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First Zionist Congress
In 1897, the first Zionist Congress was held in Basel, Switzerland. Following large amounts of oppression and persecution in Europe, a large group of Jewish leaders gathered, all sharing the belief that for the Jewish to be safe, they must establish a Jewish state. Theodor Herzl who founded the Zionist movement chaired the event. The event sparked the anti-Semitic text, Protocols of the Elders of Zion. 200 people from 17 countries attended the event. -
McMahon Hussein Correspondence
The McMahon Hussein Correspondence was a series of letters exchanged between Sir Henry McMahon and Sharif Hussein (Hussein Bin Ali). The correspondence took place during WWI in which the British Government promised to recognise an independent Arab nation in exchange for an Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire. Following the Belfour declaration and the leaks of the Sykes-Picot agreement, many Arab leaders considered the correspondence violated. -
Sykes Picot Agreement
The Sykes-Picot Agreement was a secret meeting between the French and British in which they agreed upon how the Ottoman territories would be divided between the two powers following WWI. At the secret meeting, a map was drawn up and British and French representatives agreed upon borders carving up the Ottoman Empire between the two major powers. The agreement conflicted with the McMahon Hussein Correspondence and when the agreement leaked, many Arab leaders felt betrayed by the European Powers. -
The Balfour Declaration
The Balfour Declaration was a public statement released by the British government announcing its support for a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. The letter was sent from the foreign minister, Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild who was a leader in the Jewish community. This declaration, along with the partition plan, clashed heavily with the McMahon Hussein Correspondence and soured the mouths of many Arabic leaders who lead the rebellion against the Ottomans. -
Nazis come to power in Germany
In 1933, the Nazi party rose to power in Germany. Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany and all other political parties were outlawed. The government took complete control over the lives of Germans and sent anybody they considered undesirable to concentration camps. These camps included many thousands of Jews, homosexuals, handicapped people and many more. This sparked the mass fleeing of Jewish people from Germany and other countries also looking to persecute Jews. -
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Arab Palestine Revolt
The Arab Palestine Revolt was a revolt against British rule in Palestine following the massive influx of Jews entering the territory. Many Palestinians were unhappy with the unlimited flow of Jews into the country. Many Jews saw this as terroristic and immoral, comparing the Arabs to Nazis and Fascists but others saw that it was the fear of the Jews growing economic power and England’s support of Zionism as well as the mass migration of Jews. -
Partition Plan Established
The Partition Plan was devised by the United Nations and dictated how the land would be divided between the Palestinians and Jewish following the end of British rule in Palestine. Jewish leaders suggested the plan and land was distributed based on the land that many Jewish migrants had already bought. The plan involved removing the British mandate over Palestine and devising borders. The plan was an attempt to solve the conflicts between Zionists and Palestinian nationalists in the area. -
Dier Yassin Massacre
The Deir Yassin Massacre was a massacre, taking place during the Palestine civil war before the end of British rule in Palestine. Roughly 120 Zionist militants attacked the Deir Yassin village, which had a population of around 600 people at the time. During the night, a surprised Palestinian guard opened fire on the force, which started a brutal urban conflict which ended the lives of 107 Palestinians, many of which were women and children. Many were also taken prisoner to be mutilated or raped. -
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Arab Israeli War
The Arab Israeli War was fought between newly declared Israel and Arab forces over control of former British Palestine. Tensions had been building between Arabs and Israelis for a number of years before that point and on May 15 1948, what had previously been only a civil war now became an interstate war. This followed Israel’s declaration of independence. The result of the battle was that Israel had controlled all of its territory and an extra 60% of the Arab territory from the Partition Plan. -
Six-Day War
The Six Day War took place between Israel and its neighbouring countries. Building up to the conflict, many tensions increased between Israel and its neighbours. The Israelis caught the Egyptians by surprise and quickly took air superiority and the Sinai Peninsula. Syria and Jordan both retaliated against the attack, which caused Syria to lose the Golan Heights and Jordan to lose East Jerusalem. A peace treaty was signed on the 11th of June with an immense victory for the Israelis. -
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First Intifada
The First Intifada was an uprising of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip against Israeli occupation. The conflict started when four Palestinians were hit and killed by a Israeli Defence Force truck. This was followed by protests, strikes and general misconduct by Palestinians and was mostly non-violent. Israeli forces were deployed and fired live ammunition on Palestinians who were mostly armed with stones. 332 Palestinians were killed in the first 13 months. Many teens were beaten. -
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Oslo Peace Process
The Oslo Peace Process started with the signing of the Oslo Accords. What was meant to be a large step towards peace largely ended with the large increase in the amount of illegal settlements in Palestinian territories. Israel capitalised on Arafat’s (PLO chairman) weakness following the Gulf war. He entered the negotiations with few options. In the West Bank, territories were cut up and given different roles and basically no progress was made over the 20 years of negotiation. -
PLO given autocracy in Gaza Strip and West Bank
On September 13th, 1993, Israel’s president and the chairman of Palestine Liberation Organisation agreeing to recognise each other and give the PLO limited autonomy in West Bank and Gaza Strip. This was to start ongoing peace processes for the next few years. This agreement was also known as the Oslo Accords, which called for Israel to withdraw forces from the West Bank and Gaza Strip while they negotiate for a permanent solution to the conflict for the next 5 years. -
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Second Intifada
The Second Intifada was a time of increasing violence between Israelis and Palestinians. The Intifada was started when a Jewish leader visited a temple mount in Jerusalem with a military force. The Palestinians protested against them but were deterred by rubber bullets and tear gas. Armed Palestinians and suicide bombers and Israeli tanks and air strikes fought in the conflict. The conflict ended when Palestinian leaders and Israeli leaders agreed to end military conflict against each other. -
Hamas wins election in Gaza Strip
In 2006, Hamas had won the elections in the Gaza Strip. Following this, the PLO essentially disconnected from the Gaza Strip as Hamas is a very extremist government. Since the two territories have split, there have been many conflicts in Gaza between Hamas and other factions and later started the Gaza War. Egypt has attempted to hold peace negotiations without success and the two territories will likely remain two. -
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Gaza War
The Gaza War was a three-week long war between Israel and Gaza. Israel wanted to prevent rocket attacks from Gaza to Israel and weapons smuggling into Gaza while Hamas claimed it was in retaliation to military action in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians fired rockets indiscriminately into Israel, killing militants and civilians which is illegal under international law. A ceasefire was declared on January 18th and Israel withdrew its forces from the Gaza Strip. -
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Israel Gaza conflict
The Gaza Conflict of 2014 was a seven-week long conflict, starting when members of Hamas kidnapped and killed three Israeli teenagers. Hamas then launch rockets into Israel and the conflict started. Israel wanted an end to the rocket fire and Hamas wanted international pressure put on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza and a third party to make sure they comply with a ceasefire as well as the release of Palestinian prisoners and overcome political isolation. Thousands died, most Gaza citizens. -
Gaza border protests
In March of 2018, a six-week protest began in the Gaza Strip near the border of Gaza and Israel. The protesters demanded that the displaced Palestinian refugees be allowed to return to their homes in Israel. They also demanded that the blockade be removed from Gaza and that the Gaza embassy should be in Jerusalem. Thirty thousand Palestinians protested and it was backed by Hamas. More than 110 Palestinians were killed, some of them militants and others just protesters.
