Resources: A Chronology of Palestine - Palestinian American Research Center

638		Umar ibn Khattab captures Jerusalem from the Byzantine Empire, names it Jund Filastin.
688-715		Abd al-Malik builds the Dome of the Rock shrine and then al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
1099-1187		Crusaders control Palestine and Syria.
1187		Salah al-Din re-conquers Palestine.
1260		Mamluks halt Mongol invasion at Battle of Ayn Jalut.
1516		Ottoman rule begins in Palestine.
1746-75		Rule of local leader Zahir al-Umar in Northern Palestine.
1799	Feb-May	French army under Napoleon Bonaparte invades Palestine.
1831-40		Egyptian army under Ibrahim Pasha rules Palestine.
1876		First Ottoman parliament includes Palestinian deputies.
1878		Petah Tikva, the first Zionist settlement, is established.
1882		First Aliyah from Russia to Jaffa; Ottomans later restrict Jewish immigration to Palestine.
1882		Britain occupies Egypt; Ottoman sultan briefly bans Russian Jewish immigration to Palestine.
1886		Palestinian villagers attack Petah Tikva colony.
1891		Palestinian notables protest against Jewish immigration.
1892		Ottoman government bans the sale of certain categories of land to non-Ottoman Jews; villagers attack Rehoboth.
1893		French construct Jaffa-Jerusalem railway.
1894		Trial of Alfred Dreyfus begins in France.
1896		Theodor Herzl proposes statehood as the solution to anti-Semitism in Der Judenstaat.
1897		World Zionist Organization (WZO) is formed at the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland.
1899		Yusuf Diya’ al-Din Pasha al-Khalidi, former mayor of Jerusalem, warns Theodore Herzl of Arab opposition to Zionism.
1900	June	Ottoman commission studies the effects of Zionist immigration and land purchases.
1901		WZO establishes Jewish National Fund; Herzl proposes to help liquidate Ottoman debt in return for land in Palestine.
1902		Herzl proposes that British allow Jewish settlement in al-Arish or Cyprus.
1903		British offer Jewish settlement in East Africa; Kishinev pogrom.
1904		Herzl dies; conflicts between Zionist settlers and Palestinian residents in Tiberias area.
1905		World Zionist Congress directs all settlement efforts toward Palestine.
1908		Young Turk revolution; Palestinian delegates elected to the second Ottoman parliament; al-Karmil newspaper opens in Haifa; Jewish-Palestinian violence in Jaffa and rural areas.
1909		WZO establishes Tel Aviv.
1910		Lebanese Sursuq family sells a large tract in Palestine to the Jewish National Fund.
1911	January	Palestinian newspaper Filastin is established; Najib al-Nassar publishes the first book on Zionism in Arabic.
1912		Elections to the Ottoman parliament.
1913		First Arab congress in Paris calls for decentralization of the Ottoman Empire.
1914		Elections to the Ottoman parliament; Ottoman Empire enters World War I on the side of Germany.
1915-1916		Hussein-McMahon correspondence; Britain promises independence to the Arabs in certain areas.
1916	May 16	Sykes-Picot agreement between Britain and France carves up the Ottoman Empire.
1916	June 10	Arab revolt begins.
1917	November 2	Balfour Declaration offers Jews a national home in Palestine.

1917	December 9	Britain occupies Jerusalem.
1918	October	British and Arab troops capture Damascus; first Muslim-Christian Association established in Jaffa; armistice ends Ottoman-Allied fighting (Oct 30).
1919	January	Peace conference opens in Paris; First Palestinian National Congress meets in Jerusalem (Jan 27-Feb 10).
	February	U.S. King-Crane Commission of Inquiry initiated.
1920	March	Arab congress in Damascus proclaims Faysal king of Syria.
	April 25	San Remo conference assigns mandates to Britain and France; Arabs protest in Jerusalem.
	July	French army expels Faysal from Syria; British establish civil government in Palestine.
	December 13	Third Arab National Congress (Haifa) elects Arab Executive Committee.
	December	WZO founds Haganah and Histadrut.
1921	March	Britain appoints Faysal king of Iraq and Abdullah ruler of Transjordan.
	May 1	May Day clashes among Jews in Tel Aviv lead to Arab clashes with Jews in Jaffa and nearby villages.
	May 8	Britain appoints Hajj Amin al-Husayni mufti of Jerusalem.
1922	January 9	Britain establishes Supreme Muslim Council.
	February 28	Britain declares Egypt independent but retains military bases and economic privileges.
	May-June	Fourth Arab National Congress (Jerusalem) sends Palestinian delegation to London in response to Balfour Declaration.
	June 3	Churchill White Paper links Jewish immigration to Palestine's “economic absorptive capacity.”
	June 24	League of Nations ratifies draft Palestine Mandate, including the Balfour Declaration.
1923	May 15	Britain declares Transjordan a self-governing state; Palestinian Arabs reject legislative council.
	July 24	In Lausanne Treaty, Turkey renounces claims to former Arab provinces.
	September 29	League of Nations finalizes approval of the British Mandate over Palestine.
	October	Palestinian Arabs reject proposed Arab Agency.
1925	April 25	Vladimir Jabotinsky founds the Revisionist party.
1928	June 20-22	Seventh Arab National Congress (Jerusalem) reunites Palestinian factions.
1929	August 23-29	Riots at Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem lead to death of 133 Jews and more than 116 Palestinians mainly in Jerusalem, Safed, and Hebron.
1930	March 30	Palestinian delegation goes to London after Britain issues the Shaw Commission of Inquiry Report.
	October 20	Hope-Simpson report on Jewish immigration and land shortages is issued, followed by the Passfield White Paper.
1931	February 14	MacDonald Letter (the “Black Letter”) retracts the Passfield White Paper.
	December 16	Pan-Islamic Congress in Jerusalem.
1932	August 2	Istiqlal Party formed in Palestine.
	October	Iraq becomes independent (Oct 13), joins League of Nations; Britain keeps military bases and oil interests.
1933	January	Adolf Hitler assumes power in Germany.
	October	Palestinian demonstrations and strikes in Palestine protest Jewish immigration and Zionist political aims.
1935		Palestinians form several political parties: Arab, Reform, and National Bloc; Nuremberg Laws against Jews are passed in Germany (Sept 15).
	October 3	Italy invades Ethiopia.
	November	Shaykh Izz al-Din al-Qassam is killed by British forces.
1936	April 21	Arab general strike in Palestine.
1937	July 7	Peel Commission report recommends partition of Palestine.
	September 8	Arab conference in Bludan, Syria rejects Peel report; Irgun is formed.
	October	Palestinian Arab revolt resumes.
1938	November 9	Woodhead Commission finds partition unworkable.
1939	Feb 7-Mar 27	St. James Conference on Palestine held in London.
	May 17	British White Paper restricts Jewish land purchases and immigration, rescinds recommendation to partition Palestine.
	September 1	World War II begins after Germany invades Poland.
1940	September 13	Italian forces invade Egypt from Libya.
1941	June	Britain reoccupies Iraq and seizes Syria and Lebanon from (Vichy) France.
1942	May 11	Biltmore Declaration calls for Jewish state in all of Palestine.
	November 4	Allied victory at al-Alamein (Egypt).
1943	November 26	Lebanon declares independence.
1945	February 14	President Franklin D. Roosevelt promises to consult the Arabs on Palestine in a meeting with King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia.
	March 22	League of Arab States is founded in Cairo.
	May 7	Germany surrenders.
1946	March 22	Transjordan gains independence.
	May	Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry recommends admitting 100,000 Jews to Palestine.
	July	Morrison-Grady plan is issued; Irgun bombs the British headquarters in King David Hotel, Jerusalem, killing 91 British, Jewish, and Arab employees (July 22).
1947	February 18	After convening the London Conference, Britain turns the Palestine issue over to the United Nations.
	May 15	UN General Assembly establishes Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP).
	November 17	King Abdullah meets Jewish Agency official Golda Meir in Naharayim.
	November 29	UN General Assembly Resolution 181 supports the partition of Palestine.
1948	April 4	Haganah initiates Plan Dalet.
	April 5	Palestinian commander Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni is killed at Qastil.
	April 9	Irgun attacks Palestinian village Dayr Yasin, killing more than 100 villagers.
	April 13	Arabs retaliate with attack on Jewish bus convoy to Mt. Scopus.
	April 19	Palestinians flee Tiberias.
	April 22	Haganah captures Haifa (Plan D); most Palestinians flee from Haifa to Lebanon.
	May 10	King Abdullah meets Meir in Amman.
	May 13	Palestinians in Jaffa surrender to Haganah; UN appoints Count Folke Bernadotte as mediator.

