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Jewish Topical "Ancient Israel" (2 of 100) TWO TIMELINE OF ISRAEL Pt 5 1990 Life magazine's list of the 100 most important Americans of the 20th century included 15 Jews: Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Bob Dylan, Albert Einstein, Abraham Flexner, Betty Friedan, Milton Friedman, Edwin Land, William Levitt, Louis B. Mayer, J. Robert Oppenheimer, William Paley, Jonas Salk, Alfred Stiegitz, and Walter Winchell. Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), the rabbinical schools of the Reform movement, removes obstacles to ordination of gay and lesbian rabbis. Persian Gulf War: 1990-1991 January 8 Israel and the U.S. sign a cooperation agreement on medicine. Foreign Minister Arens visits Portugal, the first such visit of an Israeli minister. Nine Israelis are killed and 16 wounded in an attack on a tourist bus in Egypt. Foreign Minister Arens signs a protocol in Prague renewing diplomatic relations between Israel and Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia restores diplomatic relations with Israel. Poland retores diplomatic relations with Israel. Break-up of the national unity government following a vote of no-confidence in the Knesset. The peace process is effectively in abeyance. U.S. Senate adopts a resolution recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Israel and Bulgaria sign a protocol to restore diplomatic relations. The U.S. House of Representatives adopts a resolution recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Israel and Bulgaria restore full diplomatic relations. Ami Popper murders seven Arab workers at Vradim Junction in Rishon Lezion. Greece grants a de jure recognition to Israel and establishes full diplomatic relations with Israel. Two motorboats manned by PLO terrorists land in central Israel. IDF repulses the attackers. The Palestine Liberation Front assumes responsibility for the raid. The U.S. vetoes a draft resolution in the Security Council to send an observer to the territories. Yitzhak Shamir presents his government to the Knesset. David Levy appointed foreign minister and Moshe Arens defense minister. The U.S. suspends its dialogue with the PLO for its failure to condemn the May 30 attacks on Israel. The Security Council imposes economic sanctions on Iraq. The U.S. begins to send troops to the Persian Gulf. Saddam Hussein says that military action against Iraq will be met with a strike on Israel. Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz says Iraq will use chemical weapons if Israel uses nuclear arms. Foreign Minister Levy visits Washington, meets with Secretary Baker. It is agreed that there be no linkage between the resolution of the Gulf crisis and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Agreement is reached on granting of U.S. loan guarantees of 400 million dollars. Saudi Arabia and USSR sign agreement in Moscow restoring diplomatic relations after 52-year hiatus. Disturbances on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem kill 21 Arabs. Saddam Hussein threatens Israel with new missiles “when the time comes.” The Security Council adopts a resolution condemning Israel and sending a fact-finding mission to Jerusalem. The Security Council unanimously deplores Israel's refusal to permit a fact-finding mission. Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of Jewish Defense League and Kach Party, assasinated in New York City. The Security Council authorizes use of all necessary means against Iraq unless it withdrawls by January 15, 1991. Following a meeting with President Bush in the White House, Prime Minister Shamir says that he was promised that there would be no deals at Israel's expense. The Security Council approves a resolution condemning Israel's policy of expulsion calling lands occupied by Israel in 1967 including Jerusalem, Palestinian territories. Saddam Hussein tells Spanish Television that Tel Aviv will be Iraq's first target if war breaks out. Prime Minister Shamir threatens retaliation if Israel is attacked. Israeli jets strike PLO bases in Lebanon. First Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries arrive in Israel. Civil defense authorities instruct Israelis to begin preparing sealed rooms. PLO's second-ranking official Abu Iyad (Salah Khalaf) is assassinated in Tunis. Beginning of the Gulf War. Israel goes into state of alert as war breaks out. Israel attacked by eight Iraqi Scud missiles during the Gulf War. Two missiles hit Tel Aviv and a third lands near Haifa, causing great damage in residential areas. Four Iraqi Scuds launched at Israel. A Scud missile is intercepted over Haifa; as it fell it shattered windows in the Haifa area. Eight Scuds are fired at Israel. One person is killed, 45 are injured in Ramat Gan, 144 apartments are heavily damaged, 400 other apartments are lightly damaged. A Scud missile lands in the Galilee, causing no damage or injuries. A Scud lands in the West Bank causing no injuries or damage. A Scud missile lands in Israel causing no injury or damage. A Scud missile lands in Israel causing no injuries or damage. A Scud lands in the center of Israel. 