Resources: A Chronology of Palestine
Last revised: November 12, 2008
Historical Background
| 638 |
|
Umar ibn Khattab captures Jerusalem from the Byzantine Empire, names it Jund Filastin. |
| 688-715 |
Abd al-Malik builds the Dome of the Rock shrine and then al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. |
| 1099-1187 |
Crusaders control Palestine and Syria. |
| 1187 |
|
Salah al-Din re-conquers Palestine. |
| 1260 |
|
Mamluks halt Mongol invasion at Battle of Ayn Jalut. |
| 1516 |
|
Ottoman rule begins in Palestine. |
| 1746-75 |
Rule of local leader Zahir al-Umar in Northern Palestine. |
| 1799 |
Feb-May |
French army under Napoleon Bonaparte invades Palestine. |
| 1831-40 |
Egyptian army under Ibrahim Pasha rules Palestine. |
| 1876 |
|
First Ottoman parliament includes Palestinian deputies. |
| 1878 |
|
Petah Tikva, the first Zionist settlement, is established. |
| 1882 |
|
First Aliyah from Russia to Jaffa; Ottomans later restrict Jewish immigration to Palestine. |
| 1882 |
|
Britain occupies Egypt; Ottoman sultan briefly bans Russian Jewish immigration to Palestine. |
| 1886 |
|
Palestinian villagers attack Petah Tikva colony. |
| 1891 |
|
Palestinian notables protest against Jewish immigration. |
| 1892 |
|
Ottoman government bans the sale of certain categories of land to non-Ottoman Jews; villagers attack Rehoboth. |
| 1893 |
|
French construct Jaffa-Jerusalem railway. |
| 1894 |
|
Trial of Alfred Dreyfus begins in France. |
| 1896 |
|
Theodor Herzl proposes statehood as the solution to anti-Semitism in Der Judenstaat. |
| 1897 |
|
World Zionist Organization (WZO) is formed at the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland. |
| 1899 |
|
Yusuf Diya’ al-Din Pasha al-Khalidi, former mayor of Jerusalem, warns Theodore Herzl of Arab opposition to Zionism. |
| 1900 |
June |
Ottoman commission studies the effects of Zionist immigration and land purchases. |
| 1901 |
|
WZO establishes Jewish National Fund; Herzl proposes to help liquidate Ottoman debt in return for land in Palestine. |
| 1902 |
|
Herzl proposes that British allow Jewish settlement in al-Arish or Cyprus. |
| 1903 |
|
British offer Jewish settlement in East Africa; Kishinev pogrom. |
| 1904 |
|
Herzl dies; conflicts between Zionist settlers and Palestinian residents in Tiberias area. |
| 1905 |
|
World Zionist Congress directs all settlement efforts toward Palestine. |
| 1908 |
|
Young Turk revolution; Palestinian delegates elected to the second Ottoman parliament; al-Karmil newspaper opens in Haifa; Jewish-Palestinian violence in Jaffa and rural areas. |
| 1909 |
|
WZO establishes Tel Aviv. |
| 1910 |
|
Lebanese Sursuq family sells a large tract in Palestine to the Jewish National Fund. |
| 1911 |
January |
Palestinian newspaper Filastin is established; Najib al-Nassar publishes the first book on Zionism in Arabic. |
| 1912 |
|
Elections to the Ottoman parliament. |
| 1913 |
|
First Arab congress in Paris calls for decentralization of the Ottoman Empire. |
| 1914 |
|
Elections to the Ottoman parliament; Ottoman Empire enters World War I on the side of Germany. |
| 1915-1916 |
Hussein-McMahon correspondence; Britain promises independence to the Arabs in certain areas. |
| 1916 |
May 16 |
Sykes-Picot agreement between Britain and France carves up the Ottoman Empire. |
| 1916 |
June 10 |
Arab revolt begins. |
| 1917 |
November 2 |
Balfour Declaration offers Jews a national home in Palestine. |
<< back to top
The British Mandate
| 1917 |
December 9 |
Britain occupies Jerusalem. |
| 1918 |
October |
British and Arab troops capture Damascus; first Muslim-Christian Association established in Jaffa; armistice ends Ottoman-Allied fighting (Oct 30). |
| 1919 |
January |
Peace conference opens in Paris; First Palestinian National Congress meets in Jerusalem (Jan 27-Feb 10). |
| |
February |
U.S. King-Crane Commission of Inquiry initiated. |
| 1920 |
March |
Arab congress in Damascus proclaims Faysal king of Syria. |
| |
April 25 |
San Remo conference assigns mandates to Britain and France; Arabs protest in Jerusalem. |
| |
July |
French army expels Faysal from Syria; British establish civil government in Palestine. |
| |
December 13 |
Third Arab National Congress (Haifa) elects Arab Executive Committee. |
| |
December |
WZO founds Haganah and Histadrut. |
| 1921 |
March |
Britain appoints Faysal king of Iraq and Abdullah ruler of Transjordan. |
| |
May 1 |
May Day clashes among Jews in Tel Aviv lead to Arab clashes with Jews in Jaffa and nearby villages. |
| |
May 8 |
Britain appoints Hajj Amin al-Husayni mufti of Jerusalem. |
| 1922 |
January 9 |
Britain establishes Supreme Muslim Council. |
| |
February 28 |
Britain declares Egypt independent but retains military bases and economic privileges. |
| |
May-June |
Fourth Arab National Congress (Jerusalem) sends Palestinian delegation to London in response to Balfour Declaration. |
| |
June 3 |
Churchill White Paper links Jewish immigration to Palestine's “economic absorptive capacity.” |
| |
June 24 |
League of Nations ratifies draft Palestine Mandate, including the Balfour Declaration. |
| 1923 |
May 15 |
Britain declares Transjordan a self-governing state; Palestinian Arabs reject legislative council. |
| |
July 24 |
In Lausanne Treaty, Turkey renounces claims to former Arab provinces. |
| |
September 29 |
League of Nations finalizes approval of the British Mandate over Palestine. |
| |
October |
Palestinian Arabs reject proposed Arab Agency. |
| 1925 |
April 25 |
Vladimir Jabotinsky founds the Revisionist party. |
| 1928 |
June 20-22 |
Seventh Arab National Congress (Jerusalem) reunites Palestinian factions. |
| 1929 |
August 23-29 |
Riots at Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem lead to death of 133 Jews and more than 116 Palestinians mainly in Jerusalem, Safed, and Hebron. |
| 1930 |
March 30 |
Palestinian delegation goes to London after Britain issues the Shaw Commission of Inquiry Report. |
| |
October 20 |
Hope-Simpson report on Jewish immigration and land shortages is issued, followed by the Passfield White Paper. |
| 1931 |
February 14 |
MacDonald Letter (the “Black Letter”) retracts the Passfield White Paper. |
| |
December 16 |
Pan-Islamic Congress in Jerusalem. |
| 1932 |
August 2 |
Istiqlal Party formed in Palestine. |
| |
October |
Iraq becomes independent (Oct 13), joins League of Nations; Britain keeps military bases and oil interests. |
| 1933 |
January |
Adolf Hitler assumes power in Germany. |
| |
October |
Palestinian demonstrations and strikes in Palestine protest Jewish immigration and Zionist political aims. |
| 1935 |
|
Palestinians form several political parties: Arab, Reform, and National Bloc; Nuremberg Laws against Jews are passed in Germany (Sept 15). |
