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Period: to
Palestine from 1948 to the present day
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Exit Britain, enter Israel
World War I had led Britain to control of Palestine in 1918. Throughout the 1930s Palestinian Arabs fought Jewish militias, who were comprised of settlers of Jewish origin and helped by the British authority. In 1948 Britain left Palestine, and the large number of Jewish settlers declared the land 'the State of Israel.' The Gaza barrier was erected in 1948-49.
Image: Wikimedia commons. By 1958 there were nearly one million exiled Palestinians living in neighbouring Arab states. -
The formation of the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organisation)
The PLO was created at an Arab League summit in Cairo to represent and provide a voice for the Palestinian people, although the inability of key members such as Yasir Arafat to enter and operate in Palestinian territory restricted their scope of influence. Arafat assumed leadership in 1969. Image: Arafat in Jordan, 1970: Wikimedia commons -
The Six Days War {5-10 June 1967)
Yasir Arafat's El Fatah group emerged from the refugee camps and diaspora communities, arming and training Palestinians to launch guerilla attacks on Israel. These attacks were launched from Arab states which shared borders with Israel, such as Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Israel began to retalliate, launching raids into the neighbouring countries in an attempt to root out Palestinian guerillas. Lebanon and Jordan both lost territory in the short conflict, -
Munich Olympic Massacre
A PLO affiliated group known as 'Black September' killed 11 members of the Israeli olympic team, storming their dormitory and opening fire. -
The Yom Kippur War
Egyptian frustration at Israel's land gain during the Six Days War led them to lauch an assault on the territory years later. In a coordinated advance, Syria also attempted to regain the strategic stronghold of the Golan Hights in the north. Yom Kippur, the 'day of atonement,' is the holiest day in the Jewish calender. Image- Evacuated Jewish casualites: Wikimedia commons -
Camp David accords signed
U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian Prime Anwar Sadat and Menachim Begin of Israel signed the Washington treaty. which dictated that Israel would pull out of all land taken from Egypt, with the exception of the Gaza Strip. In 1981 Anwar Sadat was assassinated by Egyptian soldiers. He was viewed as a traitor for holding talks with America and Israel. Image: Wikimedia commons -
PLO removed from Beirut
The PLO had been using Lebanon as a base from which to lauch it's attacks on Israel, resulting in an Israeli mobilisation The war began in 1975 and ended in 1985, although Israel had begun to withdraw troops in 1983. Image: Beirut 1982, Wikimedia commons Palestinians left Beirut under U.S. supervision and many were taken to Tunisia. -
The first Infitada & emergence of Hamas
Ending in 1993 and resulting in almost 1000 Palestinian casualties, the first Infitada was the popular uprising of the Palestinian people against the killing, detention, deportation and demolition enforced on them by Israeli rule. The Islamist political group Hamas, a wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, emerged from the Infitada. The group's doctrine, published in 1988, stated that the conflict was religious in nature, and that Palestinians should not concede or compromise their territory. -
Madrid Peace conference begins
For the first time since 1947 Palestinian and Israel representatives held face-to-face peace talks. The agenda was heavily weighted in the favour of the U.S. sponsored Israelis: Palestinian self-determination was an unnaceptable item for the agenda, yet the Palestinian delegation had to officially recognise the state of Israel. Image: U.S. national archives via Wikimedia commons -
Signing of the Oslo Accords in Washington
The signing of the Oslo Acord was overseen by U.S. President Bill Clinton and promised mutual recognition between the Arafat's PLO and Israel's Yitzhak Rabin. The arrangement began with the Israeli concession of limited self-government for Jericho and the Gaza strip, and also included a freeze on new Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory. Hamas opposed the accord, accusing Arafat of betraying the national struggle. Image: Wikimedia commons -
First elections take place for the Palestinian National Authority
Yasser Arafat's El Fatah party are elected, winning 88.1% of the vote. Hamas refused to participate, stating that their concession would lend legitimacy to the newly-formed PNA, which contradictedtheir jihad against Israel's presence in Palestine. -
Middle-East peace summit at Camp David
Ending on the 25th of July, peace talks failed as neither Arafat or Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak were willing to compromise. Previously unresolved issues remained so, with no agreement reached on the final status of occupied territories, the rights of Palestinian refugees living in diaspora, or Jewish settlements in Jerusalem. -
Second Infitada begins
Also known as the Al-Aqsa infitada. Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon's visit to holy site Temple Mount, coupled with the failed peace talks at Camp David, sparks mass another mass uprising in Palestine. Protest continued until 2005. Image: Wikimedia commons -
International Court of Justice calls Israeli security barrier 'illegal'
A security barrier designed to gate and control Palestinian communities is deemed illegal by the ICJ. The wall, eight feet high in places, seperates some Palestinians from their water supplies, schools or farmland. Construction begain in 2002 but has not followed the previously agreed territorial lines, instead snaking into the West Bank to claim Jewish settlements. Image: Wikimedia commons -
PLO leader Yasser Arafat dies
Multiple organ failure claimed the life of Yasser Arafat in a French hospital. He was 75 years old. 40 days of mourning were declared in Palestine. -
Hamas win majority of legislative election seats
In their first elections since 1996, Hamas won a narrow majority over Fatah. Elections were peaceful and well administrated, however the victories of Hamas came as a shock to international commentators. -
Palestinian Prisoners document signed by Fatah and Hamas
In an attempt to create a founddation of unity between secular Fatah and Islamist Hamas members held captive in Israel, both sides signed an agreement of mutual goals. Hamas were quick to draw attention to the fact that they still did not recognise the state of Israel. -
Palestinian Unity Agreement signed in Mecca
A power-sharing agreement between Hamas and Fatah is founded, although the agreement is vague and unsatifactory to Israeli and U.S. onlookers. -
Hamas oust Fatah in Gaza coup
Hamas successfully assume control of Palestine, forcing Fatah officials out of the Gaza strip and effectively destroying the unity government. -
Hamas supporters open fire on Fatah commemoration of Arafat's death
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Hamas and Fatah agree to release political prisoners
In a breaktrough following five rounds of unsuccessful talks in Cairo, Hamas and Fatah agreed to relase political prisoners from detention in Gaza and the West Bank respectively. However, Hamas leadership failed to sign the full reconcilliation document by the October 15 deadline. -
Reconcilliation treaty signed by Hamas and Fatah
Ending four years of acrimony, the two dominant political factions signed an agreement with the intention of forming a coalition government to run both Gaza and the West Bank. President Mahmoud Abbas, representing Hamas, and Khaled Meshaal of Fatah agreed that mutusl cooperation would be beneficial for the cause of Palestinian autonomy. -
Doha Unity Agreement signed
Despite criticism from Israel and senior Hamas figures, Hamas and Fatah proceed to sign their unity agreement. Representing Hamas, Khaled Meshaal stated that the Palestinian reconcilliation had become an Arab interest. Hamas' popularity had been waning in Palestine, and its close connections to the Iranian and Syrian governments meant that a concession of power and decision to support Mahmoud Abbas was timely and symbolic.
