1917 Balfour Declaration by the British Government, supporting a “national home” for the Jewish people in Palestine.
1917 – 1948 British Mandate in Palestine. British take Palestine from the Ottomans. In 1919, the newly established League of Nations gave the British a mandate over Palestine and a separate mandate over the area east of the Jordan River.
1917 Expelled Jews allowed to return.
1919 – 1923 Third Aliyah. 40,000 Jews immigrated.
1921 Jaffa riots. Arab mobs violently attacked Jewish population.
1924 – 1928 Fourth Aliyah. More than 80,000 Jews immigrated.
1929 – 1939 Fifth Aliyah. 225,000-300,000 Jewish immigrants.
1929 Palestine riots. Arab mobs attacked Jewish population centers. Triggered by a dispute over access to the Western Wall of Temple Mount.
1936 – 1939 Arab revolt. Arabs revolted against British, calling for independence and an end to Jewish immigration as well as Jewish land purchases.
1947 Approximately 630,000 Jews and 1.2 million Arabs lived in Palestine.
1947 (Nov. 29) UN General Assembly approves a partition plan for Palestine.
1947-48 Civil War between Jews and Arabs
1948 (May 14) State if Israel announced on the eve of the end of the British Mandate.
1948 Arab-Israeli War. Arab armies from Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq attack the new State of Israel on May 15. The war lasts until 1949, ending with a series of armistices (Egypt: 24 February, Lebanon on 23 March, Transjordan on 3 April, and Syria on 20 July). The armistice lines, called the Green Line, formed the borders of Israel until the 1967 war. Israel greatly expanded its territory. Jordan annexed the West Bank and Egypt the Gaza Strip.
Around 750,000 Arabs fled or were expelled (Nakba, or catastrophe). Surrounding Arab countries put them in camps and refused to assimilate them. 156,000 Arabs remained in Israel and became citizens. Jordan expelled Jewish residents from the Old City of Jerusalem.
1948-1972 Large-scale Jewish emigration from the Muslim world (much of it forced). Between 800,000 and 1,000,000 Jews emigrated; 650,000 settled in Israel.
1948-1951 700,000 Jews immigrated to Israel, including 300,000 from Muslim countries.
1956 Suez Crisis. Israel, the United Kingdom, and France attack Egypt to regain control of the Suez Canal. The U.S. and the U.S.S.R. pressured the parties to withdraw.
1964 Palestine Liberation Organization founded with the goal of establishing an Arab state over all of the former Mandate of Palestine, eliminating the State of Israel. Also, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) was established
1967 (June 5 – 10) Six Day War. In May, 1967, Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, cutting off Israel’s southern port, Aqaba. It mobilized its troops and demanded that the UN withdraw peacekeepers from Sinai. Israel struck launched a pre-emptive strike against Egypt on June 5, destroying its air assets on the ground. It attacked the Gaza Strip and Sinai, which it seized. Jordan attacked Israel, assisted by Iraq, and Israel counterattacked, seizing East Jerusalem and the West Bank. On Day 5, Syria joined the war. Israel countered by seizing the Golan Heights.
This was followed by a war of attrition between Egypt and Israel, in which each side shelled the other side’s military positions across the Suez Canal.
The result: Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and Sinai, Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank. Between 200,000 to 250,000 civilians fled the West Bank (out of a total population of 1,000,000). Between 80,000 and 110,000 Syrians fled the Golan Heights.
June 19, the Israeli government decided to return Sinai (but not the Gaza Strip) and the Golan Heights in return for a peace agreement and demilitarization. In September at the Khartoum Arab Summit, the Arab countries rejected it, under the motto “no peace, no recognition and no negotiation with Israel”. But starting in 1971, Egypt began making overtures through the U.S., offering peace if Israel returned the Sinai and other Arab territories.
On June 25-27, Israeli incorporated East Jerusalem into a united Jerusalem municipality, effectively annexing it.
Gush Enunim launched a settlement program in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and now there are hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers (no longer in Gaza), which is an obstacle to a peace solution.
1968 The PLO and PFLP began a campaign of international terror, primarily directed at hijacking El Al flights. The PLO also began to attack Jordanian interests.
1970 Black September. Jordan fights and expels PLO from Jordan. PLO moves to Lebanon.
1972 Munich Olympics Massacre. Palestinian terrorists, assisted by German Neo-Nazis, capture then kill 11 members of the Israeli Olympic Team.
