Dictionary of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Volume 1, Macmillan Reference USA, 2005.
1878
First Jewish settlement in Palestine. Petah Tikvah, several miles outside Tel Aviv, is founded by a group of religious Jews from Jerusalem. By 1882, the Jewish population in Palestine is about 24,000.
1881
Russian czar Alexander II assassinated by revolutionaries. Hundreds of thousands of Jews flee the pogroms (1881-1884) in Russia and Eastern Europe. The Russian Zionist movement, Hibbat Zion (Love of Zion), establishes the first European Jewish farming colonies in Palestine. Because the settlers speak many different languages, Hebrew is revived and used as a common tongue.
1881–1903
First Aliyah. About 30,000 to 40,000 Jews, mostly Eastern European fleeing the pogroms, settle in Palestine during this first wave of immigration.
1896
Publication of Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State). Book written by Theodor Herzl, primarily as a response to European anti-Semitism, claiming that both the world and Jews need a Jewish state. At the First Zionist Congress, the author establishes the Zionist Organization (later known as the World Zionist Organization), which forms the foundation of the Zionist movement.
1897
First Zionist Congress, Basel, Switzerland. Meeting of Jewish leaders to discuss the ideas in Der Judenstaat of establishing a Jewish state. Issues the Basel Programme, which calls for a “home for the Jewish people in Palestine secured by public law.”
1901
Fifth Zionist Congress. Establishes the Jewish National Fund (JNF) to raise funds and buy land in Palestine for Jewish settlers. By the early 2000s, the JNF owns about 14% of the land in Israel.
1903
Sixth Zionist Congress, Uganda proposal. A Zionist homeland is proposed in Uganda in East Africa by Herzl and Great Britain. The suggestion bitterly divides the congress because many Jews trace their homeland back to biblical territories (Palestine) and want to establish a state there.
1903–1914
Second Aliyah. About 35,000 to 40,000 Jews, mostly socialist-Zionists, immigrate to Palestine and establish the kibbutz and Zionist labor movements.
1905
Failed revolution in Russia. Pogroms (1903-1906) force thousands of Jews to flee Eastern Europe. Tens of thousands settle in Palestine.
1914–1918
World War I. As a result of the Allies’ victory, lands previously under Ottoman rule are divided between France and England; Palestine lands under British rule.
1915–1916
Husayn-McMahon correspondence. Series of ten letters between Sharif Husayn ibn Ali, a leader of the Arab nationalist movement and king of the Hijaz, and Sir Henry McMahon, Britain’s high commissioner in Egypt. British pledge support for Arab independence in exchange for an Arab revolt against the Ottomans and an alliance between the sharif and Britain.
1915
Sykes-Picot Agreement. Secret agreement between the French and British that divides Middle Eastern lands between the two countries after World War I. Formally known as the Anglo-Franco-Russian agreement, Britain receives common-day Iraq, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine; France receives common-day Syria and Lebanon.
1916
Balfour Declaration. Letter drafted by Zionist leaders of the British government calling for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. This declaration is in direct conflict with the Husayn-McMahon correspondence (1915-1916), which called for an independent Arab state.
1916–1919
Arab revolt against Ottomans. Arab nationalist movement against Turkish rule of what is now Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and most of the Arabian Peninsula. Backed by British supplies and led by Husayn ibn Ali and his four sons, the Arabs gain control of Mecca and other Ottoman garrisons, thus proclaiming their independence.
1917–1918
British troops occupy Palestine to secure a sea and land route to India.
1917–1922
Russian revolution and civil war. Pogroms (1919-1921) force many Jews to flee Russia, and thousands settle in Palestine.
1918
Muslim-Christian Association formed. Palestinian nationalist organization opposed to Zionism.
1919
Paris (Versailles) Peace Conference. Produces the Treaty of Versailles (1920), which ends World War I and establishes the League of Nations and the mandate system of lands surrendered by Germany. The Treaty of Sèvres (1920) virtually dismantles the Ottoman Empire. Britain gains control of Palestine.
