Middle East Timeline by Allysha and Alana

Balfour Declaration

Jan 1, 1917

Declared Palestine (nowaday Israel) needed to create a holy land for the Jews.

Middle East Timeline

Period: Jan 1, 1917 to Jan 1, 2000

Arab League

Jan 1, 1945

Arab League seeks to unify Arab policy on world issues, especially Arab efforts against Irael.

Palestine and the UN

Jan 1, 1947

Britain turned the Palestine problem over to the UN General Assembly.

Israel Independence

Jan 1, 1948

Israel proclamined its independence. The Israeli Republic is the Middle East's only modern democratic state.

Sinai Campaign

Jan 1, 1956

Israel invaded Egypt to end the Agaba blockade along with Britain and France. The UN secured withdrawal of invading forces and set up a United Nations Emergency Force in Egypt on the border with Israel and the tip of Sinai Peninsula.

Organiztation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Jan 1, 1960

Organization created to increase its members' oil revenues.

Geneva Peace Conference

Dec 1, 1973

Israel, Egypt, and Jordan (not Syria) sent delegates to a UN-backed peace conference. However, it
did not work.

Arab Support for PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization)

Jan 1, 1974

Arab nations meeting in Rabat, Morocco declared the PLO to be the true representation of the Palestinian people.

Lebanon's Civil War

Jan 1, 1975

Lebanon’s deeply fragmented society fell into turmoil when civil war broke out. It was a free-for-all pitting many rival militias against each other.

Arab-Israel War

Jan 1, 1976

This is the name of the sixty-day war between Israel and other countries, including Egypt, Jordan,
Syria, and Iraq. Israel's pre-emptive air-strikes against the countries led to their victory.

Syrian Intervention

Jan 1, 1976

Syria sent 15,000 troops into Lebanon under an Arab League mandate to enforce a cease-fire.

Israel's 1982 Invasion

Jan 1, 1982

Israeli armed forces bombed the Lebanese capital, Beirut, in 1981 and launched a full-scale
invasion in 1982.

Suicide Bombings

Jan 1, 1983

The United States joined France, Italy, and Britain to aid the Lebanese government. Leftists and
Muslims regarded the multinational force as supporting rightist Lebanese Christians. Suicide bombers
drove trucks into United States and French military compounds blowing up trucks and killing 241
Marines and 58 French soldiers.

United States’ Withdrawal from Lebanon

Jan 1, 1984

President Reagan withdrew the United States forces from Lebanon.

Israeli Withdrawal

Jan 1, 1985

Israel withdrew most of its forces from Lebanon, but left a small “security zone” in Southern
Lebanon. However, the Israelis continued to arm southern Lebanese Christian militia in the south.

Palestine as an Independent "State"

Nov 1, 1988

Araft and the Palestine National Council met to proclaim the formation of an independent “state of
Palestine” with its capital in Jerusalem.

New Constitution

Jan 1, 1989

President Amin Gemayel’s term expired in 1988 without an agreement on a successor. After
fighting flared up, Muslim and Christian members of Lebanon’s parliament met and approved a new
constitution designed to increase the power of Lebanon’s Muslim majority and end the civil war.

Shaky Peace

Jan 1, 1990

Syrian troops assaulted the presidential palace to remove Christian general, Michel Aoun, who was
against the new constitution. A new “national unity” government reestablished central authority and
disarmed the rival militias.

Debate Over American Involvement

Jan 12, 1991

Congress voted to support military action against Iraq.

Israeli-PLO Accord

Jan 1, 1993

After months of secret peace talks, the PLO accept Israel’s “right to exist in peace and security” and renounced “the use of terrorism and other acts of violence.” In return, Israel recognized the PLO as the representative of Palestine.