1973 Yom Kippur War, October 6 – 25. Egypt and Syria, helped by expeditionary forces from other Arab countries, Cuba, and North Korea, launched a surprise attack against Israel on October 6, Yom Kippur, a high Jewish holiday. Israel was taken by surprise and suffered initial losses. It counterattacked and drove the Syrians from Golan and pushed the Egyptians back. It then crossed the Suez Canal and encircled the Egyptian Third Army.
After the ceasefire, Egypt and Israel agreed to disengage, with the Israelis returning back across the Suez Canal but retaining most of the Sinai. A disengagement agreement was made with Syria in 1974, with Israel returning to the ceasefire line of 1967.
1975 Lebanese civil war begins, at first between Christian militias and Palestinians (PLO). Soon other Lebanese groups joined in. Fighting lasted until 1990.
1977 Egyptian president Sadat visits Israel and speaks before the Knesset.
1978 Peace talks between Egypt and Israel, hosted by U.S. President Carter. Called the Camp David Accords after the venue, resulted in a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. Israel withdrew from Sinai but retained the Gaza Strip. In 1981, Sadat was assassinated by angry military officers, but his successors have maintained peace with Israel.
1981 Palestinian Islamic Jihad founded. It calls for the military destruction of Israel and rejects a two-state solution. Its military wing is the Al Quds Brigade (Al Quds is the Arabic designation of Jerusalem).
1982-1985 Israel invades Lebanon to defeat PLO forces in southern Lebanon, which had been attacking northern Israel. It continued its advance to Beirut, where the PLO had its headquarters. The PLO received help from Syrian forces. Israel drove the Syrians out to the Bekaa Valley and besieged Beirut. In August and September, 14,000 PLO fighters evacuated to Tunisia, where they established their new headquarters. In 1982, US Marines landed in Lebanon as part of the Multinational Force supervising the truce between Israel and the PLO. October 23, 1983, Shia suicide bombers drove into the French and American military barracks, killing 241 Marines and 58 French paratroopers. In June 1985, Israel withdrew to a buffer zone in southern Lebanon. Conflict with the Lebanese Shia militia Hizbollah began.
1987-1993 First Intifada in the occupied territories. Much of it consisted of non-violent political actions, but there were also violent actions, and the first suicide attacks began. 160 Israelis and 2,162 Palestinians were killed, including 1,000 Palestinians killed by other Palestinians under the accusation of being collaborators. It ended with the Oslo Accords.
1987 Hamas founded as an explicitly Islamic resistance movement. The founding charter of Hamas mandates the killing of Jews, the destruction of the state of Israel, and advocates for the establishment of an Islamic state in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.
1993 – 1995 First Oslo Accord (Declaration of Principles) agreed on in Washington on September 13, 1993. The PLO recognized the existence of Israel and Israel recognized the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. The Second Oslo Accord, negotiated in Taba, Egypt in 1995, established the Palestinian Authority and a stepwise withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza and the West Bank. The West Bank was divided into three areas: A, B, and C. The Israeli military remains in areas B and C. Negotiations on a final status agreement were supposed to begin. Israeli prime minister Yitshak Rabin was assassinated by a far-right Israeli settler in 1995.
2000 U.S. president Bill Clinton hosted the Camp David Summit between Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat. Israel offered a Palestinian state initially on 73% of the West Bank (that is, 27% less than the Green Line borders) and 100% of the Gaza Strip. In 10–25 years, the Palestinian state would expand to a maximum of 92% of the West Bank (91 percent of the West Bank and 1 percent from a land swap). Israel would keep a swath of land between Maale Adumim (7 km east of Jerusalem) and the Jordan River and would also control the border between Jordan and the West Bank. The Palestinians said this would divide their state into 3 sections on the West Bank. Palestine would also have sovereignty over the Temple Mount but not the Western Wall. An elevated highway would connect Gaza and the West Bank. The right of return remained a sticking point – the Israelis rejected it and the Palestinians insisted on it. The parties failed to reach agreement, and in 2001 hawkish Ariel Sharon replaced Ehud Barak. The discussions surrounding the Camp David Summit were perhaps the last best chance to reach an agreement.
2000-2005 On September 28, 2000, Ariel Sharon’s led a Likud delegation to visit the Temple Mount. The Second Intifada began the next day, with Palestinians throwing rocks at Jews worshiping at the Western Wall. The Intifada lasted at least until 2005. Approximately 1000 Israelis and 4800 Palestinians were killed plus an additional 577 Palestinians by other Palestinians.