1919
King-Crane Commission. U.S. president Woodrow Wilson sends two representatives, Henry C. King and Charles R. Crane, to Palestine and Syria to gather local reactions to rule under Britain and France. They find that the Palestinians and Syrians are opposed to the mandate system, perceiving it as a form of colonial rule, and want national independence for their countries. Zionists also oppose. British and French disregard the report.
1919–1924
Third Aliyah. About 35,000 Jews, mostly from Poland and Russia, immigrate to Palestine in response to the Russian Revolution.
1920
San Remo (Italy) Conference. Palestine and Iraq are assigned to Britain and Syria and Lebanon are assigned to France as Class A mandates, or trusteeships. Independence is promised only when the British or French determine that political systems are developed enough to be admitted to the League of Nations.
1921
Faisal I ibn Hussein—Amir Faisal—expelled from Syria by the French. A leader of the Arab revolt for nationalism from the Ottomans and king of Syria (1920) and Iraq (1921-1933), Faisal is forced to leave Syria shortly after he is appointed constitutional monarch by a congress of Arab nationalists.
1921
British accept Emir Abdullah as client ruler of Transjordan, install Faysal in Iraq. Britain grants the Palestinian Mandate east of the Jordan River to Abdullah II, who forms the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. Jewish settlement is outlawed.
1922
Churchill White Paper. Policy paper by British government on the tensions between Arab and Jewish communities in Palestine. The statement claims equal protection and rights to both groups: Jewish immigrants should continue to settle in Palestine and have the right to do so; Arabs should not be subordinated by the immigration; and immigration should be economically sustainable by the region.
1922
British and French Mandates confirmed. League of Nations confirms British Mandate in Palestine, Transjordan, and Iraq. Syria and Lebanon are given to French Mandate.
1924–1930
Fourth Aliyah. Due to tough economic conditions, about 80,000 Jews from Poland immigrate to Palestine.
1929
Zionist demonstrations over prayer rights at Western (Wailing) Wall; Palestinian attacks on Jews. At the Western (Wailing) Wall, a holy site to both Jews and Muslims, Zionists protest when the British tear down a partition they had built to separate men and women. Palestinians attack religious Jewish communities, and Jews riot, killing Palestinians. British and police open fire in an attempt to stop the violence. About 250 people die that year.
1930
Passfield White Paper. Policy paper by British government on tensions between Arab and Jewish communities in Palestine finds that Arabs fear their economic, political, and national future is obstructed by Jewish immigration and land ownership, which results in violence against the Jews. Recommends clear policy statements protecting Arab rights and regulating Jewish immigration and land purchase.
1930
Shaw Commission. Commission of inquiry by British government on the violence between Arabs and Jews at the Western (Wailing) Wall in Palestine, 1929. Finds that Arabs are hostile toward immigrating and land-owning Jews because they pose a threat to the future of their economic and political stability and control. Calls for a policy that limits Jewish immigration.
1930
Sir John Hope-Simpson White Paper. Policy paper by British government on the tensions between Arab and Jewish communities in Palestine. Calls for drastic reduction in the number of Jewish immigrants and restrictions on land purchase because of widespread Arab unemployment and lack of farmable land.
1931
MacDonald Letter. Written by British prime minister Ramsay MacDonald (1924, 1929-35) to Zionist leader and future president of Israel, Chaim Weizmann. The letter reaffirms British support for Arab and non-Arab people in Palestine while expressing a responsibility to establish Jewish homeland in the region.
1931–1939
Fifth Aliyah. About 225,000 Jews, mostly educated and professional, immigrate to Palestine to flee the Nazis’s increasing hold over Germany.