25 civilians are injured, 400 apartments are damaged. A Schud lands in the center of Israel causing no injury or damage. A Scud missile lands near Tel Aviv injuring 6 residents and damaging dozens of homes. 2 Scuds are fired at Israel. One lands in the Negev, the other in the Galilee. Both cause no injuries or damage. US releases $400 million loan guarentee to Israel for housing for Soviet Jewish immigrants. A Scud lands in the center of Israel causing a fire to break out, but no injuries or damage are reported. Two Scuds land in the Negev desert causing no injuries or damage. Gulf War ends. Israel congratulates President Bush as the Gulf War comes to an end. Israel demands the elimination of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Ehud Barak apointed twelfth IDF Chief-of-General Staff. Middle East peace conference convened in Madrid. Operation Solomon brings Jews from Ethiopia to Israel. About 14,500 Ethiopian Jews are rescued and airlifted to Israel with 24 hours, just hours before the Mengistu regimes collapse. The Congo restores diplomatic relations with Israel. Albania's foreign minister visits Israel. Diplomatic relations are established. Israel recognizes the independence of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. U.S. President George Bush criticizes Israel's friends in the U.S. and asks Israel to delay its request for $10 billion loan guarantees. Soviet Union restores full diplomatic relations with Israel. Israeli embassy in Moscow is rededicated. Bilateral talks are held in Madrid between Israel and Syria, Lebanon and a Palestinian-Jordanian delegation. Israel ratifies UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Albania's last 11 Jews arrive in Israel. Riots break out in Crown Heights, NY after a seven-year old black boy is killed by a car driven by Hasidic Jews. Second round of the Middle East bilateral talks begins in Washington. United Nations rescinds resolution equating Zionism with racism. Soviet Ambassador Alexander Bovin presents his credentials to President Herzog. Conservative synagogue arm, United Synagogue of America, changes its name to United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Israel decides to expel 12 Palestinians following the murder of an Israeli settler in the Gaza Strip. Security Council condemns Israel for the expulsion of the Palestinians. Another round of peace talks is held in Washington. Israel and the People's Republic of China establish diplomatic relations. The multilateral Middle East peace talks are held in Moscow. Diplomatic relations established with India. Hezbollah's chief Abbas Musawi is killed in an Israeli air strike in Southern Lebanon. Kazakhstan establishes diplomatic relations with Israel. May 30- Local elections held. Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek ousted by Ehud Olmert. Mubarak, Rabin and Yasser Arafat meet in a Cairo summit to promote Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on the Interim Agreement. Mossad agents botch an assassination attempt on Khaled Mashaal, a Hamas official, in Jordan. Israel releases Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in return for its agents. Israel and the Republic of Georgia sign a Memorandum of Understanding on defense cooperation. Israel and Uganda sign an agreement to expand economic ties.
Modern Israel & the Diaspora
(1990-1999)
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
19991990
1990 1990 1990 1990 About 200,000 Soviet immigrants arrive. 1990 Israel and the USSR sign a trade pact after a 23-year break. January 17 February 4 February 9 February 11 Nelson Mandela is freed from prison. A month later he meets with Yasser Arafat, who wishes him success in fighting apartheid. February 27 March 15 March 24 April 3 April 23 Israel launches the Ofek 2 satellite into space. April 24 May 3 May 20 May 21 May 30 May 31 June 8 June 20 August 2 August 6 August 7 August 8 August 9 August 18 September 3 September 17 October 8 October 9 October 12 October 24 November 5 November 29 December 11 December 20 December 23 December 24 December 31 1991
January 10 January 14 January 15 January 18 January 19 January 22 A Scud missile hits Ramat Gan. 96 are injured, 400 apartments are damaged. January 23 January 24 January 25 Four Scud missiles are fired at Israel. 3 are intercepted over Haifa and one over Tel Aviv. Slight damage is reported. January 28 January 31 February 2 February 3 February 8 February 11 February 12 February 19 February 20 February 23 February 25 February 28 February 28 April 1 May 24-25 July 14 August 19 September 4 September 13 September 18 Peace activist Abie Nathan is sentenced to 18 months in jail for contacts with the PLO. October 18 Secretary of State Baker visits Israel and together with Soviet Foreign Minister Bessmertnykh delivers a letter of invitation to the Madrid Peace Conference. October 18 October 24 October 30-31 October 31 November 3 December 9 December 16 December 23 December 26 Israel and Zambia restore diplomatic relations. 1992