1948	May 14	Israel becomes an independent state.
	May 15	Arab armies attack Israel.
	June 11-July 6	First truce.
	July 12-13	Israeli army expels Palestinians from Lydda and Ramla.
	July 16	Israeli army seizes Nazareth.
	July 19	Second truce.
	September 17	A Jewish militant from LEHI assassinates UN mediator Bernadotte.
	October	Israeli troops seize the Negev.
	November	Jericho conference calls for Jordanian annexation of West Bank.
	December 11	UN Resolution 194 creates Conciliation Commission for Palestine, accords refugees right to return and compensation.
1949	January 25	Israeli elections; Ben-Gurion becomes prime minister.
	February 24	Israel and Egypt sign armistice agreement at Rhodes.
	March 11	Israel and Transjordan sign armistice agreement.
	April 26	Lausanne peace talks begin.
	July 20	Syria and Israel sign armistice.
	December 8	UN creates United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
1950	January 1	Israel annexes West Jerusalem.
	April 24	Jordanian parliament confirms annexation of East Jerusalem and West Bank, renamed the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
	May 25	United States, Britain, and France issue the Tripartite Declaration to limit arms sales to the Middle East.
1951	July 20	King Abdullah is assassinated in East Jerusalem.
1952	July 23	Free Officers' coup d'état in Egypt.
	August 11	Hussein becomes king of Jordan.
1953	October 14	Israel's Unit 101 attacks Qibya village (West Bank).
1954	July	Israeli sabotage mission in Egypt; exposed later by the Lavon affair.
	July 27	Anglo-Egyptian accord to complete the withdrawal of British forces from Egypt (ratified in October).
1955	February 28	Israel attacks Egyptian military outposts in Gaza.
	September 27	Gamal Abdul Nasser announces Egyptian purchase of Soviet-bloc arms.
	November 22	Baghdad Pact is formed: Britain, Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan.
1956	July 19	Secretary of State John Foster Dulles withdraws U.S. financing for High Dam at Aswan.
	July 26	Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal Company.
	October 29	Israel invades Sinai.
	October 31	Britain and France bomb Egyptian airfields on the Canal, then land troops.
	Nov 6-7	Britain, France, and Israel agree to ceasefire under U.S. and UN pressure.
	December 23	Britain and France complete withdrawal from Suez Canal.
1957	January 5	United States announces Eisenhower Doctrine to counter communism in the Middle East.
	March 1	Israel withdraws from Gaza Strip; UN Emergency Force (UNEF) patrols Gaza Strip-Israeli border and at Sharm al-Shaykh.
1958	July 14	Monarchy is overthrown in Iraq.
	July 15	U.S. sends Marines to Lebanon, invoking the Eisenhower Doctrine.
1959	January	Yasir Arafat and colleagues in Kuwait form Fatah.
	March 24	Iraq leaves Baghdad Pact, renamed Central Treaty Organization (CENTO).
1961	June 19	Kuwait becomes independent.
	September 29	Syria withdraws from United Arab Republic.
1962	September	Civil war begins in Yemen; first U.S. arms sales to Israel.
1964	Jan 13-17	Arab League establishes Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), plans to divert headwaters of the Jordan River.
	May 28-Jun 2	Founding conference of the PLO's Palestine National Council (PNC) opens in East Jerusalem.
1965	January 1	Fatah's first raid targets Israeli National Water Carrier.
1966	November 4	Egypt and Syria sign mutual defense pact.
	November 13	Israeli army raids al-Samu village (West Bank).