1933
Nazi accession to power in Germany. Anti-Semitic policies lead many Jews to flee Eastern Europe. At first, Nazis support the immigration to Palestine, as it helps their ethnic cleansing policies. However, once the Jewish population seeks statehood, Hitler sees a possible threat in the eastern European refugees.
1933–1945
Holocaust in Europe. Anti-Jewish policies of the Third Reich (Nazi Germany, 1933-1945) that include land and rights seizures; forced migrations into ghettos, work camps, and concentration camps; and the systematic genocide of six million Jews. Hundreds of thousands of Jews flee Europe to Palestine, as both legal immigrants and refugees.
1936
General strike and formation of the Arab Higher Committee. Palestinians strike against the British and the Jewish economy, determined to continue until Jewish immigration ceases, land sales are prohibited to Jews, and a national government and elected assembly are established. Five days into the strike, Palestinians form the Arab Higher Committee to present Arab demands to the British government.
1936–1939
Palestinian insurrection (“Arab Revolt”). Revolt against British support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Beginning with the general strike in 1936, the revolt escalates to full combat with the British and Jewish population from 1937-1938. About 10% of the adult male Palestinian population is killed, injured, or detained; the revolt has disastrous consequences for the Palestinian economy and leadership.
1937
Peel Commission Report. British Royal Commission Report that outlines solutions to tensions and unrest between the Arab Palestinians and Jewish immigrants. It concludes that the mandate system cannot work without repressing the Arab population and recommends that Palestine be divided into two nations, one Jewish and one Arab. The Jewish Agency accepts the plan, but opposes the borders and insists that the Palestinian population be deported from the Jewish state. The Palestinians’ Arab Higher Committee denounces the plan, arguing that they have 70% of the population and 90% of the land and that Palestine should remain a unified state.
1937
Bludan Conference. Meeting of delegates from Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Transjordan, Iraq, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia to discuss the Peel Commission. They reject the recommendation of splitting Palestine into Jewish and Arab states and call for a boycott of Jewish goods and British goods if the commission is carried out.
1938
Publication of The Arab Awakening. Book written by George Antonius, an Egyptian-born Christian and member of the British Palestine Administration. Discusses, from an Arab point of view, the origins of Arab nationalism, the significance of the Arab Revolt (1916), and the consequences of the British mandate system of dividing the Arab world after World War I.
1938
Woodhead Partition Commission. British report that retracts the Peel Commission’s suggestion to partition Palestine.
1939
London (St. James/Roundtable) Conference. British host discussions between Arabs and Jews of Palestine on the future political situation in the Mandate. Talks held through British intermediaries, as the Arabs and Jews will not meet face-to-face. The Arabs call for the end of the mandate system, the creation of an independent Arab state, an end to Jewish immigration and land sales to Jews, and minority rights for Jews. The Jews call for an increased immigration to Palestine, especially with Hitler’s rise to power and growing anti-Semitism in Europe.
1939
MacDonald White Paper. Policy paper issued by the British government outlining Britain’s proposals from the London Conference on the post-Mandate government of Palestine. It calls for Jewish immigration to be limited to 75,000 over five years, after which Arab approval will be needed, limited land purchase by Jews, and promised self-government for Palestinians within ten years. Jews will have minority rights. Because of the outbreak of World War II, this policy is largely unimplemented.
1939–1945
World War II. British and French fight to se-cure their interests in the Middle East from the Germans. At the end of the war, Britain and France maintain control of the region.
1942
Biltmore Conference. New York City conference of about 600 American Zionists, plus many from around the world. They demand implementation of the Balfour Declaration (1916), which calls for a Jewish homeland, denounce the 1939 MacDonald White Paper as “cruel” in its quota of Jewish immigration to Palestine during a time of persecution and genocide in Hitler’s Germany, and declare that there will never be peace in the world without a Jewish homeland. Sponsorship for Jewish immigration to Palestine shifts from Britain to the United States.
1943
National Pact in Lebanon, effective independence established. Christian and Muslim leaders come together to negotiate terms of a government independent of French influence in Lebanon.