1992 January 3 January 10 January 18-22 January 24 January 28-29 January 29 February 16 Kiryat Shemona comes under heavy katyusha fire from Lebanon. February 27-March 4 Another round of bilateral talks held in Washington ends inconclusively. March 10 Islamic Jihad terrorists assassinate an Israeli security officer in Ankara. March 17 Five killed and 106 wounded in attack on Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. March 18 Knesset passes law for direct election of the prime minister. March 20 The U.S. accuses Israel of transferring to China information on the Patriot missile. Israel denies the charges. April 12 April 16 Angola establishes diplomatic relations with Israel. April 26-29 Another round of peace talks is held in Washington May 1-8 Another round of peace talks is held in Washington May 4 Armenia establishes diplomatic relations with Israel. May 10 King Hussein announces he will donate $8.25 million to restore Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem. June 8 Acting PLO security head Atif Basaysu assassinated in Paris. June 23 Elections for Thirteenth Knesset. Labor wins majority for the first time since 1977. Labor gains 44 seats, Likud 32, Meretz 12. July 10 New government headed by Yitzhak Rabin of Labor party. July 20 Israel formally requests loan guarantees from the U.S. July 30 and 31 Israel wins first Olympic medals, silver and bronze in Judo. August 21-23 A Memorandum of Understanding on trade, economic affairs and tourism is signed August 23 Israel announces the release of 800 Palestinian prisoners. 280 houses sealed since 1987 in teh areas would be unsealed. August 24 Round Six of the bilateral peace talks resumes in Washington until September 3 Prime Minister Rabin cancels 11 deportation orders against PLO activists. August 25 Israel presents a detailed autonomy plan, defining the role of the Palestinian Administrative Council controlling civilian matters. September 10 Rabin announces that Israel is ready to accept territorial compromise on the Golan Heights in return for peace. September 13 Gambia restores diplomatic relations with Israel. September 14-24 The second session of Round Six of the bilateral peace talks is held in Washington. September 15-17 Round Two of the Arms Control and Regional Security multilateral talks is held in Moscow September 16-17 Round Two of multilateral talks is held in Washington. September 26-27 Round Two of the multilateral talks on Environment is held in The Hague October 5 Nicaragua restores diplomatic relations with Israel. October 5 U.S. Congress approves the foreign aide appropriations for fiscal 1993, including the annual $3-billion military and economic aid package and the $10-billion loan guarantees October 21-29 Session One of Round Seven of the bilateral talks is held in Washington. October 28 Israel and Jordan announce that they had almost completed a full agenda on peace treaty, water and land claims, arms control and Palestinian refugees in Jordan October 29-30 Multilateral talks on Economic Development are held in Paris November 9-19 Session Second of Round Seven of the bilateral peace talks is held in Washington November 11-12 Multilateral talks on refugees are held in Ottawa. Syria and Lebanon boycott the talks. December 7-17 Round Eight of the bilateral peace talks is held in Washington. December 13 An Israeli Border Policeman is kidnapped and killed by Hamas terrorists. December 16 The cabinet approves deportation of 415 Hamas activists. December 17 Israel expels 415 Hamas activists, 251 from the West Bank, and 164 from Gaza to Lebanon. The US State Department “strongly condemns the action of deportation.” The Arab delegations suspend the bilateral talks in Washington in protest over the Hamas deportations. December 18 The Security Council adopts Resolution 799 which condemned Israel's actions. New Supreme Court building is opened. 1993
1993 The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum opens in Washington, DC. 1993 Avraham Biram finds ancient inscription in Tel Dan about the dynasty of King David; it is the first time his name appears outside the Bible. January 13 Israel ratifies an international convention banning chemical weapons. January 19 The Knesset repeals a 1986 law banning meetings between Israelis and members of terrorist organizations, opening the way for talks with the PLO. January 28 In a unanimous decision, the Israeli High Court of Justice rules that the Hamas deportations were legal. February 16 Jordan appoints Sheikh Sulayman al Jabari Mufti of Jerusalem. February 28 Arrow missiles is successfully test-fired. March 13 Ezer Weizman is sworn in as President, succeeding Chaim Herzog. March 16 Prime Minister Rabin visits Washington for talks with President Clinton and other political and religious leaders. March 30 Israel's Inner Cabinet decides to seal off the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria for an indefinate period. Some 100,000 Palestinians are prevented from working in Israel. April 14 Prime Minister Rabin and President Mubarak hold talks in Ismailiyah. April 27 The suspended Eighth Round of bilateral peace talks is resumed in Washington, ends on May 13 April 28 Israel to allow the return of 30 deportees, expelled between 1967-1987 for PLO membership. May 13 The Eighth Round of talks in Washington ends in deadlock when Israeli and Palestinian negotiators fail to reach an agreement on Statement of Principles.