1967	Jan-Apr	Armed clashes between Israel and Syria.
	May 16	Nasser demands withdrawal of UNEF, then closes Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping.
	May 30	Egypt and Jordan sign mutual defense pact.
	June 5	Israel attacks Egypt, then Syria and Jordan.
	June 7	Israel captures East Jerusalem.
	June 8	Israeli planes attack USS Liberty.
	June 10	Israel captures Golan Heights from Syria; ceasefire leaves Israel in control of East Jerusalem, West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai, and Golan Heights.
	June 28	Israel extends jurisdiction of West Jerusalem municipality over an enlarged East Jerusalem.
	Aug 29-Sept 1	Arab summit conference at Khartoum.
	September 24	Israel approves first Jewish settlement on the West Bank, at Gush Etzion.
	November 22	UN Security Council unanimously passes Resolution 242, which proposes a “land-for-peace" formula.
	December	Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is formed under George Habash.
1968	March 21	Israel attacks PLO at Karameh, east of Jordan River.
	July 10-17	PNC revises PLO covenant.
	July 23	PFLP hijacks Israeli airliner to Algiers.
1969-70		War of Attrition along the Suez Canal.
1969	February	Nayif Hawatmeh forms Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PDFLP), breaking with PFLP; fifth PNC elects Arafat chairman of PLO.
	November 2	Cairo agreement permits PLO operations in parts of Lebanon.
	December	U.S. announces Rogers Plan.
1970	August 7	U.S. negotiates ceasefire along Suez Canal.
	September 6	PFLP hijacks civilian airplanes to Jordan.
	September 16	King Hussein declares martial law; Jordan army attacks PLO bases and refugee camps.
	September 27	Nasser mediates PLO-Jordan ceasefire.
	September 28	Nasser dies of heart attack; Anwar Sadat becomes president of Egypt.
	November 13	Syrian Defense Minister Hafiz al-Asad seizes power.
1971	Jan.-July	Israeli army crushes Palestinian guerrilla uprising in the Gaza Strip.
	July	Jordan expels the remaining Palestinian fighters from northern Jordan.
	November 28	“Black September" group kills Jordanian prime minister in Cairo.
1972	March 15	King Hussein declares Federal Plan to form a Jordanian/Palestinian United Arab Kingdom.
	March-April	Municipal council elections in the West Bank.
	July 18	Sadat expels Russian military advisors.
	Sept. 5-6	Eleven Israeli athletes taken hostage at Munich Olympics are killed either by Black September or during attempted German rescue.
1973	April 10	Israeli hit squad kills three senior PLO officials in Beirut.
	August	Palestine National Front is formed in the Occupied Territories.
	October 6	October War begins with Egyptian and Syrian attacks against Israeli forces in Sinai and the Golan Heights.
	October 15	United States begins arms airlift to Israel.
	October 17	Arab members of OPEC impose oil embargo on the U.S. in response to airlift.
	October 22	UN Security Council Resolution 338 calls for direct negotiations based on Resolution 242.
	October 23	Israeli troops cross Suez Canal and cut off Egyptian army in Sinai.
	October 27	Egypt and Israel, then Syria, agree to ceasefire.
	December 21	Peace conference opens in Geneva.
1974	January 18	Israel and Egypt sign first disengagement accord.
	May 13	PDFLP attacks a school in Ma'alot (Israel).
	May 31	Israel and Syria sign disengagement agreement.
	June 1-9	Twelfth PNC calls for “national authority" on liberated land.
	June 16	U.S. and Syria resume diplomatic relations.
	October	PFLP forms Rejection Front.
	October 28	Arab League summit at Rabat recognizes the PLO as “the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people."
	November 13	Arafat addresses UN General Assembly.
	November 22	PLO gains observer status at the United Nations.
1975	April	Civil war begins in Lebanon.
	June 5	Suez Canal reopens.
	September 4	Israel and Egypt sign second disengagement accord.
	October 20	Shimon Peres proposes “civil administration" in the Occupied Territories.
	November 10	UN General Assembly adopts a resolution defining Zionism as “a form of racism."
1975-76	Nov.-Mar.	Massive civil disobedience campaign is sustained in the West Bank.
1976	March 27	Israel deports two Palestinian mayoral candidates.
	March 30	Palestinian citizens of Israel hold “Land Day" to protest land expropriations in Galilee.
	April 12	Palestinian nationalists win municipal council elections in the West Bank.
	July 4	Israeli commandos raid airport at Entebbe (Uganda) freeing passengers on an airliner hijacked by PFLP on June 27.
	August 13	Phalange fighters kill Palestinians in Tall al-Za'tar refugee camp (Lebanon) following 53-day siege.
1977	March 16	President Jimmy Carter endorses a Palestinian “homeland."
	March 12-20	Thirteenth PNC calls for an “independent national state," instead of “total liberation."
	May 17	Likud wins plurality in Knesset elections; Menachem Begin becomes prime minister.
	October 1	United States and Soviet Union propose reconvening the Geneva conference.
	November 20	Sadat speaks to the Israeli Knesset, marking the first public visit to Israel by an Arab leader.
	December 25	Begin and Sadat meet in Isma‘iliyya, Egypt.
1978	March 11	Fatah squad hijacks bus near Tel Aviv.
	March 14	Israel invades Lebanon in “Operation Litani" in retaliation for Fatah bus hijacking.
	June 13	Israel withdraws from Lebanon, except for six-mile “security zone."
	September 17	Begin, Sadat, and Carter sign Camp David peace accords.
	November	Palestinians form National Guidance Committee in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
1979	February 1	Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Iran following the Shah’s departure.
	March 26	Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty signed in Washington, D.C.
	March 31	Arab League expels Egypt and moves its headquarters from Cairo to Tunis; PLO breaks diplomatic relations with Egypt.
	July 16	Saddam Hussein becomes president of Iraq.
	September 19	Arafat and King Hussein discuss idea of a Jordanian-Palestinian confederation.
1980	June 13	European Community adopts the Venice Declaration, recognizing the Palestinians' right to self-determination.
	July 30	Knesset declares all of Jerusalem Israel's “eternal capital."
	September 22	Iraqi army attacks Iran.
1981	June 7	Israel bombs Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak.
	July 17	300 civilians die in Israeli bombing of Beirut.
	July 24	U.S. mediates Israel-PLO ceasefire in Lebanon.
	October 6	Sadat is assassinated; Hosni Mubarak becomes president of Egypt.
	November	Israel establishes “civil administration" in the Occupied Territories.
	November 30	U.S. and Israel sign strategic cooperation memorandum.
	December 14	Israeli Knesset votes to annex the Golan Heights.
1982	March 11	Israel bans the National Guidance Committee and fires most elected West Bank mayors.
	April 25	Israel returns the rest of Sinai (except Taba) to Egypt.
	June 3	Israeli ambassador in London is wounded by a Palestinian.
	June 6	Israel invades Lebanon.
	August 13	Beshir Gemayel is elected president of Lebanon.
	August 21-31	PLO withdraws from Beirut; establishes new headquarters in Tunis.
	September 1	Reagan Initiative announced.
	September 9	Arab League announces the Fez Plan.
	September 14	Gemayel is assassinated, and Israeli troops seize West Beirut.
	September 16-18	Sabra and Shatila massacres by Lebanese Phalangist forces under Israeli observation kill at least 800 Palestinian refugees and Lebanese.
	September 20	Amin Gemayel becomes president of Lebanon.

1983	April 18	Bomb partly destroys U.S. embassy in Beirut.
	August 29	Begin resigns and is replaced by Yitzhak Shamir.
	May	Fatah dissidents in Lebanon rebel against Arafat with Syrian backing.
	October 23	Truck bomb kills 241 U.S. Marines in Beirut.
	December 20	Arafat is forced to leave Tripoli (Lebanon) by Fatah dissidents.
	December 22	Arafat meets Mubarak in Egypt.
1984	February 21	U.S. peacekeeping forces depart Lebanon.
	July 23	Israeli elections; on September 13 national unity government formed with Shimon Peres as Prime Minister in first “rotation."
	November 28	Seventeenth PNC (Amman) calls for an independent Palestinian state in confederation with Jordan.
1985	January 20	Israel begins initial withdrawal from Lebanon.
	February 13	King Hussein and Arafat announce the Amman Agreement.
	March	Palestinian National Salvation Front is established.
	June 10	Israel withdraws from most of Lebanon.
	June 14	TWA airliner hijacked by a Lebanese group (released June 30).
	September 15	PLO's Force 17 kills three Israelis in Cyprus.
	October 1	Israel bombs PLO headquarters in Tunis.
	October 7	Cruise ship Achille Lauro is hijacked by Abu Abbas's group in the Mediterranean.
	November 7	Arafat issues the Cairo declaration, renouncing terrorism.
1986	February 19	King Hussein abrogates the Amman agreement.
	October 20	Yitzhak Shamir (Likud) becomes Israeli prime minister under rotation arrangement with Labor.
1987	March 16	Major Palestinian groups sign the Tunis Document as the basis for restoring cooperation.
	April 25	Eighteenth PNC restores unity among the political factions.
	December 9	Palestinian Intifada begins in the Occupied Territories.
1988	February	First Hamas communiqué is issued.
	April 16	Israel assassinates PLO military leader Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad) in Tunis.
	July 31	King Hussein renounces Jordanian claims to West Bank.
	November 15-19	Nineteenth PNC proclaims Palestinian state and accepts UN Security Council Resolution 242.
	December 13	Arafat addresses UN General Assembly, convened in Geneva when the U.S. bans him from traveling to New York.
	December 14	After Arafat's press conference, U.S. opens dialogue with PLO in Tunis.
1989	May 22	Egypt is readmitted to the Arab League.
	October 24	Lebanese parliament endorses Ta’if peace plan.
1990	May 30	Israel captures Palestinian commando boats near Tel Aviv; calls for U.S. to suspend dialogue with PLO.
	June 8	New Israeli government, Likud-led coalition of right-wing parties with Yitzhak Shamir as prime minister.
	June 20	U.S. suspends dialogue with PLO.
	August 2	Iraq invades Kuwait.
	October 8	Israeli forces kill 18 Palestinians at al-Haram al-Sharif (Jerusalem).
	November 29	UN authorizes use of “all necessary means" to expel Iraq from Kuwait and sets January 15, 1991 deadline.
1991	January 14	Fatah's Salah Khalaf (Abu Iyad) is assassinated in Tunis.
	January 16	U.S.-led coalition begins air attack on Iraq.
	February 27	Allies liberate Kuwait.
	October 30	Arab-Israeli peace conference opens in Madrid.
	December 3	Last U.S. hostage in Lebanon is freed.
	December 16	UN General Assembly repeals Zionism-is-racism resolution.
1992	June 23	Israeli elections: Yitzhak Rabin (Labor) becomes prime minister; Peres becomes foreign minister.
	December 17	Israel deports 415 Hamas members to south Lebanon.