1945
Arab League (League of Arab States) established. Formed to express the economic and security needs of Arab states. First founded with 7 Arab states; In 2004, it has 22 members.
1946
Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry. American and British collaboration formed to address the Arab-Israel conflict and Jewish refugees and survivors of the Holocaust.
1946
Morrison-Grady Plan for Palestine. Report by Britain’s Herbert Morrison and United States’ Henry Grady calling for a semi-autonomous Palestine divided into Jewish and Arab regions. Limits Jewish immigration to 100,000 in the first year, then to be determined by Britain, with Britain controlling the military, foreign relations, immigration, and customs. Rejected by both the Jews and Arabs.
1946
Anglo-American Conference (second Bludan Conference). Arab League meets to discuss Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry report. They criticize American interference in Palestine, suggest a boycott of Jewish goods, and vow to help the Palestinian Arabs.
1946
France leaves Syria and Lebanon; British end Mandate over Transjordan.
1947
United Nations votes partition plan (Resolution 181). Award Jews a homeland in Palestine. With one-third of the population and 7% of the land ownership, Jews are awarded 55% of Palestine. The plan is violently rejected by Arab Palestinians.
1948
Dayr Yasin (Deir Yasin) massacre. Surprise attack and massacre on Palestinian village outside Jerusalem kills 105 to 205 people and leaves the village in ruins. Conducted by Jewish paramilitary units, National Military Organization (led by Menachem Begin) and Fighters for the Freedom of Israel.
1948
British Mandate on Palestine expires on 14 May. British relinquish Mandate. Next day Jews proclaim the independent State of Israel. David Ben-Gurion, the Zionist leader, becomes Israel’s first prime minister. Neighboring Arab countries send in troops to combat the Jews as British depart.
1948–1949
Arab-Israel war; known as Nakba to the Arabs and the War of Independence to the Jews. In Arabic, Nakba means “disaster” or “catastrophe.” This war over the establishment of an Israeli state in Palestine results in the displacement of 700,000 to 750,000 Arabs (more than half the Arab population in the Mandate), confiscation of property, massacres, and the loss of a Palestinian homeland and society. Neighboring Arab countries (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq) come to the aid of the Palestinians. Israel extends its boundaries by about 2,500 square miles.
1948
Count Folke Bernadotte assassinated; UN General Assembly passes Resolution 194. Bernadotte, a United Nations mediator in Israel and Palestine, proposes a truce between Arabs and Jews, which is broken and restored several times. In the two versions of the Bernadotte Plan for Arab-Israeli Settlement, boundaries are proposed in which Jerusalem goes to Transjordan (version 1) or is placed under United Nations control (version 2). Displaced Palestinians are offered repatriation or compensation for resettlement. Israel is to be recognized as an independent state. Both Arabs and Israelis reject his plan. On September 17, Bernadotte is gunned down by the Israeli group LEHI in Jerusalem.
1948
All-Palestine government; Palestine declaration of independence. In response to the formation of the Israeli state, the Palestinians declare the need for an Arab government to represent and defend their interests. It is backed by surrounding Arab countries, but ultimately is ineffective.
1949
General armistice agreements between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Peace agreements, sponsored by the United Nations and mediated by Ralphe Bunche, put an end to the 1948 Arab-Israel War.
1951
King Abdullah I is assassinated by a group of disgruntled Palestinians thought to have been working for Egypt’s intelligence agency. In 1950, Abdullah I had held a conference in which it was proposed that the East and West Banks of Palestine were to be part of Jordan with parliamentary representation. The proposition was adopted unanimously and Abdullah became king of Palestine.
1953
Revolution in Egypt. Led by Nasser and the Free Officers, the coup overthrows the monarchy of King Farouk installed by the British. A republic is formed.
