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1948 War
It started on May 15, 1946. It ended on March 10, 1949. As Israel declared independence, its neighboring countries- Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, & Iraq- attacked Israel. As a result of a strong Israeli military, Israel gained land. Egypt gained the Gaza Strip and Jordan also gained the West Bank and East Jerusalem. However, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and Jews became refugees. -
Six Day War
The Six Day War occurred from June 5 to June 10, 1967. Egypt blockaded Israel. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq moved troops to Israel’s borders and made threatening statements. Finally, they launched a preemptive strike. However, Israel had a powerful army and captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the Gaza Strip and all of the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt. Unfortunately, more Palestinians and Jews became refugees with more often terrorist acts. -
Settlement Construction Begins
This occurs after the 6 Day War when Isreal decides to build settlements in Sinai, Gaza and West Bank for civilians and to prevent attacks. It started In November 1967 and still is continuing. From 3,200 West Bank settlers, it increased to 300,000. However, protecting all of the settlements drains the Isreali military. -
Attrition Battles
The Attrition Battles occurred from July 1, 1967, to August 7, 1970. After gaining land from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Isreal offered them back in exchange for peace, recognition, and the right to exist. When Arab nations met, they declared their unwillingness to make peace. As a result, Egypt made small scale attacks against Isreal. The PLO also attacked the Isreali military personnel and civilian bases in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt. PLO was also banned from Jordan. -
Yom Kippur War
This occurred from October 6, 1973, to October 26, 1973. Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on Yom Kippur, a very important Jewish holiday. The Israelis pushed back the Arabs, who attacked this day to catch the Israelis off guard. After the battle, Israel realized that the attacking troops would have easily overrun Israel if not for the time it took for the invading forces to move through the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai. -
Egypt and Israel sign a Peace Agreement
Egypt and Isreal sign a Peace Agreement on March 26, 1979. This was very important because Egypt became the first Arab Country to recognize Israel and to enter into a peace treaty with it. As a result, Israel returned to Egypt all of the Sinai that had been captured during 1967 War and removed Jewish families from homes -
The 1982 Lebanon War
This occurred from June 6, 1982, to June 15, 1985. The PLO units in Southern Lebanon increasing attacked communities in response. Northern Israel launched an attack on PLO militaries in Lebanon. Israeli troops expelled PLO leadership from Lebanon to Tunisia. -
The First Intifada
It occurred from December 8, 1987, to September 13, 1993. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank engaged in an uprising or intifada against Israeli control of these territories Palestinians attacked Israelis with improvised weapons. Palestinian lives lost during military countermeasures equal of Palestinian in fighting back. -
The Oslo Accords
The Oslo Accords were a set of agreements that began in 1993 when Israel and the PLO signed the DOP. It led to the creation of the Palestinian Authority. It also forced Israel to withdraw its military from the Gaza Strip. -
Israel and Jordan Sign A Peace Treaty
Jordan and Israel sign a Peace Treaty, led the United States.
Trade, business relations, tourism, cultural exchanges, and scientific cooperation increased. -
The Camp David Summit
The summit took place between July 11 to July 25, 2000. Bill Clinton brought Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to Camp David in July 2000.
It was the first major attempt to make peace, but Arafat refused to sign it. -
Arab Peace Initiative is Proposed
ln March 2002, the Arab King proposed a peace initiative that was endorsed by all of the members of the Arab league. The proposal offered Israel peace in return for Israel giving back territories captured in the 1967 War. Israel welcomed the proposal but did not want to withdraw from the territories captured. This was the first time that the Arab League sent an official delegation to Israel. -
Israel Begins Constructing the West Bank Barrier
In 2002, Israel built a barrier that would separate its citizens from the terrorists in the West Bank. The fence has been successful at preventing terrorist attacks but it has been criticized for preventing some Palestinians from land of places to work -
The Roadmap for Peace Is Proposed
It was a plan for peace that proposed an Independent Palestinian state and stabilized Israel. It was divided into three pieces. It failed because Palestinian a terrorist group, Hamas, became elected into Palestinian office. (Hamas was a group hell-bent on destroying the Israelis) The agreement was made possible when a new president was elected. -
Second Intifada
The Second Intifada occurred from September 28, 2000, to February 8, 2005. ln September 2000, Israeli General Ariel Sharon visited the Jewish Temple Mount, a site important to the Jews and Muslims. Many Palestinians said that Sharon's visit was not proactive while Israelis claimed that Sharon's visit was the beginning of the violence, not its cause. This was known as the Second Intifada, which caused great bloodshed and suffering on both sides. -
Israel Disengages from Gaza
ln 2005, The Prime Minister moved ahead with the policy of Disengagement from Gaza. This was very controversial in Israel because the Israeli citizens who lived there did not want to leave.
Nevertheless, Israel decided to remove itself from this territory so that the Palestinians living there could govern themselves. Since Israel withdrew from Gaza, the number of rockets fired by terrorists from Gaza into Israel has increased dramatically. The disengagement was completed by September 2005. -
Hamas Is Elected
On January 25, 2006, Palestinians elected a majority of Hamas members to the Palestinian Authority's legislature over the PLO's Fatah party that had previously been in power. People did this because they thought the Hamas won elections because of corruption of the previous government. Hamas had called for the destruction of Israel and for the killing of Jews. The group was responsible for hundreds of terrorist attacks. -
The 2006 Lebanon War
On July 11, 2006, Hezbollah (A radical terrorist organization) crossed the Lebanon-Israel border and attacked an Israeli Army unit, killing 8 soldiers and kidnapping 2 more. At the same time, it became firing rockets into Israeli citizens and towns. Israel launched airstrikes on suspected Hezbollah military targets. Hezbollah used a human shield strategy by stationing weapons in towns with civilians. Many civilians died, and lots of property was destroyed. It ended on August 11, 2006. -
The Battle of Gaza
From June 7, 2007, to June 15, 2007, Hamas militants attacked Fatah members throughout Gaza. As a result, the Palestinian Authority president dissolved the Hamas government. Today, there are two Palestinian governments: Hamas controls Gaza and the Palestinian Authority controls the West Bank. -
The Gaza War
The Gaza War occurred from December 27, 2008, to January 18, 2009. The Israel military attacked Hamas targets in Gaza in an attempt to stop rocket attacks on southern Israel and to disrupt terrorist infrastructure and weapons smuggling. There were also many civilian casualties and Gaza's buildings and the economy was heavily damaged. -
The Gaza Flotilla Incident
After Hamas seized power from Palestinian Authority, Israel and Egypt began a blockade to prevent weapons smuggling. If ships wanted to pass through, they had to go through an inspection. A Turkish boat wanted to enter, so Isreal decided to inspect it first. After Israeli officers were attacked, they fought back, resulting in 9 killed Turkish sailors , and the agreement between Turkey and Israel was dissolved. -
The Arab Spring
Citizens in Arab states began to protest against autocratic and oppressive governments. It was known as the Arab Springs. As a result, Egyptian President resigned on February 11. Protests have occurred in Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Syria, Yemen, and other countries. There has not been a clear end date yet.
