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Period: to
1
The Zionist movement was founded in response to the worsening persecution of European Jews
and out of the desire to join the community of modern nation-states that defined Europe.
Thousands of Jews began immigrating to Palestine, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. -
Period: to
1
The Zionist movement was founded in response to the worsening persecution of European Jews
and out of the desire to join the community of modern nation-states that defined Europe.
Thousands of Jews began immigrating to Palestine, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. -
Period: to
1
The Zionist movement was founded in response to the worsening persecution of European Jews
and out of the desire to join the community of modern nation-states that defined Europe.
Thousands of Jews began immigrating to Palestine, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. -
2
As a result of World War I, Britain wins control over the area of Palestine from the Ottoman
Empire. The area becomes known as British-mandate Palestine. [A mandate is an authorization
to govern over conquered territory]. From 1918 to 1948, Britain governs over the Jews and
Arabs living in this territory.
19 -
3
Britain gives the area of British-mandate Palestine east of the Jordan River to Emir Abdullah, to
form the Hashemite Kingdom of TransJordan. This area is now known as the country of Jordan.
The first major intercommunal violence of the mandate period erupts along the Jaffa-Tel Aviv
border on May Day, leaving scores of Jews and Arabs dead. -
4
The second major intercommunal violence erupts in Jerusalem, spreading throughout the country,
particularly in Hebron, where sixty-seven Jews are killed. Link text -
5
Israeli troops seize territory controlled by the Palestinians for the first time since the start of the Oslo process. Israeli troops seize the Gaza Strip and divide the territory into three parts. -
6
The General Assembly of the United Nations recommended the partition of British-mandate
Palestine into two separate states, one for Jews and one for Arabs. Fighting breaks out soon
thereafter, as all the surrounding Arab states rejected the partition plan. -
7
In May, Zionist leaders proclaimed the state of Israel. Fighting breaks out between the newly declared state of Israel and its Arab neighbors as British troops are leaving the country. The war is known by Israelis as the “Milhemet Haatzma’ut,” or “War of Independence” by Israelis or “al-Nakbah” or “the Catastrophe,” by Palestinians. -
8
Jordan establishes control over the West Bank with the tacit agreement of Israel and Egypt
establishes control of the Gaza Strip. Control of Jerusalem is split between Israel in the west and
Jordan in the east. -
9
Following an Arab League decision, 422 Palestinian national figures meet in Jerusalem under the
chairmanship of Ahmad Shuqeiri, who founded the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and
laid down the structure of the Palestine National Council (PNC), the PLO Executive Committee,
the National Fund and the Palestine Liberation Army (PLA). The meeting also approved a
Palestinian national covenant and basic law -
10
In what Israelis call the “Six Day War” and Palestinians refer to as “al-Naksah,” or “the Setback,” Israel conducts a pre-emptive attack against Egypt and gains control over territory formerly controlled by Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Israel gains control over the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan. In six days, Israel roughly triples the size of the territory under its control. -
11
Egypt and Syria organize a surprise attack on Israeli forces in the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan
Heights on the day of the Jewish fast of Yom Kippur and the Muslim month of Ramadan, in
which the annual fast is performed. The war lasted for 3 weeks, ending on October 22 on the
Syrian front and October 26 on the Egyptian front. -
12
The Arab League declares the P.L.O. the sole spokesman for the Palestinian Arabs. -
13
In what has become an annual event, the first “Land Day” protests by Palestinian citizens of Israel
erupt to protest Government confiscations of Palestinian land and other discrimination in access
to land and housing. -
14
Israeli commandos rescue 98 Israeli and Jewish hostages in Entebbe, Uganda, held by Palestinians
who hijacked an Air France Airbus. -
15
President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel and President Jimmy
Carter of the United States sign the Camp David accords. Israel agrees to hand back the Sinai
Peninsula to Egypt in return for peace and normalization. -
16
Israel invades Lebanon and establishes a “security zone” in Southern Lebanon in order to block
Hezbollah (a Lebanese Shi’a Muslim group whose name means “Party of God” in Arabic) forces
from staging attacks on Northern Israeli communities from Lebanon. The Israeli Army reaches
Beirut and succeeds in driving out Yasser Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Arafat moves his organization to Tunisia. -
17
A Palestinian Intifada [“uprising” in Arabic] begins in the West Bank and Gaza. The Intifada was in protest of continued Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and involved demonstrations, strikes, riots and violence. The most symbolically important act of the Intifada was the stoning of Israeli security forces and civilians, often performed by young men and boys. -
18
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat condemns all forms of terrorism and recognizes the state of Israel.