1954
Lavon Affair. Also known as the “mishap.” Israeli-trained espionage group of Egyptian Jews are caught in mid-sabotage. They claim orders came from the head of the Intelligence Division of the Israeli Defense Forces, Colonel Benjamin Gibli, who in turn cites orders from Pinchas Lavon, the minister of defense. Lavon’s involvement cannot be proven. The scandal extends into the 1960s and ultimately leads to the temporary withdrawal of David Ben-Gurion from politics in 1963.
1954
Moshe Sharett becomes prime minister of Israel when Ben-Gurion resigns.
1955
David Ben-Gurion elected prime minister of Israel for the second time.
1956
Arab-Israel War; Suez Crisis and War. The United States, Britain, and the World Bank pull out support for loans to Egypt after ties between Egypt and the Soviet Union grow closer. Egypt retaliates by nationalizing the Suez Canal Company, of which Britain is the largest shareholder. In response, Britain and France declare war on Egypt with support and troops from Israel. Under pressure by the United States, Britain, France, and Israel accept a cease-fire after about ten days of fighting.
1958
Founding of United Arab Republic (UAR). The UAR combines Syria and Egypt from 1958-1961 and poses a threat to the West with Nasser’s pan-Arab mission and anti-Western stance.
1958
Civil war in Lebanon, U.S. intervention. Sparked by the killing of a journalist, but rooted in grievances of political access, corrupt elections, elitist politics, and representation in government. Lebanon’s president, Camille Chamoun, blames the UAR for inciting the violence and requests military intervention by the United States on his behalf.
1958
Revolution in Iraq. Hashemite monarchy, installed by British in 1921, violently overthrown in military coup led by the Free Officers. The revolution’s goals are to rid the region of imperialistic forces and promote social and cultural reform. It results in a republican government and a foreign policy of nonalignment.
1959
Al-Fatah (Palestinian Liberation Movement) founded. Palestinian nationalist movement founded by Yasir Arafat. Its mission is to liberate Palestine by Palestinians, not by outside Arab assistance, through methods of armed struggle, not negotiation.
1961
Dissolution of UAR. Syria becomes increasingly dissatisfied with its diminishing role in the government; the Baʿthist party is dismissed and Nasser’s policies seem more like an occupation than a collaboration. Syria’s contingency in the army mounts a coup, which is met by little resistance from Nasser.
1963
Levi Eshkol becomes prime minister of Israel upon Ben-Gurion’s resignation.
1964
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestine National Council (PNC) founded; Palestine National Covenant approved. Formed as a result of the first Arab Summit in Cairo, the PLO’s mission is to be an organized representative body of Palestinian nationalism and liberation. The PNC is its parliamentary branch. The Covenant calls for a liberation of Palestine by the Palestinians and the end of Israel.
1967
Arab-Israel War, also known as the Six-Day War. Issues left simmering from the British Mandate period—Palestinian refugees, water rights, and border with Arab States, arms race, growing Arab nationalism, and Israel’s right to exist—lead to war between Israel and Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt. As a result of the war, Israel increases its land mass by almost three times and includes Egypt’s Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula, Jordan’s West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights from Syria.
1967
UN Security Council Resolution 242. The “land for peace resolution” calls for peace in the region based on Israel’s withdrawal from lands won during the 1967 war and a recognition of secure boundaries. Little progress is made on the resolution.
1967
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) founded. Unites three groups: Heroes of the Return, the National Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Independent Palestine Liberation Front. Mission based on Palestinian national sovereignty, Arab unity, opposition to the State of Israel, and Marxist-Leninist ideology, borrowing some of Fidel Castro’s methods. Second in importance and influence to al-Fatah.
1968
Palestine National Charter revised. After the Arab defeat in the 1967 war, the charter is revised to emphasize an Arab Palestinian homeland, national sovereignty, and self-determination. Calls for armed struggle to gain liberation.
1969
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) founded. Marxist-Leninist group organized to liberate Palestine.