1993	January 16	Knesset repeals a law banning contact with the PLO.
	March	Israel begins permanent closure of Jerusalem from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
	March 25	Benjamin Netanyahu replaces Shamir as head of Likud.
	July 25	Israel attacks Lebanon for a week, retaliating for Hizballah rockets; 500,000 civilians displaced.
	August 1	U.S. mediates a ceasefire in Lebanon.
	August 20	Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles (DOP) is finalized in Oslo.
	September 10	U.S. resumes dialogue with PLO.
	September 13	Israel and PLO sign DOP on Palestinian Interim Self-Government in Washington, D.C.
	September 14	Jordan and Israel agree on an agenda for peace negotiations.
	December 13	Target date passes to begin Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and Jericho.

1994	February 24	Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein kills 29 Palestinian worshipers in Hebron.
	April 6	Hamas bombs bus in Afula (Israel).
	May 4	Arafat and Rabin sign Gaza-Jericho Accord in Cairo.
	July 1	Arafat arrives in Gaza, assumes presidency of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
	July 25	King Hussein and Rabin end state of war between Jordan and Israel.
	September 26	Israel approves more housing construction in settlements on the West Bank, despite DOP.
	October 11	Hamas kidnaps Israeli soldier (killed on October 14 during Israeli rescue attempt).
	October 19	Hamas blows up Israeli bus in Tel Aviv, killing 22 Israelis.
	October 26	Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty signed near Aqaba; U.S. President Clinton meets Asad in Damascus.
	October 30	Casablanca economic summit opens.
	November 18	Clashes between Palestinian police and Islamic militants in Gaza.
	November 21	Arafat and Hamas announce temporary truce.
	December 10	Arafat, Rabin, and Peres are awarded the Nobel Peace Price in Oslo.

1995	January 19	Rabin and Arafat meet; Rabin agrees to halt new settlements and confiscate land only for roads.
	January 22	Car bombs at Bet Lid (Israel); Israel suspends negotiations with PLO.
	January 25	Israel approves building an additional 2,200 housing units on the West Bank.
	February 2	Arafat, Rabin, Hussein, Mubarak summit in Cairo.
	July-August	Israeli settlers try to seize land on West Bank to preempt negotiations.
	July 24	Hamas bombs bus in Ramat Gan (Israel).
	August 31	Hamas bombs bus in Jerusalem.
	September 28	Israel-PLO accord (Oslo II) is signed in Washington, D.C.
	October 26	Israel's Mossad assassinates Fathi Shiqaqi, leader of Islamic Jihad, in Malta.
	October 29-30	Second economic summit is held in Amman.
	November 4	Yigal Amir assassinates Rabin in Tel Aviv; Peres becomes acting prime minister.
	December	PA assumes control over key towns in West Bank (zone A) and issues passports.

1996	January 5	Israel kills Hamas's Yahya Ayyash (“The Engineer") with booby-trapped cellular phone in Gaza.
	January 20	Palestinian legislative and presidential elections are held in West Bank and Gaza Strip.
	March 13	Sharm al-Shaykh conference on terror: Arafat, King Hussein, Peres, Clinton, Mubarak are in attendance.
	March 27	First meeting of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).
	April 22-24	Twenty-first PNC meets in Gaza and revokes clauses of PLO Charter that call for Israel's destruction.
	May 15	Knesset elections; Netanyahu becomes prime minister.
	June 16	Netanyahu states Israel will retain sovereignty over the Golan and Jerusalem and expand settlements.
	September 4	Netanyahu and Arafat meet for the first time.
	September 24	Israel opens tunnel in Jerusalem; clashes spread through West Bank and Gaza; 86 Palestinians and 15 Israeli soldiers die.
	November 18	Israeli military court sentences four Israeli soldiers for killing a Palestinian youth in the West Bank on November 13, 1993.
	November 22	Israeli Infrastructure Minister Ariel Sharon draws up plans to construct 900 housing units in the Golan Heights.
	December 2	Israeli government approves construction of new housing units in settlements in the West Bank.
	December 8	Israel boycotts meeting of quadripartite refugee committee (Egypt, Jordan, PA, and Israel) in Bethlehem.
	December 15	Palestinian military court sentences two Hamas members to death for killing two Palestinian policemen a year ago.
	December 18	Palestinian State Security Court in Ramallah convicts three PFLP members for killing two settlers on December 11.
	December 24	Netanyahu and Arafat meet at Erez junction (Gaza-Israel border).

1997	January 12	King Hussein flies to Gaza and Israel to break diplomatic impasse.
	January 14	Israeli army begins forced removal of 400 Jahalin bedouin from lands near Ma'ale Adumim settlement.
	January 15	Hebron protocol ratified by PA Executive Authority, PLO Executive Committee, PLC, Israeli cabinet, and Knesset.
	February 9	Netanyahu and Arafat meet at Erez and agree to start talks on implementing the Oslo II accords.
	February 10	Israeli armed forces present “final status" map to the cabinet: 51.8% of the West Bank would remain under Israel.
	February 11	Israel releases 31 female Palestinian prisoners; 4,000 men remain in jail.
	March 7	Israeli cabinet approves troop redeployment from some West Bank areas, according the PA 2% more land.
	March 18	Bulldozers break ground at Har Homa, a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem bordering Bethlehem; PA halts negotiations.
	March 22	Closure of Israel to West Bank/Gaza residents leads to clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers.
	June 16	Israeli army shoots and wounds eight Palestinian demonstrators during clashes in Hebron.
	July 30	Suicide bombing in Jerusalem; Israel closes West Bank/Gaza, suspends transfers to PA, arrests 200 Palestinians.
	September 4	Three suicide bombers kill four Israelis in West Jerusalem, prompting extension of Israeli military activity into Area A.
	September 9	Under U.S. and Israeli pressure, PA detains 200 alleged Hamas members for questioning.
	September 25	PA closes 16 Hamas charities in Gaza; Mossad attempts to kill Khalid Meshal, a Hamas leader in Amman.
	October 1	Israel releases Hamas spiritual leader Shaykh Ahmad Yassin to mollify King Hussein over attempted assassination of Meshal (Sept 25).
	November 13	UN condemns Israel for building Jewish housing in East Jerusalem; Arafat says he will declare state on May 4, 1999.