| |
October 3 |
Italy invades Ethiopia. |
| |
November |
Shaykh Izz al-Din al-Qassam is killed by British forces. |
| 1936 |
April 21 |
Arab general strike in Palestine. |
| 1937 |
July 7 |
Peel Commission report recommends partition of Palestine. |
| |
September 8 |
Arab conference in Bludan, Syria rejects Peel report; Irgun is formed. |
| |
October |
Palestinian Arab revolt resumes. |
| 1938 |
November 9 |
Woodhead Commission finds partition unworkable. |
| 1939 |
Feb 7-Mar 27 |
St. James Conference on Palestine held in London. |
| |
May 17 |
British White Paper restricts Jewish land purchases and immigration, rescinds recommendation to partition Palestine. |
| |
September 1 |
World War II begins after Germany invades Poland. |
| 1940 |
September 13 |
Italian forces invade Egypt from Libya. |
| 1941 |
June |
Britain reoccupies Iraq and seizes Syria and Lebanon from (Vichy) France. |
| 1942 |
May 11 |
Biltmore Declaration calls for Jewish state in all of Palestine. |
| |
November 4 |
Allied victory at al-Alamein (Egypt). |
| 1943 |
November 26 |
Lebanon declares independence. |
| 1945 |
February 14 |
President Franklin D. Roosevelt promises to consult the Arabs on Palestine in a meeting with King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia. |
| |
March 22 |
League of Arab States is founded in Cairo. |
| |
May 7 |
Germany surrenders. |
| 1946 |
March 22 |
Transjordan gains independence. |
| |
May |
Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry recommends admitting 100,000 Jews to Palestine. |
| |
July |
Morrison-Grady plan is issued; Irgun bombs the British headquarters in King David Hotel, Jerusalem, killing 91 British, Jewish, and Arab employees (July 22). |
| 1947 |
February 18 |
After convening the London Conference, Britain turns the Palestine issue over to the United Nations. |
| |
May 15 |
UN General Assembly establishes Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP). |
| |
November 17 |
King Abdullah meets Jewish Agency official Golda Meir in Naharayim. |
| |
November 29 |
UN General Assembly Resolution 181 supports the partition of Palestine. |
| 1948 |
April 4 |
Haganah initiates Plan Dalet. |
| |
April 5 |
Palestinian commander Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni is killed at Qastil. |
| |
April 9 |
Irgun attacks Palestinian village Dayr Yasin, killing more than 100 villagers. |
| |
April 13 |
Arabs retaliate with attack on Jewish bus convoy to Mt. Scopus. |
| |
April 19 |
Palestinians flee Tiberias. |
| |
April 22 |
Haganah captures Haifa (Plan D); most Palestinians flee from Haifa to Lebanon. |
| |
May 10 |
King Abdullah meets Meir in Amman. |
| |
May 13 |
Palestinians in Jaffa surrender to Haganah; UN appoints Count Folke Bernadotte as mediator. |
<< back to top
After the Nakba
| 1948 |
May 14 |
Israel becomes an independent state. |
| |
May 15 |
Arab armies attack Israel. |
| |
June 11-July 6 |
First truce. |
| |
July 12-13 |
Israeli army expels Palestinians from Lydda and Ramla. |
| |
July 16 |
Israeli army seizes Nazareth. |
| |
July 19 |
Second truce. |
| |
September 17 |
A Jewish militant from LEHI assassinates UN mediator Bernadotte. |
| |
October |
Israeli troops seize the Negev. |
| |
November |
Jericho conference calls for Jordanian annexation of West Bank. |
| |
December 11 |
UN Resolution 194 creates Conciliation Commission for Palestine, accords refugees right to return and compensation. |
| 1949 |
January 25 |
Israeli elections; Ben-Gurion becomes prime minister. |
| |
February 24 |
Israel and Egypt sign armistice agreement at Rhodes. |
| |
March 11 |
Israel and Transjordan sign armistice agreement. |
| |
April 26 |
Lausanne peace talks begin. |
| |
July 20 |
Syria and Israel sign armistice. |
| |
December 8 |
UN creates United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). |
| 1950 |
January 1 |
Israel annexes West Jerusalem. |
| |
April 24 |
Jordanian parliament confirms annexation of East Jerusalem and West Bank, renamed the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. |
| |
May 25 |
United States, Britain, and France issue the Tripartite Declaration to limit arms sales to the Middle East. |
| 1951 |
July 20 |
King Abdullah is assassinated in East Jerusalem. |
| 1952 |
July 23 |
Free Officers' coup d'état in Egypt. |
| |
August 11 |
Hussein becomes king of Jordan. |
| 1953 |
October 14 |
Israel's Unit 101 attacks Qibya village (West Bank). |
| 1954 |
July |
Israeli sabotage mission in Egypt; exposed later by the Lavon affair. |
| |
July 27 |
Anglo-Egyptian accord to complete the withdrawal of British forces from Egypt (ratified in October). |
| 1955 |
February 28 |
Israel attacks Egyptian military outposts in Gaza. |
| |
September 27 |
Gamal Abdul Nasser announces Egyptian purchase of Soviet-bloc arms. |
| |
November 22 |
Baghdad Pact is formed: Britain, Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan. |
| 1956 |
July 19 |
Secretary of State John Foster Dulles withdraws U.S. financing for High Dam at Aswan. |
| |
July 26 |
Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal Company. |
| |
October 29 |
Israel invades Sinai. |
| |
October 31 |
Britain and France bomb Egyptian airfields on the Canal, then land troops. |
| |
Nov 6-7 |
Britain, France, and Israel agree to ceasefire under U.S. and UN pressure. |
| |
December 23 |
Britain and France complete withdrawal from Suez Canal. |
| 1957 |
January 5 |
United States announces Eisenhower Doctrine to counter communism in the Middle East. |
| |
March 1 |
Israel withdraws from Gaza Strip; UN Emergency Force (UNEF) patrols Gaza Strip-Israeli border and at Sharm al-Shaykh. |
| 1958 |
July 14 |
Monarchy is overthrown in Iraq. |
| |
July 15 |
U.S. sends Marines to Lebanon, invoking the Eisenhower Doctrine. |
| 1959 |
January |
Yasir Arafat and colleagues in Kuwait form Fatah. |
| |
March 24 |
Iraq leaves Baghdad Pact, renamed Central Treaty Organization (CENTO). |
| 1961 |
June 19 |
Kuwait becomes independent. |
| |
September 29 |
Syria withdraws from United Arab Republic. |
| 1962 |
September |
Civil war begins in Yemen; first U.S. arms sales to Israel. |
| 1964 |
Jan 13-17 |
Arab League establishes Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), plans to divert headwaters of the Jordan River. |
| |
May 28-Jun 2 |
Founding conference of the PLO's Palestine National Council (PNC) opens in East Jerusalem. |
| 1965 |
January 1 |
Fatah's first raid targets Israeli National Water Carrier. |
| 1966 |
November 4 |
Egypt and Syria sign mutual defense pact. |
| |
November 13 |
Israeli army raids al-Samu village (West Bank). |
<< back to top
1967-1982
| 1967 |
Jan-Apr |
Armed clashes between Israel and Syria. |
| |
May 16 |