2004 Yassir Arafat died on November 11.
2005 Mahmoud Abbas elected president of the Palestinian National Authority (later also State of Palestine).
2005 Israel, under right-wing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, dismantles 21 settlements and withdraws completely from the Gaza Strip. It also evacuated 4 settlements from the northern West Bank. Israel instituted a partial blockade of Gaza to prevent military and dual use supplies from entering the Strip. The next three years saw a sharp rise in rocket attacks against Israel.
2006 Hamas won legislative elections and formed a government under Ismail Haniya.
2006 Hamas raided Israel from Gaza and abducted Corporal Gilad Shalit. Israel responded with Operation Summer Rains, which consisted of increased shelling and ground incursions, with the goal of stopping rocket attacks and rescuing Corporal Shalit. Israel also destroyed Gaza’s only power station.
2006-8 Negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. On September 16, 2008, Olmert offered a plan that was more generous than the 2000 plan offered at the Camp David Summit. The West Bank would not be divided and there would be a tunnel between it and Gaza. Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem would be under the PA’s authority, which would make it possible to establish a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem. Small, isolated Jewish settlements would be dismantled. Large ones annexed by Israel, but land given to Palestinians in compensation. No right of return (only 1000 per year for 5 years), but a fund to help compensate refugees. Abbas rejected the offer, because he was not given the opportunity to study a detailed plan of Jerusalem.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ehud-olmert-s-peace-offer and https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/92894-151119-abbas-says-he-rejected-olmert-peace-offer-in-2008-over-unseen-map
2007 Battle of Gaza, June 10-14. Armed Hamas militants violently seized PA facilities in Gaza and dismissed all non-Hamas officials. President Abbas dissolved the Hamas-led Haniya government, replacing it with a government led by Salam Fayyad.
2008-9 On February 27, Palestinian militants fired more than 40 rockets from northern Gaza. Israel responded with Operation Hot Winter, launching air attacks against militants and government facilities in Gaza. A ceasefire was negotiated. Israel broke the ceasefire on November 4 in response to finding a tunnel on the border, which it said would be used to capture more Israeli soldiers. Hamas responded by launching rocket attacks. Israel began an offensive on December 28 called Operation Cast Lead and began a ground invasion on January 3. An estimated 1,116-1,417 Palestinians and 13 Israelis died.
2011 On August 18, Palestinian militants launched cross-border attacks on civilian and military targets.
2012 On March 9, Israel carried out a targeted air strike in the Gaza Strip killing Zohair al-Qaisi, the secretary general of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC). Israel said it was a preemptive attack to prevent a massive cross-border attack that al-Qaisi was planning. Militants responded with a massive wave of rocket attacks. Israel’s response was Operation Returning Echo. Israel bombed targets connected with Islamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committees. In October, Israel targeted Ahmed Jabari, chief of the Hamas military wing.
2014 Gaza War. Israel launched Operation Protective Edge on July 8 in response to Hamas rocket attacks. On July 17, Israeli troops entered the Gaza Strip. This war killed 2,205 Palestinians and 71 Israelis plus 1 foreign national.
Jerusalem Unrest on the West Bank, especially in July. Sometimes called the Third Intifada. More than 150 attacks. On November 18, the synagogue massacre, in which two Palestinians attacked worshipers with knives and axes, killing four plus a responding police officer.
2015-6 “Intifada of the Individuals” on the West Bank. Uncoordinated attacks in response to the Israeli Agricultural Minister’s public prayers on the Temple Mount. Period of unrest lasted well into 2016.
2017 Temple Mount crisis. July 14, three armed Israeli-Arabs shot and killed two Israeli police officers guarding an entrance to the Temple Mount. Israel responded by setting up metal detectors, which triggered a wave of unrest in which 11 people died. The metal detectors were removed on July 27.
December: “Day of rage”, including protests and clashes throughout the West Bank, after President Trump announces decision to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
2018 Gaza border protests, including clashes with Israeli border troops.
2019 Multiple clashes between Israel and Gaza militants.
November 26, “day of rage” on the West Bank and Gaza after U.S: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that Israeli settlements were not illegal.
2021 Rocket attacks on Israel, followed by air attacks on militants in Gaza.
2022 Israel launched airstrikes on Gaza.
2023 April-May. Militants fired rockets into Israel. Israel responded with airstrikes.
October 7, Hamas launched a well-prepared ground attack on southern Israel as well as simultaneous rocket attacks. Some 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, were murdered and 240 taken hostage. Israel responded with air attacks and, since October 27, a ground offensive called Operation Swords of Iron, which is ongoing. Israel’s goal is the return of all hostages and the destruction of Hamas.