June 1Some 200 Libyans arrive in Jerusalem for three day visit to holy sites. Pilgrims call on Muslims to "topple Zionist entity" and establish Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinean state. June 15 Bilateral peace talks are resumed in Washington. This round lasts until July 1. June 30 Prime Minister Rabin starts an official visit to France. That country announces an end of arms sales embargo on Israel. July 11-14 Visit to Israel of the deputy foreign minister of Vietnam. During his visit Israel and Vietnam sign a Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of diplomatic relations. July 25 Israel launches “Operation Accountabity” with aerial strikes at Hizbollah and PFLP bases. Two Israeli civilians are killed in Hizballah shelling of Kiryat Shmonah. July 29 The Supreme Court overturns the conviction of John Demjanjuk. July 31 “Operation Accountability” ends with an understanding arranged by Secretary of State Christopher, Syria, and Lebanon to ensure that Hizballah will not shell Israel. August The Supreme Court overturns the conviction of John Demjanjuk August 20 Israel-PLO agreement is signed (in secrecy) in Oslo. August 30 Announcement is made of an Israeli-PLO agreement. September 10 Israel and the PLO exchange letters formally recognizing each other. September 11 The U.S. resumes ties with the PLO suspended in 1990. September 12 Sheik Ajlun, Gaza: Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) suicide bomber crashes car filled with explosives into a bus of soldiers. The car does not explode and only the driver dies. September 13 Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements for the Palestinians signed by Israel and PLO, as representative of the Palestinian people. A historic handshake is made between Prime Minister Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat. September 14 Israel and Jordan sign a formal “Common Agenda” for negotiations in Washington. September 19 Prime Minister Rabin holds talks with President Mubarak in Cairo. September 19 UEFA (the European football Union) grants Israel provisional membership. September 21 Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau meets in Rome with Pope John Paul II. September 23 Knesset ratifies the Oslo Agreeement 61-50 with 8 abstentations. September 29 Gabon and Mautius re-establish full diplomatic ties with Israel. September 29 Amitai Kapach killed by terrorist. October 4 PIJ car bomb exploded next to bus on no. 173 line. Thirty people mildly injured. October 9 Dror Forer and Aran Bachar are killed in Wadi Kelt by Islamic Jihad terrorists. October 13 Israel-PLO talks for implementing the Declaration of Principles begin in Taba. October 24 Two small bombs explode near the French Embassy in Tel Aviv. A member of the Jewish extremist Kahana Hay group claims responsibility, saying the explosions were in protest of PLO leader Yasser Arafats's visit to France and agreements he signed there. October 26-28 Multilateral talks on water are held in Beijing. October 30 Bet El resident Chaim Mizrachi stabbed to death by Arab terrorists. November 2 November 2-4 Arms control multilateral talks are held in Moscow. November 8-9 Economic development multilateral talks are held in Copenhagen. November 9 Suleiman al-Hawashle is run over and killed by terrorists at Shagai Junction. November 11 Ephraim Olevi killed by Hamas terrorists in Hebron. November 11-18 Prime Minister Rabin visits the United States for talks with President Clinton and senior officials. November 15-16 Multilateral talks on environment are held in Cairo. November 17 Israel-PLO Economic Coordination Committee talks open in Cairo. November 17 Sgt. Chaim Drina stabbed to death by Islamic Jihad terrorists in Gaza. December 1 Shalva Ozana and Yitzchak Weinstock shot to death by Hamas terrorists in el-Bireh December 5 IDF soldier David Masherti is shot to death by Islamic Jihad terrorists at Holom Junction. December 6 Mordechai and Sholom Lapid are killed by Arab terrorists in Hebron. December 15 Steven Spielberg releases Schindler's List. December 15-17 Meeting of Steering Committee on multilateral talks is held in Tokyo. December 22 Eliyahu Levin and Mayer Mendolovitz are shot to death by Hamas terrorists in Betunia. December 23 Anatoly Kolisnikov is stabbed to death in Ashdod by Fatah terrorist. Decmber 24 Lt.-Col. Meir Mintz is killed by terrorists in Gaza. December 29 Yuval Golan is killed by terrorists in Adorayeem December 30 Israel and the Holy See sign a Fundamental Agreement in Jerusalem. December 31 Chaim Weizman and David Booblil are killed by Fatah terrorists in Ramle. 1994