1998	January 7	Israeli government approves construction of 574 more housing units in Efrat, near Bethlehem.
	January 20	Clinton presents withdrawal plan; Netanyahu wants only one withdrawal from 9% of West Bank before final settlement.
	January 22	Clinton meets with Arafat, who rejects Israeli plan.
	February 19	PA shuts down nine radio and TV stations in West Bank that aired pro-Iraqi programs.
	March 23	Netanyahu rejects U.S.-proposed 13.1% withdrawal from West Bank.
	June 8	Elad settlers seize houses in Silwan, East Jerusalem.
	June 12	Arafat meets Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.
	June 21	Israeli cabinet approves plan to expand Jerusalem to the west.
	July 7	UN General Assembly accords Palestinian delegation “super-observer" status.
	July 14	UN Security Council criticizes Israeli plan to expand Jerusalem.
	August 5	Arafat reshuffles cabinet in response to corruption charges; two ministers resign in protest at lack of substantive change.
	October 15-23	Wye negotiations; Netanyahu and Arafat sign interim agreement for 13% withdrawal in three stages over 12 weeks.
	October 30	PA ratifies Wye Accord; Hizballah denounces the accord; PA arrests more than 100 Hamas members.
	November 11	Israeli cabinet ratifies Wye Accord; Netanyahu threatens annexation of part of West Bank if Arafat declares a Palestinian state in May 1999.
	November 20	Israeli army withdraws from area around Jenin and releases 250 Palestinian prisoners (including 150 common criminals).
	December 14	Clinton addresses PNC meeting in Gaza that nullifies articles in PLO charter calling for the destruction of Israel.
	December 23	Arafat frees Shaykh Yassin from house arrest (since October 29).

1999	January 11	Peres addresses Palestinian Legislative Council in Ramallah.
	February 7	King Hussein dies; eldest son is crowned King Abdullah II.
	February 12	Palestinians storm Jericho prison to protest detention of Islamic activists.
	March 29	Netanyahu closes three Palestinian offices in East Jerusalem on the grounds that they are associated with the PA.
	April 29	PLO Central Council delays declaration of statehood from May 4 until June.
	May 17	Ehud Barak defeats Netanyahu to become prime minister.
	June 8	Palestinian groups call on Arafat to hold municipal council elections.
	June 23-24	Israeli air raids on Lebanon.
	July 27	Barak meets Arafat at Erez; no agreement on second stage withdrawal that is due by mid-November.
	August 16-17	Israel kills Hizballah commander; clashes result.
	August 30	Jordan closes Hamas offices in Amman.
	September 9-10	Israel begins to release Palestinian prisoners and transfers 7% percent of West Bank from Area C to B.
	October 4	Israel agrees on “safe passage" between Gaza and West Bank.
	October 25	“Safe passage" opens; protests in Bethlehem near Rachel's Tomb.
	November 27	Twenty Palestinian academics and politicians criticize Arafat's administration; PA security forces detain 7 of the 20 (November 28).
	December 6	Palestinian negotiators suspend talks until Israel addresses the issue of expanding Jewish settlements.
	December 8	U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright meets Barak and Arafat separately.
	December 22	Barak and Arafat meet to resolve delay in second withdrawal from 5% of West Bank.

2000	January 3-10	Syrian-Israeli talks held in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
	January 5	Israel transfers another 5% of West Bank to PA control.
	February 2	Israeli cabinet approves transfer of 6.1% of West Bank to PA (after Barak delayed the transfer on January 16).
	February 7	PA freezes interim negotiations.
	March 21	Israeli-Palestinian talks in Washington, D.C.; the 6.1% is transferred.
	April 29	George Habash retires as head of PFLP.
	May 7	Arafat and Barak meet, agree on September 13 deadline for final status talks.
	May 15	Israeli cabinet approves transfer of three villages near Jerusalem to PA control.
	June 10	Syrian President Hafiz al-Asad dies.
	July 17	Bashar al-Asad is invested as president by Syrian people's assembly.
	September 10	PLO Central Council postpones declaration of Palestinian state.
	September 28	Likud Party leader Sharon visits al-Haram al-Sharif with large police escort, igniting protests.
	September 29	Israeli police kill four Palestinians and wound 220 after Friday prayers at al-Haram al-Sharif; Al-Aqsa Intifada begins.
	September 30	Israeli soldiers kill Muhammad al-Durrah (age 12) and ambulance driver at Netzarim junction in Gaza.
	October 12	Israel bombs police station, radio tower and Arafat's compound after Palestinians kill two Israeli soldiers in Ramallah; USS Cole is attacked in Aden port.
	October 17	Clinton and Mubarak convene Sharm al-Shaykh summit.
	October 21	Barak commissions inquiry into the deaths of Palestinian citizens at the hands of Israeli police.
	November 16	IDF targets Fatah offices in West Bank; Barak warns Israelis to prepare for protracted conflict.
	December 9	Israeli Prime Minister Barak announces his resignation.
	December 18	Resolution to establish international protection force fails to gain a majority of votes in the UN Security Council.
	December 19	Palestinian-Israeli talks open in Washington, D.C.
	December 23	Clinton presents his proposal for agreement on final status issues.
	December 27	Barak accepts Clinton’s parameters but with reservations.

2001	January 3	Arafat meets with Clinton and accepts his proposal with reservations.
	January 18	Barak proposes establishing a Palestinian state on 40-42% of the West Bank already under PA control.
	February 6	Ariel Sharon is elected prime minister of Israel.
	February 8	U.S. President George W. Bush declares Clinton’s proposals off the table.
	May 20	Mitchell Report issued; U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell urges Israel and PA to implement its recommendations.
	June 1	Hamas suicide bombing of Tel Aviv nightclub kills 16 Israelis and injures more than 80.
	September 11	Al-Qaeda attacks the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
	September 14	Sharon rejects U.S. appeals to hold peace talks with PA, hindering U.S. efforts to form a coalition to strike at Bin Laden.
	October 2	Bush for the first time publicly endorses the creation of a Palestinian state.
	October 18	Israel cuts off all contact with PA, gives green light for security services to step up targeted killings.
	November 19	Powell announces plans to help broker ceasefire based on the Tenet plan and Mitchell Commission recommendations.
	December 3	Israeli cabinet declares PA an “entity that supports terrorism." IDF launches air raids on PA sites; besieges Arafat in Ramallah.
	December 16	Arafat again urges Palestinians to halt attacks on Israeli targets, especially suicide bombings.
	December 23	Peres and PA negotiator Ahmad Qurai‘ draft a “letter of understanding" recognizing Palestinian state after full implementation of Mitchell plan.