1969
Golda Meir becomes prime minister of Israel upon Eshkol’s death.
1970
“Black September.” Term used by some Palestinians (PLO and PFLP) to describe their defeat in the Jordanian Civil War. They had staged attacks against Israel from the Jordanian border since 1967, which provoked Israeli counter-attacks. The Jordanian army wins after ten days and thousands of casualties, many of which are civilian Palestinian refugees. A radical Palestinian terrorist group founded by members of al-Fatah takes this name.
1970
Gamal Abdel Nasser dies. President of Egypt from 1956-1970 and figurehead of pan-Arab nationalism, Arab socialism, and anti-Israel policies dies of a heart attack.
1971
PLO expelled from Jordan. At the end of the Jordanian Civil War (1970-1971), the Jordanian army ousts the PLO from the country, pushing them into southern Lebanon.
1973
Arab-Israel War, also known as the October War, Yom Kippur War, or Ramadan War. Caused by failure to resolve territorial disputes from the 1967 war. After diplomatic efforts fail, Egypt and Syria, backed by Soviet Union arms, plan a secret two-front attack on Israel, which is supported by United States weapons. A cease-fire is called when the United States proclaims a military alert in response to the Soviet Union’s offer to send troops to Egypt. The war results in thousands of dead and injured and a dependence on the Soviet Union (Egypt) and the United States (Israel) for military support.
1973
UN Security Council Resolution 338. Passed during the cease-fire of the 1973 war. Calls for an immediate end to military operations, implementation of Resolution 242 (from 1967), and a start to peace negotiations.
1974
Yitzhak Rabin elected prime minister of Israel. First native-born prime minister. Makes major strides in diplomacy with Jordan and Palestine. Shimon Peres succeeds him in 1977 after a financial scandal.
1974
PLO implicitly accepts two-state solution. At the PNC in 1974, the PLO modifies its goal of liberating all of Palestine and focuses on creating a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.
1974
UN and Arab League accept PLO as sole legitimate representative of Palestinians. Yasir Arafat makes first appearance at the UN proposing peace.
1974
Suez I, or Sinai I, agreement between Israel and Egypt. Cease-fire agreement ending the 1973 war; moderated by U.S. Secretary of State Kissinger. Israeli troops pull back west from the Suez Canal and east on the Sinai front of the canal. Three buffer security zones are created for Israel, Egypt, and the UN.
1975
Suez II, or Sinai II, agreement between Israel and Egypt. Cease-fire agreement ending the 1973 war moderated by U.S. secretary of state Kissinger. Israel withdraws troops an additional 12 to 26 miles and the UN occupies buffer zone.
1975
UN General Assembly Resolution 3379. Equates Zionism with racism.
1975–1990
Lebanese Civil War. Series of domestic disruptions in southern Lebanon where the PLO is based and many Palestinian refugees live. Much fighting occurs in the region between Israelis and Palestinians.
1977
Menachem Begin elected prime minister of Israel. First right-wing prime minister. His term is marked by diplomacy with Egypt.
1978
First Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Israel backs the Lebanese Forces, a coalition of right-wing militias, and Syria backs the Palestinians. Israel invades to rid the region of pro-Palestinian groups and PLO training camps and occupies a strip of land called “the security zone.”
1978
Camp David Accords. Peace negotiations between Israel and Egypt, mediated and hosted by the United States. Calls for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 242 “land for peace” principle whereby Israel will return the Sinai to Egypt (pre-1967 borders) in exchange for peace. Palestine and Lebanon oppose the accords. The establishment of an autonomous Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza is not achieved. The accords mark the first time an Arab nation officially recognizes the statehood of Israel.
1979
Egypt-Israel peace treaty. Treaty signed by Egypt and Israel as a result of the Camp David Accords. The two agreements include “A Framework for Peace in the Middle East” and “A Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel.”
