| Aug. 29, 1897 The first Zionist conference is held in Basel, Switzerland. Attended by nearly 200 delegates, the congress formulates the Basel Program, which remains the basic platform of the Zionist movement. The program defines Zionism's goal as the creation "for the Jewish people of a home in Palestine secured by public law." Nov. 2, 1917 Britain passes the Balfour Declaration, expressing support for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. In the previous 40 years, Eastern Europeans immigrated to the region in large numbers. By 1914, Jews living in Palestine grew to 85,000, about 12 percent of the population. May 6-11, 1942 During World War II the U.S becomes the center of Zionist activity. A conference in New York results in the Biltmore Program, which rejects British restrictions on immigration into Palestine and calls for the fulfillment of the Balfour Declaration urging the establishment of Palestine as a Jewish commonwealth. Nov. 29, 1947 The United Nations proposes to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab states with Jerusalem under international control. The U.S. and Russia approve of the plan, but Britain abstains. The Zionist movement - pushing for an independent state - reluctantly accepts the proposal that is denounced by Arab states. Arabs feel that the U.N. has no right to make such a deal. May 14, 1948 As the British mandate over Palestine expires, Jewish authorities declare a new State of Israel. Many nations recognize the new country under first prime minister David Ben-Gurion. The Arab League declares war and Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq engage in fighting with Israel until early 1949, when all parties sign truce agreements that established the borders of the new Jewish state. 1951 Egypt denies Israel access to the Suez Canal and blocks the use of the Strait of Tiran, Israel's only direct access to the Red Sea. Palestinians launch raids on Israeli soil from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Oct. 29, 1956 Israel invades Egypt's Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. The U.N. brokers a cease-fire agreement and sends in peace-keeping troops. Jan. 1, 1965 Yasser Arafat's Fatah Movement (founded in 1956)begins armed guerrilla attacks against Israel, which responds with raids against Syria and Jordan. Israeli security zone and border incidents escalate in intensity throughout the year. June 5, 1967 Egypt had signed an alliance with Syria, Jordan and Iraq, and moved troops into the Sinai in May. In response, Israel launches an immense military strike at Egypt, Jordan and Syria in the Six-Day War, capturing the Gaza Strip, the Sinai, East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Golan Heights. Feb. 26, 1969 Israeli secretary general Golda Meir is elected prime minister. April 10, 1969 Egypt launches the War of Attrition against Israel along the Suez Canal. The U.S. brokers a cease-fire the next year. September 1970 Jordan repels an attempt by the Palestine Liberation Organization to grab control of the country. Sept. 28, 1970 Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who always strongly opposed the state of Israel, dies and Anwar al-Sadat is later elected the new president. Oct. 6, 1973 Sadat fails to negotiate the return of the Sinai to Egypt, and therefore, along with Syria, launches a surprise attack against Israeli positions in the area. Called the Yom Kippur War by Israel and the Ramadan War by Arabs, the fighting ends in late October. April 11, 1974 Meir resigns following the release of a government report criticizing Israel's lack of preparedness for the Arab strikes the year before. Yitzhak Rabin (pictured) assumes the prime minister position. He is replaced three years later by Menachem Begin. Nov. 22, 1974 The U.N. recognizes the right for Palestinians to have "statehood and sovereignty." Sept. 18, 1978 U.S. President Jimmy Carter hosts Sadat and Begin at Camp David, where the leaders approve the agreements for a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt and for a comprehensive Middle East peace. They sign the accord at the White House March 26, 1979. Oct. 6, 1981 Muslim extremists, upset with the Egypt-Israel treaty, assassinate Sadat in Cairo. June 6, 1982 Israeli troops launch Operation Peace for Galilee into southern Lebanon, with the sole purpose of ensuring security for northern Israel and destroying the infrastructure in Lebanon of the PLO, which had staged raids into Israel Sept. 14, 1982 Bashir Gemayel, president of Lebanon, is assassinated less than a month after the PLO withdraws its forces form Lebanon. March 1984 Under pressure from Syria, which held considerable political and military influence in Lebanon, Lebanese president Amin Gemayel nullifies a 1983 peace agreement with Israel. Most of the Israeli forces evacuate Lebanon in 1985, leaving a small force in the south to maintain security along the border. December 1987 The 7-year-long Palestinian uprising, or intefadeh, begins as an expression of frustration at 20 years of Israeli rule and Jewish settlement in the Occupied Territories. The movement becomes more violent over time as cease-fire attempts continue to fail. Nov. 15, 1988 Arafat declares Palestine an independent state, acknowledges Israel's right to exist as a nation by accepting U.N. Security Council Resolution 242 - originally adopted in 1967 - and renounces terrorism. The PLO and The U.S. begin formal dialogue and Israel proposes a comprehensive peace initiative in spring 1989. Aug. 2, 1990 Saddam Hussein's order for an Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the ensuing Gulf War in 1991 suspend efforts to seek an Arab-Israeli peace. Sept. 13, 1993 The Oslo negotiations paved the way for the signing of a peace accord between Israel and the PLO. It proposes a Palestinian self-rule to be phased in over several years in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Peres, Rabin and Arafat win the Nobel Peace Prize. May 