2002	January 3	Israel captures the Karin A loaded with 50 tons of weapons en route from Iran to the PA; PA and Iran deny involvement.
	January 17	Arafat placed under de facto house arrest in Ramallah by IDF.
	February 9	EU endorses a draft peace plan; Israel rejects the idea, PA accepts.
	March 12	UN Security Council passes Resolution 1897, for the first time explicitly endorsing the creation of “two states, Israel and Palestine."
	March 28	Arab summit adopts Saudi peace initiative, offering Israel full Arab normalization for its withdrawal to 1967 borders.
	March 29	IDF launches Operation Defensive Shield, reoccupying major West Bank cities, and besieging Arafat’s Ramallah compound.
	March 30	UN Security Council approves Resolution 1402, demanding that Israel withdraw from Ramallah.
	April 4	Bush publicly demands that Israel halt incursions, withdraw from reoccupied areas (March 29), and stop settlement activity.
	April 9	Battle in Jenin refugee camp leaves at least 53 Palestinians and 23 Israeli soldiers dead.
	April 21	IDF completes withdrawal to the outskirts of Nablus; pulls out of Ramallah, maintains forces around Arafat’s compound.
	May 1	Israel lifts its 34-day siege of the Ramallah compound, grants Arafat freedom of movement.
	May 6	Under U.S. pressure, Arafat authorizes agreement ending the siege of the Church of the Nativity.
	June	Construction of Israel’s separation wall begins.
	June 5	Suicide bomb in Meggido kills 14 IDF soldiers and three Israeli civilians; IDF reoccupies West Bank.
	June 9	Surrounded once again, Arafat appoints a new “transitional" PA.
	June 24	Bush gives a major speech saying that Palestinians must remove Arafat and create a Western-style democracy.
	September 17	The Quartet presents draft “Roadmap” for creation of a Palestinian state by June 2005.
	September 29	Israel ends the siege, allowing Arafat and all those inside with him to leave; troops remain in Ramallah.

2003	January 26	Powell warns Israel to ease the humanitarian situation and says that the Palestinians must be offered a “real state."
	February 5	In secret talks, Sharon presents Qurai' with plan for gradual ceasefire and resumed security coordination.
	March 19	Mahmud Abbas accepts Arafat’s nomination as prime minister, and is given three weeks to form a government.
	April 29	Abbas forms new government, his outlined vision of future state deemed “problematic" by Israel.
	April 30	U.S. formally presents Israel and the PA with the “Roadmap."
	May 17	Abbas and Sharon meet in Jerusalem, marking the first senior-level talks since September 26, 2000.
	May 25	Sharon’s cabinet narrowly approves the principles of the Roadmap, but attaches 14 reservations.
	June 27	In Cairo, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah finalize a unilateral ceasefire agreement.
	June 29	Hamas and Islamic Jihad announce a ceasefire for a minimum of three months, with the support of the DFLP and PFLP.
	August 19	Hamas takes responsibility for a Jerusalem bombing that killed 20 and wounded over 100 but says still committed to ceasefire; Israel suspends talks with PA.
	September 6	Abbas resigns as prime minister.
	September 7	Arafat names Ahmad Qurai' to replace Abbas.
	October 13	Prominent Palestinians and Israelis announce Geneva Accord as an alternative to the Roadmap.
	December 1	Geneva Accord signed.

2004	January 25	Hamas’s Abd al-Aziz Rantisi proposes a 10-year truce in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal to 1967 borders.
	March 24	Israeli officials present U.S. with Sharon’s “preferred plan” for unilateral disengagement from Gaza and six settlements in the West Bank.
	May 24	Egyptian intelligence chief meets with Sharon and Arafat to discuss the training of Palestinian security forces by Egypt.
	June 6	Sharon’s cabinet endorses plan to withdraw from all Gaza settlements and four in the West Bank.
	July 9	The International Court of Justice (ICJ) finds Israel’s separation barrier to be contrary to international law.
	October 27	Arafat collapses in his Ramallah headquarters.
	October 29	Arafat checks into Paris hospital leaving Abbas in charge.
	November 6	Qurai‘ privately meets with Hamas leaders in Gaza, who pledge to exercise restraint but do not guarantee a ceasefire.
	November 10	At 09:30 EST, Yasir Arafat dies in a Paris hospital.
	November 11	The State Department says Israel must carry on with Gaza disengagement.
	November 29	Hamas’s Shaykh Hassan Yusuf says Hamas would consider ceasefire agreement conditional on Israeli reciprocation.

2005	January 9	Mahmud Abbas elected president of the PA.
	January 15	Abbas is sworn in as PA president, reappoints Qurai' as prime minister and calls for immediate talks with Israel.
	January 24	Palestinian militant groups agree to an informal one-month truce.
	February 8	In Sharm al-Shaykh, Abbas calls for end of Palestinian violence toward Israelis, Sharon calls for end of military activity against Palestinians.
	March 17	Palestinian factions meet in Cairo and pledge to extend the unofficial truce until the end of 2005.
	August 17	IDF begins forcible evacuation of remaining Jewish settlers and disengagement protestors in Gaza.
	August 22	IDF completes evacuation of settlers from Gaza.
	September 12	IDF pulls out last troops and declares the end of military rule in Gaza.
	September 24	Islamic Jihad and Hamas fire over 30 rockets from Gaza at Sederot and the Negev; Israel declares Operation First Rain.
	October 26	Islamic Jihad bombing in Hadera kills five Israelis and wounds 20. Israel approves Operation Starting All Over Again.
	November 20	Israel and PA revive working group on security with U.S. participation.
	November 23	Israel and the EU formally declare the EU Border Assistance Mission to monitor Gaza-Egypt border.