Nasser demands withdrawal of UNEF, then closes Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping. |
| |
May 30 |
Egypt and Jordan sign mutual defense pact. |
| |
June 5 |
Israel attacks Egypt, then Syria and Jordan. |
| |
June 7 |
Israel captures East Jerusalem. |
| |
June 8 |
Israeli planes attack USS Liberty. |
| |
June 10 |
Israel captures Golan Heights from Syria; ceasefire leaves Israel in control of East Jerusalem, West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai, and Golan Heights. |
| |
June 28 |
Israel extends jurisdiction of West Jerusalem municipality over an enlarged East Jerusalem. |
| |
Aug 29-Sept 1 |
Arab summit conference at Khartoum. |
| |
September 24 |
Israel approves first Jewish settlement on the West Bank, at Gush Etzion. |
| |
November 22 |
UN Security Council unanimously passes Resolution 242, which proposes a "land-for-peace" formula. |
| |
December |
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is formed under George Habash. |
| 1968 |
March 21 |
Israel attacks PLO at Karameh, east of Jordan River. |
| |
July 10-17 |
PNC revises PLO covenant. |
| |
July 23 |
PFLP hijacks Israeli airliner to Algiers. |
| 1969-70 |
|
War of Attrition along the Suez Canal. |
| 1969 |
February |
Nayif Hawatmeh forms Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PDFLP), breaking with PFLP; fifth PNC elects Arafat chairman of PLO. |
| |
November 2 |
Cairo agreement permits PLO operations in parts of Lebanon. |
| |
December |
U.S. announces Rogers Plan. |
| 1970 |
August 7 |
U.S. negotiates ceasefire along Suez Canal. |
| |
September 6 |
PFLP hijacks civilian airplanes to Jordan. |
| |
September 16 |
King Hussein declares martial law; Jordan army attacks PLO bases and refugee camps. |
| |
September 27 |
Nasser mediates PLO-Jordan ceasefire. |
| |
September 28 |
Nasser dies of heart attack; Anwar Sadat becomes president of Egypt. |
| |
November 13 |
Syrian Defense Minister Hafiz al-Asad seizes power. |
| 1971 |
Jan.-July |
Israeli army crushes Palestinian guerrilla uprising in the Gaza Strip. |
| |
July |
Jordan expels the remaining Palestinian fighters from northern Jordan. |
| |
November 28 |
"Black September" group kills Jordanian prime minister in Cairo. |
| 1972 |
March 15 |
King Hussein declares Federal Plan to form a Jordanian/Palestinian United Arab Kingdom. |
| |
March-April |
Municipal council elections in the West Bank. |
| |
July 18 |
Sadat expels Russian military advisors. |
| |
Sept. 5-6 |
Eleven Israeli athletes taken hostage at Munich Olympics are killed either by Black September or during attempted German rescue. |
| 1973 |
April 10 |
Israeli hit squad kills three senior PLO officials in Beirut. |
| |
August |
Palestine National Front is formed in the Occupied Territories. |
| |
October 6 |
October War begins with Egyptian and Syrian attacks against Israeli forces in Sinai and the Golan Heights. |
| |
October 15 |
United States begins arms airlift to Israel. |
| |
October 17 |
Arab members of OPEC impose oil embargo on the U.S. in response to airlift. |
| |
October 22 |
UN Security Council Resolution 338 calls for direct negotiations based on Resolution 242. |
| |
October 23 |
Israeli troops cross Suez Canal and cut off Egyptian army in Sinai. |
| |
October 27 |
Egypt and Israel, then Syria, agree to ceasefire. |
| |
December 21 |
Peace conference opens in Geneva. |
| 1974 |
January 18 |
Israel and Egypt sign first disengagement accord. |
| |
May 13 |
PDFLP attacks a school in Ma'alot (Israel). |
| |
May 31 |
Israel and Syria sign disengagement agreement. |
| |
June 1-9 |
Twelfth PNC calls for "national authority" on liberated land. |
| |
June 16 |
U.S. and Syria resume diplomatic relations. |
| |
October |
PFLP forms Rejection Front. |
| |
October 28 |
Arab League summit at Rabat recognizes the PLO as "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people." |
| |
November 13 |
Arafat addresses UN General Assembly. |
| |
November 22 |
PLO gains observer status at the United Nations. |
| 1975 |
April |
Civil war begins in Lebanon. |
| |
June 5 |
Suez Canal reopens. |
| |
September 4 |
Israel and Egypt sign second disengagement accord. |
| |
October 20 |
Shimon Peres proposes "civil administration" in the Occupied Territories. |
| |
November 10 |
UN General Assembly adopts a resolution defining Zionism as "a form of racism." |
| 1975-76 |
Nov.-Mar. |
Massive civil disobedience campaign is sustained in the West Bank. |
| 1976 |
March 27 |
Israel deports two Palestinian mayoral candidates. |
| |
March 30 |
Palestinian citizens of Israel hold "Land Day" to protest land expropriations in Galilee. |
| |
April 12 |
Palestinian nationalists win municipal council elections in the West Bank. |
| |
July 4 |
Israeli commandos raid airport at Entebbe (Uganda) freeing passengers on an airliner hijacked by PFLP on June 27. |
| |
August 13 |
Phalange fighters kill Palestinians in Tall al-Za'tar refugee camp (Lebanon) following 53-day siege. |
| 1977 |
March 16 |
President Jimmy Carter endorses a Palestinian "homeland." |
| |
March 12-20 |
Thirteenth PNC calls for an "independent national state," instead of "total liberation." |
| |
May 17 |
Likud wins plurality in Knesset elections; Menachem Begin becomes prime minister. |
| |
October 1 |
United States and Soviet Union propose reconvening the Geneva conference. |
| |
November 20 |
Sadat speaks to the Israeli Knesset, marking the first public visit to Israel by an Arab leader. |
| |
December 25 |
Begin and Sadat meet in Isma‘iliyya, Egypt. |
| 1978 |
March 11 |
Fatah squad hijacks bus near Tel Aviv. |
| |
March 14 |
Israel invades Lebanon in "Operation Litani" in retaliation for Fatah bus hijacking. |
| |
June 13 |
Israel withdraws from Lebanon, except for six-mile "security zone." |
| |
September 17 |
Begin, Sadat, and Carter sign Camp David peace accords. |
| |
November |
Palestinians form National Guidance Committee in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. |
| 1979 |
February 1 |
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Iran following the Shah’s departure. |
| |
March 26 |
Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty signed in Washington, D.C. |
| |
March 31 |
Arab League expels Egypt and moves its headquarters from Cairo to Tunis; PLO breaks diplomatic relations with Egypt. |
| |
July 16 |
Saddam Hussein becomes president of Iraq. |
| |
September 19 |
Arafat and King Hussein discuss idea of a Jordanian-Palestinian confederation. |
| 1980 |
June 13 |
European Community adopts the Venice Declaration, recognizing the Palestinians' right to self-determination. |
| |
July 30 |
Knesset declares all of Jerusalem Israel's "eternal capital." |
| |
September 22 |
Iraqi army attacks Iran. |
| 1981 |
June 7 |