January 12 OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Nechemia Tamari and three other officers are killed in a helicopter crash. January 14 Gregory Izanov stabbed to death by Hamas terrorists at Erez crossing in Gaza January 16 President Clinton meets with President Assad in Geneva. January 29 A Jordanian diplomat was shot and killed outside his home in Beirut. Members of the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) were arrested and prosecuted by Lebanese government. February 9 Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO Chairman Yaaser Arafat sign an agreement on security arrangements of Jericho and the Gaza Strip. February 25 Baruch Goldstein kills 29 Muslim worshippers at the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron. February 27 The Government appoints a Commission on Inquiry to investigate the events in Hebron. February 28 Knesset votes 93-1-7 to condemn the Hebron massacre March 8 State commission of inquiry into the Hebron massacre begins holding hearings. March 13 “Kach” and “Kahane Chai” are outlawed by the Government. March 15-19 Prime Minister Rabin holds talks in Washington with President Clinton and senior U.S. officials. March 18 The Security Council adopts a resolution condemning the Hebron massacre and calling for an international presence in that city. March 31 Israel-PLO agreeement on Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) is reached. 160 observers (35 Danish, 35 Italian, 90 Norwegian) are deployed to Hebron for three months. IDF cadet Shachar Simoni kidnapped and killed in Jerusalem by Hamas terrorists. April 6 9 Israelis killed and 45 wounded in car explosion next to a bus in the northern city of Afula. Hamas claims responsibility. April 13 Hamas claims responsibility for suicide bomber blowing up a bus in Hadera, in central Israel in which 6 Israelis were killed and 45 wounded. April 16 At a roadside block at Mehola, Israel in the Jordan valley, a car bomb claimed by Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) denotes, killing one and wounding nine. April 25 Reflooding of 6,000 dunams of Lake Hula- dried up in the 1950's- is begun. April 29 Israel and the PLO sign an Economic Agreement in Paris. May 4 Israel and the PLO sign an agreement giving autonomy to Jericho and the Gaza Strip. May 8 A 160-member Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) begins its mission. May 10 An independent list headed by Labor MK Chaim Ramon wins the Histadrut elections. Knesset approves Gaza-Jericho Agreement by a vote of 52-0. In a speech in a mosque in Johannesburg, Arafat calls for a jihad to liberate Jerusalem; compares Gaza-Jericho Agreement to a temporary agreement made by Mohammad with the tribe of Kuraish. After Israel protests, Yasser Arafat says he had referred to a religious jihad, which has no military significance. May 13 Israel hands over the Jericho area to Palestinian police. May 18 Israel completes its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip May 19 Prime Minister Rabin and King Hussein of Jordan hold secret talks in London. May 20 IDF commandos kidnap Hizballah leader Mustafa Dirani, who in 1988 sold Navigator Ron Arad to the Iranians for $300,000. May 26 Britain lifts its 12 year old embargo on arms sales to Israel. June 15 Vatican and Israel establish first ever diplomatic relations June 26 State commission of inquiry into Hebron massacre releases its report. David Mishali killed by Fatah terrorists in Tel Aviv. July 1 Yoram Skori was killed by Hamas terrorist in Netafim. July 1-4 Arafat visits Gaza July 5 Arafat visits Jericho and swears in the Palestinian Council. July 6 Premier Rabin and Foreign Minister Peres receive the UNESCO Peace Prize in Paris. They also meet with Arafat. IDF soldier Aryeh Frankental killed in Beersheba by Hamas terrorist. July 7 Sarit Prigal killed in Harsina by Hamas terrorists July 17 Border Policeman Jacques Atias killed at Erez Checkpoint by PA police. Israel and Cape Verde establish diplomatic relations. July 18 Israel and Jordan start talks in the Arava. A car bomb destroys the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, killing 102 and wounding others. A radical Moslem organization linked to Iran claims responsibility. July 19 A commuter plane explodes over the Santa Rita Mountains in Panama, killing 21 persons, including Israelis, dual Israeli-Panamanian citizens, three Americans, and 12 Jews. Lt. Guy Ovadia shot to death in Rafiach by Hamas terrorists. July 