1979
Revolution in Iran. Overthrow of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the last monarch of the 450-year old Safavid dynasty. The shah had used the secret police to repress dissident voices during a period of social, economic, and cultural change. Its leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, opposed the shah’s alliance with the United States and his support of Israel. A religious Islamist state replaces the monarchy.
1980–1988
Iran-Iraq War (First Gulf War). Iraq launch-es a surprise attack on Iran in 1980 because, according to Iraq, Iran was plotting raids across the border. Missile attacks and raids last for eight years, mostly on Iraqi soil, taking hundreds of thousands of lives. The UN Security Council intervenes in 1987 when international ships are threatened in the Gulf.
1981
Anwar al-Sadat assassinated. President of Egypt and successor to Nasser killed by three Egyptian soldiers discontented that Sadat did not ensure a liberated Palestine at the Camp David Accords and by Egypt’s deteriorating economic condition.
1982
Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon (“Operation Peace for Galilee”). A PLO rocket attack on Israel prompts Israel to invade Lebanon and rid the area of PLO forces and Syrian troops. Israeli forces reach Beirut and the conflict takes over 20,000 lives. The U.S. mediates and expels PLO and Syrian troops from Beirut.
1982
Sabra and Shatila massacre. From 800 to 2000 Palestinian refugees, mostly women, children, and the elderly, are massacred at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by the Phalange (Lebanese Christian militias). Israeli troops, which had invaded West Beirut and surrounded the camps, stand back while the massacres take place. Defense Minister Ariel Sharon is found indirectly responsible for the killings.
1982
PLO expelled from Lebanon. Although the mission of the Israeli invasion is to wipe out the PLO in Beirut, they succeed in transplanting the PLO to Tunis, Tunisia.
1983
Yitzhak Shamir becomes prime minister of Israel.
1984
Shimon Peres becomes prime minister of Israel.
1986
Yitzhak Shamir becomes prime minister of Israel for second time.
1987–1994
First Intifada. Palestinian uprisings in the West Bank and Gaza against Israeli policies of land and property seizure and demolition, censorship, restricted travel and construction, and military tribunals instead of civilian courts. The uprisings escalate from labor strikes, boycotts against Israeli goods, demonstrations, and Palestinian youths throwing stones at Israeli troops in 1987 to riots and violence in 1994. More than 20,000 people die.
1987
HAMAS founded. Palestinian liberation group with the mission of establishing an Islamic Palestinian state. Employs methods of terror and violence.
1988
Algiers Declaration. Palestinian statehood proclaimed at PNC meeting.
1990
Iraq occupies Kuwait. After eight years of fighting with Iran, Iraq is left in severe debt. Accuses Kuwait of overproduction of oil to lower the price per barrel, which is seen as an act of war. U.S. forces are sent to protect Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia, under the operation Desert Shield.
1990
Taʾif Accord ends Lebanese Civil War. Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Algeria make recommendations to Lebanon and Syria to end the war and establish Syria and Lebanon’s relationship with Israel.
1991
Multinational war against Iraq (“Operation Desert Storm,” Second Gulf War). A major five-week air offensive and 100-hour ground campaign, led by the United States, drives the Iraqis out of Kuwait.
1991
UN General Assembly Resolution 4686. Revokes Resolution 3379, which equates Zionism with racism.
1991–1993
Madrid Peace Conference. U.S.-led and -mediated talks between Israel, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine. First time Israeli, Palestinian, and Arab diplomats (except Egypt) meet for public peace talks. Arab states recognize Israel as a nation.
1992
Yitzhak Rabin elected prime minister of Israel for second time.
1993
Oslo Accords I; Palestinian-Israeli “Declaration of Principles.” Secret talks between PLO and Israel resulting in a land-for-peace agreement. PLO and Israel agree to recognize each other and sign the “Declaration of Principles,” which outlines sovereignty for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank for five years. PLO gives up claims to territory won by Israel in the 1967 war.