Israel bombs Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak. |
| |
July 17 |
300 civilians die in Israeli bombing of Beirut. |
| |
July 24 |
U.S. mediates Israel-PLO ceasefire in Lebanon. |
| |
October 6 |
Sadat is assassinated; Hosni Mubarak becomes president of Egypt. |
| |
November |
Israel establishes "civil administration" in the Occupied Territories. |
| |
November 30 |
U.S. and Israel sign strategic cooperation memorandum. |
| |
December 14 |
Israeli Knesset votes to annex the Golan Heights. |
| 1982 |
March 11 |
Israel bans the National Guidance Committee and fires most elected West Bank mayors. |
| |
April 25 |
Israel returns the rest of Sinai (except Taba) to Egypt. |
| |
June 3 |
Israeli ambassador in London is wounded by a Palestinian. |
| |
June 6 |
Israel invades Lebanon. |
| |
August 13 |
Beshir Gemayel is elected president of Lebanon. |
| |
August 21-31 |
PLO withdraws from Beirut; establishes new headquarters in Tunis. |
| |
September 1 |
Reagan Initiative announced. |
| |
September 9 |
Arab League announces the Fez Plan. |
| |
September 14 |
Gemayel is assassinated, and Israeli troops seize West Beirut. |
| |
September 16-18 |
Sabra and Shatila massacres by Lebanese Phalangist forces under Israeli observation kill at least 800 Palestinian refugees and Lebanese. |
| |
September 20 |
Amin Gemayel becomes president of Lebanon. |
<< back to top
1983-1992
| 1983 |
April 18 |
Bomb partly destroys U.S. embassy in Beirut. |
| |
August 29 |
Begin resigns and is replaced by Yitzhak Shamir. |
| |
May |
Fatah dissidents in Lebanon rebel against Arafat with Syrian backing. |
| |
October 23 |
Truck bomb kills 241 U.S. Marines in Beirut. |
| |
December 20 |
Arafat is forced to leave Tripoli (Lebanon) by Fatah dissidents. |
| |
December 22 |
Arafat meets Mubarak in Egypt. |
| 1984 |
February 21 |
U.S. peacekeeping forces depart Lebanon. |
| |
July 23 |
Israeli elections; on September 13 national unity government formed with Shimon Peres as Prime Minister in first "rotation." |
| |
November 28 |
Seventeenth PNC (Amman) calls for an independent Palestinian state in confederation with Jordan. |
| 1985 |
January 20 |
Israel begins initial withdrawal from Lebanon. |
| |
February 13 |
King Hussein and Arafat announce the Amman Agreement. |
| |
March |
Palestinian National Salvation Front is established. |
| |
June 10 |
Israel withdraws from most of Lebanon. |
| |
June 14 |
TWA airliner hijacked by a Lebanese group (released June 30). |
| |
September 15 |
PLO's Force 17 kills three Israelis in Cyprus. |
| |
October 1 |
Israel bombs PLO headquarters in Tunis. |
| |
October 7 |
Cruise ship Achille Lauro is hijacked by Abu Abbas's group in the Mediterranean. |
| |
November 7 |
Arafat issues the Cairo declaration, renouncing terrorism. |
| 1986 |
February 19 |
King Hussein abrogates the Amman agreement. |
| |
October 20 |
Yitzhak Shamir (Likud) becomes Israeli prime minister under rotation arrangement with Labor. |
| 1987 |
March 16 |
Major Palestinian groups sign the Tunis Document as the basis for restoring cooperation. |
| |
April 25 |
Eighteenth PNC restores unity among the political factions. |
| |
December 9 |
Palestinian Intifada begins in the Occupied Territories. |
| 1988 |
February |
First Hamas communiqué is issued. |
| |
April 16 |
Israel assassinates PLO military leader Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad) in Tunis. |
| |
July 31 |
King Hussein renounces Jordanian claims to West Bank. |
| |
November 15-19 |
Nineteenth PNC proclaims Palestinian state and accepts UN Security Council Resolution 242. |
| |
December 13 |
Arafat addresses UN General Assembly, convened in Geneva when the U.S. bans him from traveling to New York. |
| |
December 14 |
After Arafat's press conference, U.S. opens dialogue with PLO in Tunis. |
| 1989 |
May 22 |
Egypt is readmitted to the Arab League. |
| |
October 24 |
Lebanese parliament endorses Ta’if peace plan. |
| 1990 |
May 30 |
Israel captures Palestinian commando boats near Tel Aviv; calls for U.S. to suspend dialogue with PLO. |
| |
June 8 |
New Israeli government, Likud-led coalition of right-wing parties with Yitzhak Shamir as prime minister. |
| |
June 20 |
U.S. suspends dialogue with PLO. |
| |
August 2 |
Iraq invades Kuwait. |
| |
October 8 |
Israeli forces kill 18 Palestinians at al-Haram al-Sharif (Jerusalem). |
| |
November 29 |
UN authorizes use of "all necessary means" to expel Iraq from Kuwait and sets January 15, 1991 deadline. |
| 1991 |
January 14 |
Fatah's Salah Khalaf (Abu Iyad) is assassinated in Tunis. |
| |
January 16 |
U.S.-led coalition begins air attack on Iraq. |
| |
February 27 |
Allies liberate Kuwait. |
| |
October 30 |
Arab-Israeli peace conference opens in Madrid. |
| |
December 3 |
Last U.S. hostage in Lebanon is freed. |
| |
December 16 |
UN General Assembly repeals Zionism-is-racism resolution. |
| 1992 |
June 23 |
Israeli elections: Yitzhak Rabin (Labor) becomes prime minister; Peres becomes foreign minister. |
| |
December 17 |
Israel deports 415 Hamas members to south Lebanon. |
<< back to top
1993
| 1993 |
January 16 |
Knesset repeals a law banning contact with the PLO. |
| |
March |
Israel begins permanent closure of Jerusalem from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. |
| |
March 25 |
Benjamin Netanyahu replaces Shamir as head of Likud. |
| |
July 25 |
Israel attacks Lebanon for a week, retaliating for Hizballah rockets; 500,000 civilians displaced. |
| |
August 1 |
U.S. mediates a ceasefire in Lebanon. |
| |
August 20 |
Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles (DOP) is finalized in Oslo. |
| |
September 10 |
U.S. resumes dialogue with PLO. |
| |
September 13 |
Israel and PLO sign DOP on Palestinian Interim Self-Government in Washington, D.C. |
| |
September 14 |
Jordan and Israel agree on an agenda for peace negotiations. |
| |
December 13 |
Target date passes to begin Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and Jericho. |
<< back to top
1994
| 1994 |
February 24 |
Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein kills 29 Palestinian worshipers in Hebron. |
| |
April 6 |
Hamas bombs bus in Afula (Israel). |
| |
May 4 |
Arafat and Rabin sign Gaza-Jericho Accord in Cairo. |
| |
July 1 |
Arafat arrives in Gaza, assumes presidency of the Palestinian Authority (PA). |
| |
July 25 |
King Hussein and Rabin end state of war between Jordan and Israel. |
| |
September 26 |
Israel approves more housing construction in settlements on the West Bank, despite DOP. |
| |
October 11 |
Hamas kidnaps Israeli soldier (killed on October 14 during Israeli rescue attempt). |
| |
October 19 |
Hamas blows up Israeli bus in Tel Aviv, killing 22 Israelis. |
| |
October 26 |
Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty signed near Aqaba; U.S. President Clinton meets Asad in Damascus. |
| |
October 30 |
Casablanca economic summit opens. |
| |
November 18 |
Clashes between Palestinian police and Islamic militants in Gaza. |
| |
November 21 |
Arafat and Hamas announce temporary truce. |
| |
December 10 |
Arafat, Rabin, and Peres are awarded the Nobel Peace Price in Oslo. |
<< back to top
1995
| 1995 |
January 19 |
Rabin and Arafat meet; Rabin agrees to halt new settlements and confiscate land only for roads. |
| |
January 22 |
Car bombs at Bet Lid (Israel); Israel suspends negotiations with PLO. |
| |
January 25 |
Israel approves building an additional 2,200 housing units on the West Bank. |
| |
February 2 |
Arafat, Rabin, Hussein, Mubarak summit in Cairo. |
| |
July-August |
Israeli settlers try to seize land on West Bank to preempt negotiations. |
| |
July 24 |
Hamas bombs bus in Ramat Gan (Israel). |
| |
August 31 |
Hamas bombs bus in Jerusalem. |
| |
September 28 |
Israel-PLO accord (Oslo II) is signed in Washington, D.C. |
| |
October 26 |
Israel's Mossad assassinates Fathi Shiqaqi, leader of Islamic Jihad, in Malta. |
| |
October 29-30 |
Second economic summit is held in Amman. |
| |
November 4 |
Yigal Amir assassinates Rabin in Tel Aviv; Peres becomes acting prime minister. |
| |
December |
PA assumes control over key towns in West Bank (zone A) and issues passports. |
<< back to top
1996
| 1996 |
January 5 |
Israel kills Hamas's Yahya Ayyash ("The Engineer") with booby-trapped cellular phone in Gaza. |
| |
January 20 |
Palestinian legislative and presidential elections are held in West Bank and Gaza Strip. |
| |
March 13 |
Sharm al-Shaykh conference on terror: Arafat, King Hussein, Peres, Clinton, Mubarak are in attendance. |
| |
March 27 |
First meeting of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). |
| |
April 22-24 |
Twenty-first PNC meets in Gaza and revokes clauses of PLO Charter that call for Israel's destruction. |
| |
May 15 |
Knesset elections; Netanyahu becomes prime minister. |
| |
June 16 |
Netanyahu states Israel will retain sovereignty over the Golan and Jerusalem and expand settlements. |
| |
September 4 |
Netanyahu and Arafat meet for the first time. |
| |
September 24 |
Israel opens tunnel in Jerusalem; clashes spread through West Bank and Gaza; 86 Palestinians and 15 Israeli soldiers die. |
| |
November 18 |
Israeli military court sentences four Israeli soldiers for killing a Palestinian youth in the West Bank on November 13, 1993. |
| |
November 22 |
Israeli Infrastructure Minister Ariel Sharon draws up plans to construct 900 housing units in the Golan Heights. |
| |
December 2 |
Israeli government approves construction of new housing units in settlements in the West Bank. |
| |
December 8 |
Israel boycotts meeting of quadripartite refugee committee (Egypt, Jordan, PA, and Israel) in Bethlehem. |
| |
December 15 |
Palestinian military court sentences two Hamas members to death for killing two Palestinian policemen a year ago. |
| |
December 18 |
Palestinian State Security Court in Ramallah convicts three PFLP members for killing two settlers on December 11. |
| |
December 24 |
Netanyahu and Arafat meet at Erez junction (Gaza-Israel border). |
<< back to top
1997
| 1997 |
January 12 |
King Hussein flies to Gaza and Israel to break diplomatic impasse. |
| |
January 14 |
Israeli army begins forced removal of 400 Jahalin bedouin from lands near Ma'ale Adumim settlement. |
| |
January 15 |
Hebron protocol ratified by PA Executive Authority, PLO Executive Committee, PLC, Israeli cabinet, and Knesset. |
| |
February 9 |
Netanyahu and Arafat meet at Erez and agree to start talks on implementing the Oslo II accords. |
| |
February 10 |
Israeli armed forces present "final status" map to the cabinet: 51.8% of the West Bank would remain under Israel. |
| |
February 11 |
Israel releases 31 female Palestinian prisoners; 4,000 men remain in jail. |
| |
March 7 |
Israeli cabinet approves troop redeployment from some West Bank areas, according the PA 2% more land. |
| |
March 18 |
Bulldozers break ground at Har Homa, a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem bordering Bethlehem; PA halts negotiations. |
| |
March 22 |
Closure of Israel to West Bank/Gaza residents leads to clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers. |
| |
June 16 |
Israeli army shoots and wounds eight Palestinian demonstrators during clashes in Hebron. |
| |
July 30 |
Suicide bombing in Jerusalem; Israel closes West Bank/Gaza, suspends transfers to PA, arrests 200 Palestinians. |
| |
September 4 |
Three suicide bombers kill four Israelis in West Jerusalem, prompting extension of Israeli military activity into Area A. |
| |
September 9 |
Under U.S. and Israeli pressure, PA detains 200 alleged Hamas members for questioning. |
| |
September 25 |
PA closes 16 Hamas charities in Gaza; Mossad attempts to kill Khalid Meshal, a Hamas leader in Amman. |
| |
October 1 |
Israel releases Hamas spiritual leader Shaykh Ahmad Yassin to mollify King Hussein over attempted assassination of Meshal (Sept 25). |
| |
November 13 |
UN condemns Israel for building Jewish housing in East Jerusalem; Arafat says he will declare state on May 4, 1999. |
<< back to top
1998
| 1998 |
January 7 |
Israeli government approves construction of 574 more housing units in Efrat, near Bethlehem. |
| |
January 20 |
Clinton presents withdrawal plan; Netanyahu wants only one withdrawal from 9% of West Bank before final settlement. |
| |
January 22 |
Clinton meets with Arafat, who rejects Israeli plan. |
| |
February 19 |
PA shuts down nine radio and TV stations in West Bank that aired pro-Iraqi programs. |
| |
March 23 |
Netanyahu rejects U.S.-proposed 13.1% withdrawal from West Bank. |
| |
June 8 |
Elad settlers seize houses in Silwan, East Jerusalem. |
| |
June 12 |
Arafat meets Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. |
| |
June 21 |
Israeli cabinet approves plan to expand Jerusalem to the west. |
| |
July 7 |
UN General Assembly accords Palestinian delegation "super-observer" status. |
| |
July 14 |
UN Security Council criticizes Israeli plan to expand Jerusalem. |
| |
August 5 |
Arafat reshuffles cabinet in response to corruption charges; two ministers resign in protest at lack of substantive change. |
| |
October 15-23 |
Wye negotiations; Netanyahu and Arafat sign interim agreement for 13% withdrawal in three stages over 12 weeks. |
| |
October 30 |
PA ratifies Wye Accord; Hizballah denounces the accord; PA arrests more than 100 Hamas members. |
| |
November 11 |
Israeli cabinet ratifies Wye Accord; Netanyahu threatens annexation of part of West Bank if Arafat declares a Palestinian state in May 1999. |