2006	January 4	Sharon suffers a massive stroke. Political powers are transferred to Vice PM Ehud Olmert, Sharon’s close ally.
	January 21	U.S. acknowledges rumors that it funneled $2 million through USAID to build electoral support for Fatah at the expense of Hamas.
	January 25	Hamas’s Change and Reform Party wins a surprise majority in PA legislative elections, taking 74 seats. Fatah wins 45 seats.
	January 27	Israel announces suspension of VAT tax transfers to PA, amounting to some $50 million in lost PA revenue per month.
	January 30	Quartet says aid to new Hamas-led government should be contingent upon recognition of Israel, economic embargo begins; Russia breaks rank.
	February 4	Talks on the formation of a unity government open between Abbas and Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh.
	February 9	Putin invites Hamas delegation to Moscow.
	February 18	Abbas invites Hamas-affiliated Change and Reform party to form a cabinet.
	February 19	Israeli cabinet endorses immediate halt to transfers of VAT taxes owed to the PA.
	March 25	Abbas approves Prime Minister Haniyeh’s cabinet slate despite the failure of the platform to endorse previous peace agreements.
	March 27	Haniyeh offers to hold talks with the Quartet and to allow any country to send monitors.
	March 28	Kadima party led by Prime Minister Olmert won most seats in parliamentary elections. The PC approves Hamas-led cabinet.
	April 5	PA Foreign Minister sends a letter to Kofi Annan indicating new government’s acceptance of a two-state solution.
	May 9	Quartet conference on aid options; Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) proposed to provide direct aid to Palestinians while bypassing Hamas.
	May 12	Haniyeh signals to EU potential for “the recognition of a Palestinian state next to Israel" based on 1967 borders.
	May 17	Executive Support Forces deployed for first time; Abbas orders thousands of PA police into the streets, Fatah-Hamas violence escalates.
	May 23	Haniyeh signals readiness to cooperate with Israel and reiterates opposition to amending the Hamas Charter.
	June 20	Israeli Defense Ministry officials acknowledge that Hamas has been observing the ceasefire announced on June 15.
	June 25	Palestinian gunmen attack an IDF border post outside of Gaza and capture Captain Gilad Shalit.
	June 28	IDF launches Operation Summer Rains, sending ground troops into south Gaza; retakes the Dahaniyya airport area as a base.
	June 29	IDF arrest 64 senior Hamas political officials, including eight PA cabinet members and 26 PC members.
	July 12	Hizballah launches a cross border attack on Israel, capturing two soldiers, killing three and wounding two.
	July 13	Israeli air strikes on Lebanon and Hizballah Katyusha attacks on Israel. IDF operations in Gaza continue.
	September 1	EU says that it would be willing work with a Palestinian unity government even if it included members of Hamas.
	September 11	Abbas and Haniyeh announce framework for the formation of a national unity government, but agreement soon falls apart.
	Late September	U.S. security envoy Keith Dayton launches efforts to open low-level Israeli-Palestinian security talks.
	October 4	U.S. plans to double the size of Abbas’s elite presidential guard to 6,000.
	November 1	IDF night raid into Gaza; Haniyeh advisor Ahmad Yousef calls on Israel to join a ten-year truce and open final status talks.
	November 12	Arab League votes to end financial blockade of Palestinians, calls for international conference with Israel.
	November 13	Tony Blair calls on Bush to support Palestinian-Israeli peace to help stabilize Iraq.

2007	January 19	Israel transfers $100 million of $660 million withheld tax revenues to Abbas according to December 2006 agreement.
	January 27	Renewed fighting between Fatah and Hamas in Gaza Strip leads to suspension of attempts to form unity government.
	January 28	Fatah and Hamas agree on ceasefire during talks convened by Saudi King Abdullah in Mecca.
	February 8	President Abbas, Khalid Meshal, and King Abdullah agree to parameters for national unity government.
	March 21	Israel Knesset extends citizenship law that prevents unification of Israeli-Palestinian families.
	April 10	U.S. Congress approves $60 million aid package to support Abbas’s National Security Forces.
	April 24	Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, fires nearly 100 rockets and mortars into Israel.
	April 25	Israel air attack hits Gaza home of Khalid al-Haya, leader of Hamas parliamentary bloc.
	June 12	Abbas suspends Fatah activities in unity government after Hamas attacks on Fatah posts in Gaza.
	June 17	Abbas appoints Salam Fayyad prime minister of emergency cabinet to reach national unity government under Prime Minister Haniyeh.
	July 1	Israel transfers to PA $117 million in tax revenue withheld during 17-month boycott.
	July 20	Israel releases 255 Palestinian (mostly Fatah) prisoners; approximately 10,000 Palestinians remain in Israeli prisons.
	August 11	Hamas military wing in Gaza announces creation of coast guard.
	November 27	Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sponsor conference in Annapolis, Maryland to initiate new negotiations for peace agreement.
	November 28	Rice signs agreement to provide $80 million to enhance Abbas’s security forces.
	November 29	Palestinian and Israel academics and activists present “One State Declaration."

2008	January 10	Bush announces his most comprehensive peace plan, including refugee compensation and accommodation of settlements.
	January 18	IDF bans all imports into Gaza.
	January 20-21	Gaza’s main power plant closes, aid programs suspend food distribution, 40-50% of Gazans lack safe drinking water.
	January 22	5,000 Palestinian women protest at Rafah, demanding that Egypt open the border.
	January 23	Hamas forces open Rafah border, tens of thousands of Palestinians flow through seeking supplies and medical care.
	January 28	Under U.S. and Israeli pressure Egypt begins to reseal border, completes closing on February 3.
	January 30	Israeli High Court endorses “economic warfare" on Gaza in response to rocket attacks; fuel and electricity supplies decreased.
	February 25	Tens of thousands Palestinians march across Gaza to Israeli border protesting the continued siege.
	February 28	IDF launches Operation Hot Winter, killing 20 Palestinians.
	March 1	First IDF ground incursion into Gaza since 2005 disengagement; 62 Palestinians killed and 175 wounded.
	March 2	Abbas suspends peace talks with Israel.
	March 6	Palestinian gunman opens fire on Zionist yeshiva, killing eight Israelis and wounding nine others.
	March 12	Haniyeh offers Israel comprehensive ceasefire in exchange for a cessation of Israeli “assassinations, raids and killings."
	April 7	Abbas meets with Olmert for the first time since talks were suspended and pledges to continue negotiations.
	May 7	60th anniversary of the creation of the state of Israel; Palestinians mark 60 years since the Nakba.
	June 18	To bolster new Fatah-led emergency government, U.S. ends aid embargo began January 2006.
	June 19	Israel and Hamas agree to truce in Gaza.
	August 25	Israel releases 198 Palestinian prisoners to bolster Abbas’s Fatah party, bringing total released to 1,000.
	September 17	Tzipi Livni elected leader of Israel’s Kadima party.
	September 21	Olmert formally resigns under corruption allegations.
	October 8	Tension over Yom Kippur closures leads to riots between Israeli Palestinians and Jews in Acre; violence continues until October 13.
	October 28	The Israeli Supreme Court approves plans for building the Museum of Tolerance by the Simon Wiesenthal Center on the grounds of Mamilla (Ma'man Allah) Cemetery, containing hundreds of tombs of Muslim shaykhs, imams, military leaders and scholars since the period of Salah al-Din (Saladin).
	November 13	UNRWA forced to suspend food distribution in Gaza for the first time in 60 years due to lack of supplies; aid agencies warn of impending humanitarian crisis.
	November 30	Israeli government approves the release of 250 Palestinian prisoners, and releases 224 on December 15.
	December 19	Six-month cease-fire between Israel and Hamas expires and a spate of attacks from both Israel and Hamas result.
	December 27	IDF launches a major offensive on Gaza, Operation Cast Lead.

