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Sykes-Picot Agreement
Britain and France sign a secret pact outlining their control of the middle east after the first world war. Palestine is designated for international administration with Russia and other powers. The agreement is seen by Arabs as a betrayal of the Hussein-McMahon correspondence. -
Balfour Declaration
Arthur James Balfour Britain's foreign secretary sends a letter to Lord Rothschild. President of the Zionist federation stating the government's support for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. -
1929 summer genocide
Arguments between Muslims and Jews over access to the Western Wall.More than 130 Jews are killed and 339 wounded and 116 Arabs killed and 232 wounded during clashes involving British forces. -
Hebron massacre
After hearing rumours of killings of Arabs in Jerusalem, rioters kill 67 Jews in Hebron. Many Jews survive by sheltering with Arab neighbours, and after the riots, the remainder of the Jewish population is evacuated by the British. -
Black Hand violence
Violent activities of Black Hand Islamist group led by Sheikh Izz al-Din al-Qassam against Jewish civilians and the British. -
Arab revolt
Arab revolt to protest against Jewish immigration to Palestine led by Haj Amin al-Husseini. More than 5,000 Arabs are killed, mostly by the British. Several hundred Jews are killed by Arabs. -
Bombing of King David Hotel
Bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, which housed the British civil, military and police command in Palestine, by the Irgun, a Zionist organisation. A total of 91 people are killed: 28 British, 41 Arab, 17 Jewish and five from other countries. -
United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly passes a partitioning plan dividing the British Mandate of Palestine into two states. Accepted by the Jewish leadership but rejected by the Arab leadership. -
The Nakba
The Nakba, meaning "disaster" or "cataclysm" in Arabic. Up to 900,000 Palestinians flee or are expelled from their homes in the part of the land that becomes the state of Israel. -
Deir Yassin massacre
Between 100 and 254 Palestinian villagers, mainly women, old people and children are killed during and after an attack on the village of Deir Yassin near Jerusalem by Irgun members. -
Declaration of Israel
British withdraw from Palestine. Arab-Israeli war. Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Lebanon declare war on Israel. Egypt, Jordan and Syria invade Israel. -
Suez Canal conflict
Egypt nationalises Suez Canal France, Britain and Israel plan invasion of Egypt. Israel invades the Sinai peninsula . Pressure from the US and USSR force France, Britain and Israel to withdraw. -
PLO is founded
The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) is founded in Cairo by the Arab League. The PLO states its goal as the destruction of the Israel through armed struggle, and the restoration of an "independent Palestinian state" between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean sea. -
Six day war
Third Arab-Israeli was launches a pre-emptive attack on Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Israel captures Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria and the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan. -
Resolution 242
UN Security Council passes resolution 242, which calls for Israel to withdraw its armed forces from all territories occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The resolution affirms the right of all states in the region to "live in peace within secure and recognised boundaries". -
Attrition war
Limited war fought between Egypt and Israel in which Egypt attempts to regain the Sinai Peninsula lost in the Six Day war. The war ended with a ceasefire in August 1970 with the same frontiers as at the start.