| |
November 20 |
Israeli army withdraws from area around Jenin and releases 250 Palestinian prisoners (including 150 common criminals). |
| |
December 14 |
Clinton addresses PNC meeting in Gaza that nullifies articles in PLO charter calling for the destruction of Israel. |
| |
December 23 |
Arafat frees Shaykh Yassin from house arrest (since October 29). |
<< back to top
1999
| 1999 |
January 11 |
Peres addresses Palestinian Legislative Council in Ramallah. |
| |
February 7 |
King Hussein dies; eldest son is crowned King Abdullah II. |
| |
February 12 |
Palestinians storm Jericho prison to protest detention of Islamic activists. |
| |
March 29 |
Netanyahu closes three Palestinian offices in East Jerusalem on the grounds that they are associated with the PA. |
| |
April 29 |
PLO Central Council delays declaration of statehood from May 4 until June. |
| |
May 17 |
Ehud Barak defeats Netanyahu to become prime minister. |
| |
June 8 |
Palestinian groups call on Arafat to hold municipal council elections. |
| |
June 23-24 |
Israeli air raids on Lebanon. |
| |
July 27 |
Barak meets Arafat at Erez; no agreement on second stage withdrawal that is due by mid-November. |
| |
August 16-17 |
Israel kills Hizballah commander; clashes result. |
| |
August 30 |
Jordan closes Hamas offices in Amman. |
| |
September 9-10 |
Israel begins to release Palestinian prisoners and transfers 7% percent of West Bank from Area C to B. |
| |
October 4 |
Israel agrees on "safe passage" between Gaza and West Bank. |
| |
October 25 |
"Safe passage" opens; protests in Bethlehem near Rachel's Tomb. |
| |
November 27 |
Twenty Palestinian academics and politicians criticize Arafat's administration; PA security forces detain 7 of the 20 (November 28). |
| |
December 6 |
Palestinian negotiators suspend talks until Israel addresses the issue of expanding Jewish settlements. |
| |
December 8 |
U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright meets Barak and Arafat separately. |
| |
December 22 |
Barak and Arafat meet to resolve delay in second withdrawal from 5% of West Bank. |
<< back to top
2000
| 2000 |
January 3-10 |
Syrian-Israeli talks held in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. |
| |
January 5 |
Israel transfers another 5% of West Bank to PA control. |
| |
February 2 |
Israeli cabinet approves transfer of 6.1% of West Bank to PA (after Barak delayed the transfer on January 16). |
| |
February 7 |
PA freezes interim negotiations. |
| |
March 21 |
Israeli-Palestinian talks in Washington, D.C.; the 6.1% is transferred. |
| |
April 29 |
George Habash retires as head of PFLP. |
| |
May 7 |
Arafat and Barak meet, agree on September 13 deadline for final status talks. |
| |
May 15 |
Israeli cabinet approves transfer of three villages near Jerusalem to PA control. |
| |
June 10 |
Syrian President Hafiz al-Asad dies. |
| |
July 17 |
Bashar al-Asad is invested as president by Syrian people's assembly. |
| |
September 10 |
PLO Central Council postpones declaration of Palestinian state. |
| |
September 28 |
Likud Party leader Sharon visits al-Haram al-Sharif with large police escort, igniting protests. |
| |
September 29 |
Israeli police kill four Palestinians and wound 220 after Friday prayers at al-Haram al-Sharif; Al-Aqsa Intifada begins. |
| |
September 30 |
Israeli soldiers kill Muhammad al-Durrah (age 12) and ambulance driver at Netzarim junction in Gaza. |
| |
October 12 |
Israel bombs police station, radio tower and Arafat's compound after Palestinians kill two Israeli soldiers in Ramallah; USS Cole is attacked in Aden port. |
| |
October 17 |
Clinton and Mubarak convene Sharm al-Shaykh summit. |
| |
October 21 |
Barak commissions inquiry into the deaths of Palestinian citizens at the hands of Israeli police. |
| |
November 16 |
IDF targets Fatah offices in West Bank; Barak warns Israelis to prepare for protracted conflict. |
| |
December 9 |
Israeli Prime Minister Barak announces his resignation. |
| |
December 18 |
Resolution to establish international protection force fails to gain a majority of votes in the UN Security Council. |
| |
December 19 |
Palestinian-Israeli talks open in Washington, D.C. |
| |
December 23 |
Clinton presents his proposal for agreement on final status issues. |
| |
December 27 |
Barak accepts Clinton’s parameters but with reservations. |
<< back to top
2001
| 2001 |
January 3 |
Arafat meets with Clinton and accepts his proposal with reservations. |
| |
January 18 |
Barak proposes establishing a Palestinian state on 40-42% of the West Bank already under PA control. |
| |
February 6 |
Ariel Sharon is elected prime minister of Israel. |
| |
February 8 |
U.S. President George W. Bush declares Clinton’s proposals off the table. |
| |
May 20 |
Mitchell Report issued; U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell urges Israel and PA to implement its recommendations. |
| |
June 1 |
Hamas suicide bombing of Tel Aviv nightclub kills 16 Israelis and injures more than 80. |
| |
September 11 |
Al-Qaeda attacks the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. |
| |
September 14 |
Sharon rejects U.S. appeals to hold peace talks with PA, hindering U.S. efforts to form a coalition to strike at Bin Laden. |
| |
October 2 |
Bush for the first time publicly endorses the creation of a Palestinian state. |
| |
October 18 |
Israel cuts off all contact with PA, gives green light for security services to step up targeted killings. |
| |
November 19 |
Powell announces plans to help broker ceasefire based on the Tenet plan and Mitchell Commission recommendations. |
| |
December 3 |
Israeli cabinet declares PA an "entity that supports terrorism." IDF launches air raids on PA sites; besieges Arafat in Ramallah. |
| |
December 16 |
Arafat again urges Palestinians to halt attacks on Israeli targets, especially suicide bombings. |
| |
December 23 |
Peres and PA negotiator Ahmad Qurai‘ draft a "letter of understanding" recognizing Palestinian state after full implementation of Mitchell plan. |
<< back to top
2002
| 2002 |
January 3 |
Israel captures the Karin A loaded with 50 tons of weapons en route from Iran to the PA; PA and Iran deny involvement. |
| |
January 17 |
Arafat placed under de facto house arrest in Ramallah by IDF. |
| |
February 9 |
EU endorses a draft peace plan; Israel rejects the idea, PA accepts. |
| |
March 12 |
UN Security Council passes Resolution 1897, for the first time explicitly endorsing the creation of "two states, Israel and Palestine." |
| |
March 28 |
Arab summit adopts Saudi peace initiative, offering Israel full Arab normalization for its withdrawal to 1967 borders. |
| |
March 29 |
IDF launches Operation Defensive Shield, reoccupying major West Bank cities, and besieging Arafat’s Ramallah compound. |