2009	January 6	An IDF ground attack hits UNRWA building functioning as a shelter, killing 42 Palestinians and wounding 55.
	January 17	Olmert announces a unilateral cease-fire to come into effect the following day. Amnesty International later reports that some 1400 Palestinians were killed during the 22-day operation, including around 300 children and 115 women.
	January 20	Obama is inaugurated as the 44th U.S. president.
	March 2	International donor conference takes place in Sharm al-Shaykh, resulting in 75 countries pledging a total of $4 billion, only a portion of which was ever received. Sec. of State Clinton arrives in Israel for three-day talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
	March 13	In Ni'lin, IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas at activists taking part in a non-violent protest. American activist, Tristan Anderson, is seriously wounded and dies in an Israeli hospital three days later.
	March 31	Netanyahu's coalition government is approved by the Knesset.
	April 21	King Abdullah of Jordan meets President Obama and U.S. Envoy Mitchell at the White House; Obama announces his administration's plans for reviving the peace process.
	May 7	The Arab League rejects the Obama administration's request to amend the 2002 Arab League initiative by dropping the Palestinian right of return as means of reviving the peace process.
	June 4	Obama delivers his first major international address in Cairo, calling for “new beginnings" between the U.S. and the Muslim World, refers to the “unbreakable bond" between the U.S. and Israel, but describes the occupation as “intolerable" and calls for the creation of a Palestinian state.
	June 14	Netanyahu delivers a major address on Israeli peace and security in response to Obama's speech in Cairo. He calls for the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and for the first time, agrees to back the creation of a Palestinian state, subject to conditions, however, he refuses to end settlement construction in the West Bank.
	June 22	In response to Obama and Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Fayyad calls for the creation of a Palestinian state within two years.
	September 15	Goldstone Report on Gaza finds evidence of Israel's serious violations of international human rights; it concludes that Israel, Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups are responsible for committing war crimes.
	November 25	Netanyahu declares a ten-month settlement freeze on new residential housing approvals in the West Bank; building in East Jerusalem continues.
	December 21	Egypt confirms that it is building an underground steel barrier along the Rafah border.

2010	January 6	Violent clashes take place between hundreds of Palestinians and Egyptian border police over Egypt's ban on aid through the Rafah crossing without Israel's permission, and the plans to build the steel barrier.
	January 20	Senior Hamas Commander, Mahmud al-Mabhuh, is found murdered in a Dubai hotel; local police implicate Israel in the assassination.
	March 3	The Arab League gives its support to the idea of indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that have been suspended since Operation Cast Lead.
	March 9	Israel announces the approval of 1,600 new settlement houses in East Jerusalem during Biden's visit to Israel and the West Bank. An embarrassed Biden and Clinton both condemn the move, and the Arab League withdraws its support for talks; Abbas states that the PA will not resume talks until Israel cancels construction plans.
	March 19	The EU and Quartet strongly condemn Israel's construction plan, calling for its reversal and stressing that Israel was obligated to freeze all settlement activity, demolitions and evictions in East Jerusalem.
	May 1	Arab League officials meet in Cairo to re-endorse plans to begin proximity talks, but reiterate that direct talks should not commence until Israel stops settlement construction.
	May 8	U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell, Israel and the PLO Executive Commission agree to launch four months of proximity talks; they begin talks a day later.
	May 30	Turkish relief convoy carrying 600 international activists and 10,000 tons of aid sails towards Gaza, defying warnings from the Israeli navy.
	May 31	Israeli forces board the Mavi Maramara and kill nine Turkish activists. One of them holds dual U.S. citizenship. Angered Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan cancels military exercises with Israel and calls for an emergency meeting with the UN Security Council; meanwhile, the EU demands an immediate inquiry and the international community condemns the killings.
	June 17	Israel announces it will ease its land blockade on the Gaza strip.
	September 26	Ten-month freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank expires.
	October 2	Abbas stresses that direct talks will not resume until Israel halts settlement construction in the West Bank.
	December 6	Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay recognize Palestinian state.
	December 15	Iceland announces recognition of Palestinian statehood.
	December 17	Bolivia joins other South American countries in recognizing Palestine as an official state.
	December 17	Mohamed Boazizi, a Tunisian street vendor, sets himself aflame after his food stall is shut down by police, sparking a revolution and the overthrow of President Ben Ali. The Tunisian revolution was followed by mass demonstrations for change that erupted in Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Syria, and Bahrain. The region-wide uprising carried on throughout 2011 and into 2012.
	December 24	Ecuador recognizes Palestinian statehood.

2011	January 7	Chile joins list of South American countries recognizing Palestinian statehood.
	January 23	Al Jazeera publishes “The Palestine Papers," more that 1,600 documents detailing behind the scenes negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. The papers show that Palestinian negotiators were willing to make concessions on the controversial topics of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees. Following the documents' release, Saeb Erekat resigns as chief negotiator for the PLO.
	February 14	Prime Minister Salam Fayyad dissolves cabinet and was immediately appointed by Abbas to form a new cabinet.
	February 18	The U.S. vetoes a draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council condemning Israeli settlement building.
	March 15	Uruguay joins list of countries recognizing Palestinian statehood.
	March 26	In Ramallah, Mahmoud Abbas meets with Hamas officials for the first time in a year in hopes of reconciling the two factions.
	April 3	South African Judge Richard Goldstone retracts part of his report on Israel's 2009 offensive in Gaza, claiming that he no longer believes that Israel deliberately targeted Gazan civilians as the report originally stated.
	April 4	Israeli actor and pro-Palestinian peace activist Juliano Mer Khamis is murdered in Jenin.
	April 6	International Monetary Fund states that Palestine is economically competent to run an independent state.
	April 15	Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni is found dead in Gaza after being abducted by radical Salafist group.
	May 4	In Cairo, Fatah and Hamas sign a reconciliation accord.
	May 15	Israeli army kills several protesters during pro-Palestinian demonstrations commemorating the Nakba. Protests took place along Israel's borders with Syria and Lebanon and at checkpoints in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
	May 28	Egypt reopens Rafah Border crossing to Gaza.
	June 6	At least 23 people killed in the Golan Heights after the Israeli army opens fire on pro-Palestinian demonstrators attempting to enter the Israeli-occupied territory of the Golan Heights to mark Naksa Day.
	July 2	Greece blocks “Freedom Flotilla" from embarking for Gaza.
	August 18	Eight Israelis killed and over 30 wounded in attack near Eilat, heightening tensions with Gaza and Egypt. Israel responds with airstrikes on Gaza.
	September 23	Palestinian Authority submits application for statehood at the United Nations.
	October 18	Israel and Hamas reach deal to swap over 500 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit abducted in Gaza in 2006.
	October 31	The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) votes for Palestine to become a full member, followed by the US decision to cut funding to this UN program.
	December 19	Israel releases 550 Palestinian prisoners in final stage of prisoner swap deal.

2012	January 9	Palestinians and Israelis meet in Jordan in an attempt to restart peace talks between the two parties.
	January 12	Israeli Supreme Court upholds law that prevents Palestinians who are married to Israelis from living in Israel.
	January 21	Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal announces he will not stand for leadership in the next round of party elections. Meshaal's advocacy for popular non-violent resistance highlights the rift between Hamas leadership in Syria and Gaza.
	February 6	Following negotiations in Qatar, Fatah and Hamas announce unity government headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad stepping down from his position.
	February 21	Palestinian prisoner and Islamic Jihad member Khader Adnan ends 66-day hunger strike protesting his administrative detention without charges.