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Zionist Movement
In 1896 following the appearance of anti-Semitism in Europe, Theodore Herzl, the founder of Zionism tried to find a political solution for the problem in his book, 'The Jewish State'. He advocated the creation of a Jewish state in Argentina or Palestine. In 1897 the first Zionist Congress was held in Switzerland, which issued the Basle programme on the colonization of Palestine and the establishment of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). In 1904 the Fourth Zionist Congress decided to establis -
Sykes-Picot Agreement
Britain and France signed the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which divided the Arab region into zones of influence. Lebanon and Syria were assigned to France, Jordan and Iraq to Britain and Palestine was to be internationalized. -
Balfour Declaration
The British government therefore issued the Balfour Declaration on November 2, 1917, in the form of a letter to a British Zionist leader from the foreign secretary Arthur J. Balfour: “His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of the existin -
Jews Migration
After World War I ended in 1918, Jews began to migrate to Palestine, which was set aside as a British mandate with the approval of the League of Nations in 1922. After World War I the terms of the Balfour Declaration were included in the mandate for Palestine approved by the League of Nations in 1922. The mandate entrusted Great Britain with administering Palestine and with assisting the Jewish people in “reconstituting their national home in that country.” Large-scale Jewish settlement and deve -
Palestinians first National Conference
The Palestinians convened their first National Conference and expressed their opposition to the Balfour Declaration. -
San Remo Conference
The San Remo Conference granted Britain a mandate over Palestine and two years later Palestine was effectively under British administration, and Sir Herbert Samuel, a declared Zionist, was sent as Britain's first High Commissioner to Palestine. -
A six-month General Strike in Palestine
The Palestinians held a six-month General Strike to protest against the confiscation of land and Jewish immigration. -
The British government restricting Jewish immigration
The British government published a new White Paper restricting Jewish immigration and offering independence for Palestine within ten years. This was rejected by the Zionists, who then organized terrorist groups and launched a bloody campaign against the British and the Palestinians. The aim was to drive them both out of Palestine and to pave the way for the establishment of the Zionist state. -
Great britain withdraw & the UN partition plan
Exhausted by seven years of war and eager to withdraw from overseas colonial commitments, Great Britain in 1947 decided to leave Palestine and called on the United Nations (UN) to make recommendations. In response, the UN convened its first special session in 1947, and on November 29, 1947, it adopted a plan calling for partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as an international zone under UN jurisdiction; the Jewish and Arab states would be joined in an economic union -
First Arab-Israeli War
In Palestine, Arab protests against partition erupted in violence, with attacks on Jewish settlements that soon led to a full-scale civil war. The British generally refused to intervene, intent on leaving the country no later than August 1, 1948, the date in the partition plan for termination of the mandate. When it became clear that the British intended to leave by May 15, leaders of the Yishuv decided to implement that part of the partition plan calling for establishment of a Jewish state. In -
Israel founded
The population balance in the new state of Israel was drastically altered during the 1948 war. The armistice agreements extended the territory under Israel's control beyond the UN partition boundaries from approximately 15,500 to 20,700 sq km (about 6,000 to 8,000 sq mi). The small Gaza Strip on the Egypt-Israel border was left under Egyptian occupation, and the West Bank was annexed by Jordan. Of the more than 800,000 Arabs who lived in Israeli-held territory before 1948, only about 170,000 rem -
The Sinai campaign
Attempts to convert the Israeli-Arab armistice agreements into peace treaties were unsuccessful. The Arabs insisted that the refugees be permitted to return to their homes, that Jerusalem be internationalized, and that Israel make territorial concessions before they entered peace talks. Israel charged that these demands would undermine its security and refused them.
Frequent incursions by refugee guerrilla bands and attacks by Arab military units were made, which Israel answered with forceful re -
PLO established
The Palestine Liberation Organization was established. On 1 January 1965 The Palestine 'Revolution' began. -
The Six-Day War
After the Suez-Sinai war Arab nationalism increased dramatically, as did demands for revenge led by Egypt's president Nasser.