| |
March 30 |
UN Security Council approves Resolution 1402, demanding that Israel withdraw from Ramallah. |
| |
April 4 |
Bush publicly demands that Israel halt incursions, withdraw from reoccupied areas (March 29), and stop settlement activity. |
| |
April 9 |
Battle in Jenin refugee camp leaves at least 53 Palestinians and 23 Israeli soldiers dead. |
| |
April 21 |
IDF completes withdrawal to the outskirts of Nablus; pulls out of Ramallah, maintains forces around Arafat’s compound. |
| |
May 1 |
Israel lifts its 34-day siege of the Ramallah compound, grants Arafat freedom of movement. |
| |
May 6 |
Under U.S. pressure, Arafat authorizes agreement ending the siege of the Church of the Nativity. |
| |
June |
Construction of Israel’s separation wall begins. |
| |
June 5 |
Suicide bomb in Meggido kills 14 IDF soldiers and three Israeli civilians; IDF reoccupies West Bank. |
| |
June 9 |
Surrounded once again, Arafat appoints a new "transitional" PA. |
| |
June 24 |
Bush gives a major speech saying that Palestinians must remove Arafat and create a Western-style democracy. |
| |
September 17 |
The Quartet presents draft “Roadmap” for creation of a Palestinian state by June 2005. |
| |
September 29 |
Israel ends the siege, allowing Arafat and all those inside with him to leave; troops remain in Ramallah. |
<< back to top
2003
| 2003 |
January 26 |
Powell warns Israel to ease the humanitarian situation and says that the Palestinians must be offered a "real state." |
| |
February 5 |
In secret talks, Sharon presents Qurai' with plan for gradual ceasefire and resumed security coordination. |
| |
March 19 |
Mahmud Abbas accepts Arafat’s nomination as prime minister, and is given three weeks to form a government. |
| |
April 29 |
Abbas forms new government, his outlined vision of future state deemed "problematic" by Israel. |
| |
April 30 |
U.S. formally presents Israel and the PA with the "Roadmap." |
| |
May 17 |
Abbas and Sharon meet in Jerusalem, marking the first senior-level talks since September 26, 2000. |
| |
May 25 |
Sharon’s cabinet narrowly approves the principles of the Roadmap, but attaches 14 reservations. |
| |
June 27 |
In Cairo, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah finalize a unilateral ceasefire agreement. |
| |
June 29 |
Hamas and Islamic Jihad announce a ceasefire for a minimum of three months, with the support of the DFLP and PFLP. |
| |
August 19 |
Hamas takes responsibility for a Jerusalem bombing that killed 20 and wounded over 100 but says still committed to ceasefire; Israel suspends talks with PA. |
| |
September 6 |
Abbas resigns as prime minister. |
| |
September 7 |
Arafat names Ahmad Qurai' to replace Abbas. |
| |
October 13 |
Prominent Palestinians and Israelis announce Geneva Accord as an alternative to the Roadmap. |
| |
December 1 |
Geneva Accord signed. |
<< back to top
2004
| 2004 |
January 25 |
Hamas’s Abd al-Aziz Rantisi proposes a 10-year truce in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal to 1967 borders. |
| |
March 24 |
Israeli officials present U.S. with Sharon’s “preferred plan” for unilateral disengagement from Gaza and six settlements in the West Bank. |
| |
May 24 |
Egyptian intelligence chief meets with Sharon and Arafat to discuss the training of Palestinian security forces by Egypt. |
| |
June 6 |
Sharon’s cabinet endorses plan to withdraw from all Gaza settlements and four in the West Bank. |
| |
July 9 |
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) finds Israel’s separation barrier to be contrary to international law. |
| |
October 27 |
Arafat collapses in his Ramallah headquarters. |
| |
October 29 |
Arafat checks into Paris hospital leaving Abbas in charge. |
| |
November 6 |
Qurai‘ privately meets with Hamas leaders in Gaza, who pledge to exercise restraint but do not guarantee a ceasefire. |
| |
November 10 |
At 09:30 EST, Yasir Arafat dies in a Paris hospital. |
| |
November 11 |
The State Department says Israel must carry on with Gaza disengagement. |
| |
November 29 |
Hamas’s Shaykh Hassan Yusuf says Hamas would consider ceasefire agreement conditional on Israeli reciprocation. |
<< back to top
2005
| 2005 |
January 9 |
Mahmud Abbas elected president of the PA. |
| |
January 15 |
Abbas is sworn in as PA president, reappoints Qurai' as prime minister and calls for immediate talks with Israel. |
| |
January 24 |
Palestinian militant groups agree to an informal one-month truce. |
| |
February 8 |
In Sharm al-Shaykh, Abbas calls for end of Palestinian violence toward Israelis, Sharon calls for end of military activity against Palestinians. |
| |
March 17 |
Palestinian factions meet in Cairo and pledge to extend the unofficial truce until the end of 2005. |
| |
August 17 |
IDF begins forcible evacuation of remaining Jewish settlers and disengagement protestors in Gaza. |
| |
August 22 |
IDF completes evacuation of settlers from Gaza. |
| |
September 12 |
IDF pulls out last troops and declares the end of military rule in Gaza. |
| |
September 24 |
Islamic Jihad and Hamas fire over 30 rockets from Gaza at Sederot and the Negev; Israel declares Operation First Rain. |
| |
October 26 |
Islamic Jihad bombing in Hadera kills five Israelis and wounds 20. Israel approves Operation Starting All Over Again. |
| |
November 20 |
Israel and PA revive working group on security with U.S. participation. |
| |
November 23 |
Israel and the EU formally declare the EU Border Assistance Mission to monitor Gaza-Egypt border. |
<< back to top
2006
| 2006 |
January 4 |
Sharon suffers a massive stroke. Political powers are transferred to Vice PM Ehud Olmert, Sharon’s close ally. |
| |
January 21 |
U.S. acknowledges rumors that it funneled $2 million through USAID to build electoral support for Fatah at the expense of Hamas. |
| |
January 25 |
Hamas’s Change and Reform Party wins a surprise majority in PA legislative elections, taking 74 seats. Fatah wins 45 seats. |
| |
January 27 |
Israel announces suspension of VAT tax transfers to PA, amounting to some $50 million in lost PA revenue per month. |
| |
January 30 |
Quartet says aid to new Hamas-led government should be contingent upon recognition of Israel, economic embargo begins; Russia breaks rank. |
| |
February 4 |
Talks on the formation of a unity government open between Abbas and Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh. |
| |
February 9 |
Putin invites Hamas delegation to Moscow. |
| |
February 18 |
Abbas invites Hamas-affiliated Change and Reform party to form a cabinet. |
| |
February 19 |
Israeli cabinet endorses immediate halt to transfers of VAT taxes owed to the PA. |
| |
March 25 |
