Battle of Gaza begins, resulting in Hamas taking control of the Gaza Strip from Fatah.
November 27: Annapolis Conference, a peace conference marked the first time a two-state solution was articulated as the mutually agreed-upon outline for addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The conference ended with the issuing of a joint statement from all parties.
February 27: Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired a rocket barrage at the Israeli city of Ashkelon.
February 28: Operation Hot Winter is launched in response to rockets fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel. The operation resulted in 112 Palestinians and three Israelis being killed.
May 14: Tony Blair announces new plan for peace and for Palestinian rights, based heavily on the ideas of the Peace Valley plan.[56]
December: Israel launches Operation Cast Lead against the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip, a full scale invasion of the territory in response to rocket attacks by Palestinian militant groups. Hamas and other Palestinian groups retaliate by firing mortars and rockets into civilian population centers and Army bases in Southern Israel.
Operation Cast Lead launced near the end of the previous year by Isreal continued until 18th of January. After 22 days of fighting, Israel and Hamas each declared separate unilateral ceasefires. Casualties of the Gaza War are disputed. According to the Hamas, include as many as 1,417 Palestinians including as many as 926 civilians.
January: Two airstrikes against weapons tunnels used to smuggle rockets and militants attempting to fire mortars into Israeli are carried out by the Israeli Air Force, killing 3 militants and wounding another 7. The militants were members of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine.
September 2: 2010 direct talks: U.S. launches direct negotiations between Israel and The Palestinian Authority in Washington D.C.[57] September 14: 2010 direct talks: A second round of Middle East peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority concludes in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.[58]
September: Palestine Authority moves a resolution in UN for recognition of Palestine statehood, calling it a 'Palestine Spring'[59]