The formation of a united Arab military command that massed troops along the borders, together with Egypt's closing of the Straits of Tiran and Nasser's insistence in 1967 that the UNEF leave Egypt, led Israel to attack Egypt, Jordan, and Syria simultaneously on June 5 of that year. The war ended six days later with a decisive Israeli victory. -
The 6 October War
In 1973 Egypt joined Syria in a war on Israel to regain the territories lost in 1967. The two Arab states struck unexpectedly on October 6, which fell on Yom Kippur, Israel's holiest fast day. Israeli forces managed to defeat the attackers after a three-week struggle, but at the cost of many casualties, and the Arabs' strong showing won them support from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and most of the world's developing countries. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait financed the Arab forces, -
Camp David peace treaty
Begin, however, was the first Israeli leader to achieve a peace settlement with an Arab state. It resulted from the surprise initiative of President Anwar al-Sadat of Egypt, who in November 1977 flew to Jerusalem, where he addressed the Knesset and called on Begin to begin peace talks. After protracted negotiations sponsored by U.S. President Jimmy Carter at Camp David, Maryland, the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 1979. Although the treaty ended the pr -
The Intifada
Relations between Israel and the Palestinians entered a new phase in the late 1980s with the intifada, a series of uprisings in the occupied territories that included demonstrations, strikes, and rock-throwing attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians. The harsh response by the Israeli government drew criticism from both the United States and the UN -
Lebanon invasion
In 1982 Israel launched an invasion of Lebanon aimed at wiping out the PLO presence there. By mid-August, after intensive fighting in and around Bayrut, the PLO agreed to withdraw its guerrillas from the city. Israeli troops remained in southern Lebanon, however, and the cost of the war and subsequent occupation drained the already troubled Israeli economy. -
Jordan gave up the West bank
1988, Nov. 15 : Jordan gave up the West Bank, in favour of the Palestinian people. The West Bank had still a strong majority of Palestinians, where many considered towns and villages in Israel as their true homes. The West Bank was also under boundless Israeli control, which it had been since the occupation of 1967 -
PNC declared the State of Palestine
On 14-04-1988 , Abu Jihad, Palestinian leader, was gunned down in his home in Tunis by the Israeli Mossad. On 15-11-1988 , The PNC meeting in Algiers declared the State of Palestine as outlined in the UN Partition Plan 181 , and a flag for the new state is presented. The new state is recognized only by states that have not recognized Israel. On 09-12-1988 , British Junior Foreign Minister William Waldegrave met with Bassam Abu Sharif President Arafat's adviser, thus upgrading Britain's relations -
Madrid Conference
On June 28, 1989 , EEC Madrid Conference issued a new declaration calling for the PLO to be involved in any peace negotiations. On August 3, 1989 , Fateh, the mainstream PLO organization, at their 5th Conference endorsed the PLO strategy adopted at the PNC in Algiers in November 1988. -
Peace Talks
The first comprehensive peace talks between Israel and delegations representing the Palestinians and neighboring Arab states began in October 1991. After Likud lost the parliamentary election of June 1992, Labor party leader Yitzhak Rabin formed a new government . -
Washington peace agreemen
vents in the Middle East took a surprising turn in 1993. After secret negotiations, Prime Minister Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat flew to Washington, D.C., and agreed to the signing of an historic peace agreement. Israel agreed to allow for Palestinian self-rule, first in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho, and later in other areas of the West Bank that are not settled by Jews . 1993, Sep. 13 : The Oslo Agreement is presented to the great surprise of the world public. The cont -
Hebron mosque massacre
In early 1994, negotiations for self-rule were temporarily derailed after a Jewish settler massacred at least 29 Palestinian Arabs at a mosque in Hebron, in the West Bank. -
Israel withdrew from Jericho and Gaza Strip
In May 1994, Israeli troops withdrew from Jericho and the towns and refugee camps of the Gaza Strip, and the areas came under Palestinian control -
Jordan signed a peace agreement with Israel
In July 1994 Prime Minister Mr. Rabin and King Hussein of Jordan signed a peace agreement ending 46 years of war and strained relations. The agreement, which was signed at the White House in the presence of U.S. President Bill Clinton, laid the groundwork for a full peace treaty. -
Oslo II Agreement signed in Washington
Oslo II- Agreement signed in Washington. This changes much of the content of the Oslo agreement, and settles the rules for the forthcoming peace process. The West Bank is divided into three zones, where the Palestinians only control the security in some of the larger cities. -
National elections
National elections, considered as free and fair. good turn out Yassir Arafat is elected president. -
Clinton Agreement
President Clinton presents a two-state solution, urging both sides to endorse it. In Clinton's proposal, the Palestinians get roughly 97% of the West Bank, sovereignty over their airspace, and control over Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem including Haram esh-Sharif. However, his proposal stipulates that refugees can return to Israel only with Israeli consent. -
9/11
September 11. Terrorist attacks against the U.S. on the World Trade Center and Pentagon complicates the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The U.S. begins its war on terror. Hamas and Hezbollah are linked with Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda. -
Passover Bombing
During Passover, a Hamas suicide bomber kills 30 Israelis and wounds about 100 others at a Nethanya restaurant.
In retaliation of the Passover suicide bombing, Israel launches Operation Defensive Shield in effort to stamp out terrorist and suicide attacks. The operation includes reoccupying such towns as Ramallah, Nablus, and Jenin. -
Abbas Elected
Abbas is elected president of the Palestinian National Authority -
Hamas Control Gaza
Hamas and Fatah agree to share power.
Hamas seizes control of Gaza, routing Fatah forces and killing more than 100 people. -
Obama Muslim Speech
President Obama gives historic speech in Cairo. Addressing the Muslim and Arab world, he calls on Palestinians to renounce violence, on Arabs to recognize Israel's right to exist, and for an end to settlement construction. -
Obama Declaration
President Obama declares that the borders demarcated before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war should be the basis of a Mideast peace deal between Israel and Palestine with adjustments made to account for Israeli settlements in the West Bank.