Abbas approves Prime Minister Haniyeh’s cabinet slate despite the failure of the platform to endorse previous peace agreements. |
| |
March 27 |
Haniyeh offers to hold talks with the Quartet and to allow any country to send monitors. |
| |
March 28 |
Kadima party led by Prime Minister Olmert won most seats in parliamentary elections. The PC approves Hamas-led cabinet. |
| |
April 5 |
PA Foreign Minister sends a letter to Kofi Annan indicating new government’s acceptance of a two-state solution. |
| |
May 9 |
Quartet conference on aid options; Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) proposed to provide direct aid to Palestinians while bypassing Hamas. |
| |
May 12 |
Haniyeh signals to EU potential for "the recognition of a Palestinian state next to Israel" based on 1967 borders. |
| |
May 17 |
Executive Support Forces deployed for first time; Abbas orders thousands of PA police into the streets, Fatah-Hamas violence escalates. |
| |
May 23 |
Haniyeh signals readiness to cooperate with Israel and reiterates opposition to amending the Hamas Charter. |
| |
June 20 |
Israeli Defense Ministry officials acknowledge that Hamas has been observing the ceasefire announced on June 15. |
| |
June 25 |
Palestinian gunmen attack an IDF border post outside of Gaza and capture Captain Gilad Shalit. |
| |
June 28 |
IDF launches Operation Summer Rains, sending ground troops into south Gaza; retakes the Dahaniyya airport area as a base. |
| |
June 29 |
IDF arrest 64 senior Hamas political officials, including eight PA cabinet members and 26 PC members. |
| |
July 12 |
Hizballah launches a cross border attack on Israel, capturing two soldiers, killing three and wounding two. |
| |
July 13 |
Israeli air strikes on Lebanon and Hizballah Katyusha attacks on Israel. IDF operations in Gaza continue. |
| |
September 1 |
EU says that it would be willing work with a Palestinian unity government even if it included members of Hamas. |
| |
September 11 |
Abbas and Haniyeh announce framework for the formation of a national unity government, but agreement soon falls apart. |
| |
Late September |
U.S. security envoy Keith Dayton launches efforts to open low-level Israeli-Palestinian security talks. |
| |
October 4 |
U.S. plans to double the size of Abbas’s elite presidential guard to 6,000. |
| |
November 1 |
IDF night raid into Gaza; Haniyeh advisor Ahmad Yousef calls on Israel to join a ten-year truce and open final status talks. |
| |
November 12 |
Arab League votes to end financial blockade of Palestinians, calls for international conference with Israel. |
| |
November 13 |
Tony Blair calls on Bush to support Palestinian-Israeli peace to help stabilize Iraq. |
<< back to top
2007
| 2007 |
January 19 |
Israel transfers $100 million of $660 million withheld tax revenues to Abbas according to December 2006 agreement. |
| |
January 27 |
Renewed fighting between Fatah and Hamas in Gaza Strip leads to suspension of attempts to form unity government. |
| |
January 28 |
Fatah and Hamas agree on ceasefire during talks convened by Saudi King Abdullah in Mecca. |
| |
February 8 |
President Abbas, Khalid Meshal, and King Abdullah agree to parameters for national unity government. |
| |
March 21 |
Israel Knesset extends citizenship law that prevents unification of Israeli-Palestinian families. |
| |
April 10 |
U.S. Congress approves $60 million aid package to support Abbas’s National Security Forces. |
| |
April 24 |
Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, fires nearly 100 rockets and mortars into Israel. |
| |
April 25 |
Israel air attack hits Gaza home of Khalid al-Haya, leader of Hamas parliamentary bloc. |
| |
June 12 |
Abbas suspends Fatah activities in unity government after Hamas attacks on Fatah posts in Gaza. |
| |
June 17 |
Abbas appoints Salam Fayyad prime minister of emergency cabinet to reach national unity government under Prime Minister Haniyeh. |
| |
July 1 |
Israel transfers to PA $117 million in tax revenue withheld during 17-month boycott. |
| |
July 20 |
Israel releases 255 Palestinian (mostly Fatah) prisoners; approximately 10,000 Palestinians remain in Israeli prisons. |
| |
August 11 |
Hamas military wing in Gaza announces creation of coast guard. |
| |
November 27 |
Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sponsor conference in Annapolis, Maryland to initiate new negotiations for peace agreement. |
| |
November 28 |
Rice signs agreement to provide $80 million to enhance Abbas’s security forces. |
| |
November 29 |
Palestinian and Israel academics and activists present "One State Declaration." |
<< back to top
2008
| 2008 |
January 10 |
Bush announces his most comprehensive peace plan, including refugee compensation and accommodation of settlements. |
| |
January 18 |
IDF bans all imports into Gaza. |
| |
January 20-21 |
Gaza’s main power plant closes, aid programs suspend food distribution, 40-50% of Gazans lack safe drinking water. |
| |
January 22 |
5,000 Palestinian women protest at Rafah, demanding that Egypt open the border. |
| |
January 23 |
Hamas forces open Rafah border, tens of thousands of Palestinians flow through seeking supplies and medical care. |
| |
January 28 |
Under U.S. and Israeli pressure Egypt begins to reseal border, completes closing on February 3. |
| |
January 30 |
Israeli High Court endorses "economic warfare" on Gaza in response to rocket attacks; fuel and electricity supplies decreased. |
| |
February 25 |
Tens of thousands Palestinians march across Gaza to Israeli border protesting the continued siege. |
| |
February 28 |
IDF launches Operation Hot Winter, killing 20 Palestinians. |
| |
March 1 |
First IDF ground incursion into Gaza since 2005 disengagement; 62 Palestinians killed and 175 wounded. |
| |
March 2 |
Abbas suspends peace talks with Israel. |
| |
March 6 |
Palestinian gunman opens fire on Zionist yeshiva, killing eight Israelis and wounding nine others. |
| |
March 12 |
Haniyeh offers Israel comprehensive ceasefire in exchange for a cessation of Israeli "assassinations, raids and killings." |
| |
April 7 |
Abbas meets with Olmert for the first time since talks were suspended and pledges to continue negotiations. |
| |
May 7 |
60th anniversary of the creation of the state of Israel; Palestinians mark 60 years since the Nakba. |
| |
June 18 |
To bolster new Fatah-led emergency government, U.S. ends aid embargo began January 2006. |
| |
June 19 |
Israel and Hamas agree to truce in Gaza. |
| |
August 25 |
Israel releases 198 Palestinian prisoners to bolster Abbas’s Fatah party, bringing total released to 1,000. |
| |
September 17 |
Tzipi Livni elected leader of Israel’s Kadima party. |
| |
September 21 |
Olmert formally resigns under corruption allegations. |
<< back to top
|