1994
Hebron massacre. U.S.-born Israeli settler opens fire on Palestinian worshippers at the al-Haram al-Ibrahimi mosque, killing 29.
1994
Cairo Agreement. Outlines Israel’s withdrawal from parts of the West Bank and Gaza. A five-year plan is laid out for further Israeli withdrawals, negotiations on Jerusalem, settlements, refugees, and Palestinian sovereignty.
1994
Institution of Palestinian Authority. Autonomous Palestinian government set up in the West Bank and Gaza, chaired by Yasir Arafat and comprised of other PLO ministers.
1995
Oslo Accords II (Taba Accord). Set the stage for Palestinian elections, security, economic relations, and legal and civil matters. The accords do not lead to peace. Instead, escalating violence and terrorism rack the area in the late 1990s and into the 2000s.
1995
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin assassinated. Israeli prime minister killed by Jewish extremists who are opposed to his peace negotiations with Palestine. Shimon Peres succeeds him.
1996
First Palestinian elections for PLO president and Palestinian National Congress. Arafat wins election for president.
1996
Benjamin Netanyahu elected prime minister of Israel. Netanyahu’s Likud Party campaigns against the Olso Accords and Peres and Rabin’s peace process with Palestine.
1998
Wye River Memorandum. Document produced by talks between Israel and the United States after an 18-month stagnation of the peace process. Calls for Israel to hand over 80% of Hebron and outlines further withdrawals from the West Bank.
1999
Ehud Barak runs on a Labor platform and is elected prime minister of Israel. Barak, running on a platform of bringing peace between Israel and Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine, wins the election and resumes peace talks with Palestine.
2000
Israel withdraws from Lebanon. Barak calls the army out of the region, except for the area of the Shab’a Farms, which Israel maintains is Syrian territory and therefore can occupy with troops.
2000–
Second Intifada (al-Aqsa Intifada). In reaction to Ariel Sharon’s tour of the al-Aqsa mosque (Islam’s third holiest shrine) with 1000 riot police, Palestinians take to the streets in demonstration. Israeli police shoot live ammunition and rubber bullets at the crowd, killing six. Fundamentally, the Palestinians rise up against the dead-end peace process. They are against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, the growing number of settlements in the area, land seizures, home and property destruction, and restricted travel.
2001
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations at Taba. U.S. -mediated talks that lay the final plans for Israeli withdrawals and Palestinian refugees. Time runs out on the accords before the details can be agreed upon and the proposals are not followed through.
2001
Ariel Sharon elected prime minister of Israel. Sharon advocates harsh punishments for Palestinian terror groups and campaigns against the Oslo peace accords. He wants a Greater Israel and encourages the settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. Violence escalates and Israel re-occupies almost all of the West Bank during Sharon’s time in office.
2001
Palestinians claim Zionism is racist. At the World National Conference Against Racism, Palestinians claim that they are victims of crimes against humanity and the Zionist movement is racist.
2003–
U.S.-UK war against, and occupation of, Iraq. Without UN support, the United States, Britain, and a coalition of countries send troops into Iraq to depose Saddam Hussein. Although the stated mission is to remove weapons of mass destruction from Iraq, none are found.
2004–
Israel to withdraw unilaterally from Gaza Strip. Announcement made by Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon in February seen as source of clashes with settlers, bitter disagreements in Israel, and potential split within Likud. On 26 October, the Knesset approves Sharon’s plan, which calls for Gaza’s complete evacuation by end of 2005.
2004
In mid-October, Yasir Arafat grows increasingly weak with an unknown illness. On 29 October he is allowed to leave his compound in Ramallah to seek medical help. He is taken to a military hospital outside Paris for diagnosis and treatment.
2004–
Yasir Arafat dies 11 November from an unknown illness. Mahmud Abbas sworn in as PLO chairman. Rawhi Fattuh sworn in as interim president of the Palestinian Authority. Faruq Qaddumi named al-Fatah leader.