U.S. President Ronald Reagan authorizes the U.S. to enter into a “substantive dialogue” with the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Israel remains hostile to the PLO. Jordan renounces all
territorial claims to the West Bank. The next day, in a clear show of support for the PLO, the UN
General Assembly passed Resolution 53/196, which “reaffirmed the inalienable rights of” -
19
The Madrid Peace Conference takes place in Madrid, Spain. The conference includes delegations
from Israel, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and the Palestinians. The Madrid conference marks
the first time most of the Arab parties (except for Egypt) and Israel sat down at a table together.
The conference is organized along bi-lateral [involving or participated in by two nations] lines as
well as multilateral [participated in by more than two nations] lines. -
20
Secret talks between Israeli and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) negotiators begin in
Oslo, Norway. On September 13, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin sign a Declaration of Principles in Washington on the basis of the negotiations
between Israeli and Palestinian teams in Oslo, Norway. -
21
In May, Israel and the PLO reach the “Cairo Agreement,” which included an
Israeli military withdrawal from about 60% of the Gaza Strip (Jewish settlements and their
environs are excluded) and the West Bank town of Jericho. -
22
A series of Hamas suicide bomb attacks kills 57 Israelis. Shimon Peres suspends negotiations with
Syria. Hamas is an Islamist political group founded in 1988 that opposes Israel and rejects the
Oslo peace process and other negotiations. Hamas is not an abbreviation but a nickname, and
comes from the Arabic for “zeal.” The full name is Harakatu Mujawamati Islamiya, or Islamic
Resistance Movement. Link text -
23
In May, Likud candidate Binyamin Netanyahu wins the election for prime minister, defeating
incumbent Shimon Peres, of the Labor party. Netanyahu had campaigned against the Labor
party’s approach to the peace process, promising that he would provide “Peace with Security.”
Yet in September, violence claims the lives of 61 Arabs and 15 Israeli soldiers over Israel’s opening
of an archaeological tunnel site close to Muslim shrines in Jerusalem. -
24
Israel unilaterally withdraws from the area of Lebanon it was occupying since
1982. And in July, a peace summit between Palestinian and Israeli leaders and negotiators at
Camp David ends deadlocked over competing claims to Jerusalem and the issue of Palestinians
refugees. Palestinians and Israelis accused each other of not being willing to make the
compromises necessary for an agreement. -
25
Ariel Sharon, the
leader of Likud [Israel’s right-wing political party], visits the Temple Mount, known to Muslims
as the Haram al-Sharif (“Noble Sanctuary”) with 1,000 Israeli soldiers. A Palestinian protest of
Sharon’s visit turns violent and sparks demonstrations and violence that have continued until
today. -
26
Likud Party (Israel’s right wing) candidate Ariel Sharon is elected as Prime Minister of Israel,
beating Ehud Barak by more than 20 percentage points. Sharon campaigned on the platform of
“Peace with Security,” and promised that he would take a different approach to the Palestinian
conflict than the Oslo Peace Process approach. -
27
Israeli security cabinet votes to give the Israeli Defense
Forces (IDF) a broader license to target Palestinian terrorists. Formerly, the IDF was only
permitted to assassinate terrorists actually on their way to committing an attack. The new
guidelines allow the IDF to act against known terrorists even if they are not on the verge of
committing an attack. -
28
On August 10th, in retaliation for a Jerusalem suicide bombing on the previous day, Israeli
warplanes fire missiles at and level the headquarters of the Palestinian police in the West Bank city
of Ramallah. The militant Islamist group Hamas claimed responsibility for the bombing. Israeli
Special Forces also seize the offices of the Palestine Liberation Organization at Orient House in
East Jerusalem. Several days later, Israeli tanks move into the West Bank city of Jenin and open fire.