4, 1994 Israel and the PLO sign an agreement in Cairo on the final status of Jericho and the Gaza Strip. Israel completes withdrawal of troops from the two regions. The Palestinian Authority led by Arafat assumes civil matters and sets up a Palestinian police force to maintain internal security. Oct. 26, 1994 Israeli Prime Minister Rabin and Jordanian King Hussein sign a peace treaty. Nov. 4, 1995 Israeli ultranationalist student Yigal Amir, who opposes the peace process, assassinates Rabin at a peace rally in Tel Aviv. Shimon Peres, also a major player in the peace process, takes over as Israeli prime minister. Nov. 13, 1995 Israeli troops pull out of towns and give the Palestinians autonomy in six cities on the West Bank as part of the Oslo Accords. Jan. 20, 1996 In their first elections since the formation of Israel almost 50 years earlier, Palestinians elect Arafat as president of the Palestinian Authority. He wins more than 80 percent of the vote. Aug. 27, 1996 Under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli government lifts the four-year freeze on Jewish settlement construction in Palestinian territories by giving the go head for the expansion of the Kiryat Sefer Settlement. The building angers Arabs and puts the peace process into a dire situation. Jan. 16, 1997 After more than 30 years of occupation, Israeli troops withdraw from the West Bank town of Hebron the day after an agreement is signed with the Palestinian Authority. Oct. 23, 1998 Arafat and Netanyahu sign the Wye River Accord - a land-for-peace deal involving the West Bank. President Clinton hosts the Middle East Summit at the Wye River Conference Center retreat in Maryland. Nov. 16, 1999 Citing Palestinian violations, Netanyahu freezes Israel's implementation of the peace accord and places new conditions on further withdrawals. May 16, 1999 Ehud Barak defeats sitting prime minister Netanyahu for the top government seat and vows to continue Israel's withdrawal of troops from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. May 1-2, 1999 Mr. Clinton, Barak and Arafat meet in Oslo, Norway and agree to continue with the peace process. May 25, 2000 Israeli troops conclude their three-day withdrawal from the security occupied zone of southern Lebanon, 18 years after Israel invaded its northern neighbor. Hezbollah guerrillas quickly overrun the Israeli-allied militia. June 10, 2000 Syrian President Hafez al-Assad dies after three decades of autocratic rule. A renewal of Syria-Israel peace talks hangs in uncertainty as Bashar Assad, the president's oldest surviving son and heir apparent, is handed the reins of leadership. July 11, 2000 President Clinton convenes "Camp David II" and sequesters Barak and Arafat for nine days. The summit ends with no agreement; Barak and Arafat agree to press on with their talks. Sept. 28, 2000 Israel's hard-line opposition leader, Ariel Sharon, visits a Jerusalem shrine holy to both Jews and Muslims. Jews call it the Temple Mount; Muslims call it the Noble Sanctuary. Palestinians angered by Sharon's visit riot. That violence is the beginning of what later will be called the new Palestinian intefadeh, which means "uprising," against Israel. March 6, 2001 Sharon is sworn in as Israeli prime minister, saying Israel's "hand is extended in peace." The 73-year-old former general and war hero has said there can be no negotiations while the violence of the Palestinian uprising continues. April 16-17, 2001 After Palestinian mortar bombs slam into the southern Israeli town of Sderot, Israeli forces launch a fierce naval, air and land assault on Palestinian targets, and retake land in Gaza ceded to the Palestinians under a 1994 peace agreement. The U.S. criticizes the raids as "excessive," and Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza within 24 hours. One person dies and 30 are wounded in the fighting. Dec. 4, 2001 Following three Palestinian suicide bombings that kill 27 people, including the attackers, and injure more than 200, Sharon declares war on terror, and Israeli air strikes hit targets 50 yards from Arafat's office as he works inside. Early March 2002 Israel intensifies its offensive against Palestinian militants with the largest military operation in 20 years, launching strikes on several refugee camps. Israeli troops round up nearly 2,000 Palestinians in hopes of tracking down suspected militants. More than 160 Palestinians and 60 Israelis are killed, making it the bloodiest period since fighting broke out in September 2000. March - April 2002 Israeli tanks and troops, responding to Palestinian attacks, storm into a dozen West Bank cities, including Bethlehem and Ramallah. As Sharon brands Arafat "an enemy of Israel" and says his country "is at war," soldiers lay siege and storm the Palestinian leader's command compound in Ramallah on the first day and refuse to let him leave. May 6, 2002 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon arrives in Washington for talks with President Bush. Sharon will present a 91-page booklet of documents that Israel claims prove Arafat is directly involved in funding terrorists. Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo labels the booklet "ridiculous" and says that all the documents "were forged." June 18, 2002 Israel announces a dramatic change in policy, saying any new Palestinian attacks will be countered with reoccupation of Palestinian-ruled areas in the West Bank. June 24, 2002 President Bush unveils his long-awaited initiative on the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, outlining a vision of two states living side-by side in "peace and security." He calls for the removal of Yasser Arafat in elections to be held by the end of the year, and demands that Israel withdraw to positions it held on the West Bank two years ago. Aug. 6, 2002 Israel's Supreme Court upholds the military's right to knock down the homes of Palestinian attackers without warning. Relatives of terror suspects sought 48 hours notice to give them time to go to court to stop the demolitions, but Israel says this would put its soldiers at risk. Israel had only recently revived the controversial practice, which is opposed by human rights groups. April 29, 2003 Mahmoud Abbas is confirmed as the Palestinians' first prime minister, clearing the way for the presentation of a new peace plan for the Mideast. The three-stage plan, drafted by the United States, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union, envisions full Palestinian statehood within three years, with a provisional state even sooner. June 4, 2003 The Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers promise to take real, if limited, steps toward ending their bloody conflict during a Mideast peace summit convened by President Bush. Both leaders commit to a "road map" peace plan that leads through three stages to the creation of a Palestinian state in 2005. July 2, 2003 Israeli troops exit Bethlehem, which they'd occupied since a suicide bombing on Nov. 21, 2003. Israel was to remain in charge of security of Israelis, while Palestinian security forces would be responsible for preventing terror attacks in the area. A similar formula is in place in a portion of the northern Gaza Strip, where Israeli troops pulled out a few days earlier. Feb. 2, 2004 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon tells stunned lawmakers from his Likud Party that he plans to dismantle the Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, which are home to about 7,500 Israelis. The plan, which Sharon suggests would take some time, is met by widespread skepticism in Israel and the Palestinian areas. Nov. 11, 2004 Yasser Arafat dies in Paris at age 75, marking the end of an era in modern Middle East history. Jan. 9, 2005 Mahmoud Abbas, the longtime No. 2 man in the Palestinian Authority, is elected as his people's next president by a landslide. Israelis, Palestinians, and international observers all hail his victory as the beginning of a new era, but express caution, as Abbas will face the tough task of reining in powerful armed groups. Feb. 8, 2005 In a sign of new life for the stalled peace process, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas announce a verbal cease-fire pledge during a summit in Egypt. Both men say they hope the deal will pave the way for implementation of the internationally crafted "road map" for peace that was first unveiled in June 2003 and calls for the creation of a Palestinian state by the end of 2005. Aug. 23, 2005 Israel completes the country's historic evacuation of 25 settlements in the Gaza Strip and West Bank - the first time Israel has abandoned Jewish communities in lands the Palestinians claim for their future state. Despite the need to force thousands of holdouts to exit and occasionally fierce standoffs with young protesters, the entire operation, which had been scheduled to take four weeks, takes just one. Sept. 12, 2005 Joyous Palestinians flooded into empty Jewish settlements, climbed ropes and clambered over walls into Egypt to join a chaotic celebration of the end of 38 years of Israeli military rule over the Gaza Strip. Militant groups hoisted flags, fired gunshots into the air & set abandoned synagogues ablaze, illustrating the weakness of the Palestinian security forces & concerns about their ability to control growing chaos in Gaza. Nov. 1, 2005 Senior Israeli cabinet ministers approve a border crossing between Gaza and Egypt to allow Palestinians to come and go freely after the Israeli withdrawal from the strip. It would be the first time since Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967 that Palestinians would be allowed to enter and leave either territory without passing through Israeli controls. Nov. 15, 2005 In marathon talks with Israelis and Palestinians, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice scores a rare breakthrough in Middle East diplomacy by brokering a deal which will open the Gaza Strip's gateway to the outside world, the land border crossing at Rafah, on Nov. 25. Jan. 25, 2006 Palestinians cast ballots in their first parliamentary election in a decade -- a historic vote that could shape the future of the peace process with Israel. Both the ruling Fatah Party and its challenger, the Islamic militant Hamas, said they were confident of victory, while pollsters said the race was too close to call. Jan. 26, 2006 Hamas won a huge majority in parliamentary elections as Palestinian voters rejected the longtime rule of the corruption-ridden Fatah Party. The triumph plunged the future of Mideast peacemaking into turmoil and triggered brief clashes between supporters of the two parties. President Bush said that Hamas cannot be a partner in peacemaking without renouncing violence, and said the U.S. will not deal with Palestinian leaders who do not recognize Israel's right to exist. June 9, 2006 Hamas' military wing said it would no longer honor a truce with Israel following an Israeli artillery strike that killed seven civilians. Israel and the Palestinians declared the truce in February 2005. Hamas, which has killed scores of Israelis in suicide bombings, has largely abided by the cease-fire. July 12, 2006 With tensions already increasing between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the relative quiet along the Israel-Lebanon border was shattered when Hezbollah guerrillas launched a raid across the border and took two Israeli soldiers captive. Israeli forces countered with air strikes into southern Lebanon which intensified, with Israel imposing a naval blockade on the country and pounding its only international airport in Israel's heaviest air campaign against Lebanon in 24 years. Aug. 14, 2006 A U.N. cease-fire halts fighting in the monthlong conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that had claimed more than 900 lives. Lebanese, Israeli and U.N. officers met on the border to discuss the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the region. |