20 Foreign Minister Peres, Secretary of State Christopher and Jordan's Prime Minister Majali meet on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea to launch the Israel-Jordan talks. Implementation of Palestinian self-government in Gaza Strip and Jericho area. Full diplomatic relations with the Holy See. July 23 Two unknown Palestinians escape after stabbing and seriously injuring an American woman in the Arab quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. July 25 Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty signed. July 25-26 Prime Minister Rabin and King Hussein meet at the White House; they sign the Washington Declaration ending the state of war between Israel and Jordan. July 26 In two car bomb explosions in London, the Israeli Embassy and the offices of the Joint Israel Appeal are damaged. July 27 Five are injured when a car bomb detonates in front of a building that houses Jewish Attackers in London. July 30 Uganda and Israel re-establish diplomatic relations severed in 1972. August 3 The Knesset ratifies the Washington Declaration, 91-3-2. August 4 Israel and Senegal restore diplomatic relations, suspended in 1973. August 8 Israel and Jordan open a border crossing post north of Eilat. King Hussein and Prime Minister Rabin meet in Aqaba. August 9 Israel and Ghana restore diplomatic relations. August 14 Ron Sobel shot and killed by Hamas terrorists in Kissufim. August 24 Agreement between Israel and the PLO on Early Empowerment in the West Bank initialed in Cairo. September 1 Israel and Morocco announce the opening of interest offices in Rabat and Tel Aviv. September 8 Rabin tells the Cabinet of a plan for limited withdrawal on the Golan over a three-year period. September 25 Rabin and Arafat meet at Erez checkpoint and agree to start preliminary talks on Palestinian elections and IDF re-deployment. September 30 Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States announce lifting of Secondary and Tertiary Economic Boycotts against Israel. October 1 Tunisia interest offices set up. October 9 Two Hamas terrorists began shooting with automatic weapons in Jerusalem's Nahalat Shiva'a business district. Fourteen were injured, and an off-duty Israeli soldier and Israeli Arab were killed in the attack. One gunman was shot by bystanders and the other was captured. October 9 An Israeli soldier is abducted by Hamas terrorists. Two Israelis are killed in Jerusalem by Hamas. October 10 Israel and Rwanda resume diplomatic relations. October 13 An IDF attempt to free abducted soldier fails. October 14 Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yassir Arafat are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Cpl. Nachshon Wachsman and Captain Nir Poraz are killed by terrorists in Bir Naballah. October 17 Israeli and Jordanian negotiators initial a peace treaty, which is unanimously approved by the government. October 19 Twenty-two Israelis and one Dutch citizen are murdered and 48 injured when a suicide bomber strikes on the No. 5 bus in Tel Aviv. Israel announces completion of Jewish immigration from Syria. October 23 The Cabinet unanimously approves the Israel-Jordan peace treaty. October 24 Sgt. Ehud Roth and Sgt. Ilan Levy are kidnapped and shot to death by terrorists in Khan Yunis October 25-27 President Clinton visits Israel. October 25 The Knesset ratifies the peace treaty with Jordan, 105-3. October 26 The Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty is signed in the Arava in the presence of President Clinton. October 27-28 Visit to Israel of President Clinton. He addresses the Knesset, holds talks with President Weizman, Prime Minister Rabin and Foreign Minister Peres. November 1 Israel opens a liaison office in Morocco. November 7 The Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron reopens. November 8 Israel ratifies the peace treaty with Jordan. November 9 In a meeting between Rabin and Yasser Arafat at the Erez checkpoint, it is decided that the Palestinian Authority will assume additional responsibilities in the civilian sphere. November 10 King Hussein of Jordan makes his first public visit to Israel. November 11 Palestinian Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for an attack by a Palestinian suicide bomber on a bike in the Gaza Strip which killed three Israeli soldiers. November 21-22 Prime Minister Rabin holds talks in the White House with Clinton. December 1 Israel transfers authority to the Palestinians in the fields of health and taxation, completing the process of early empowerment. December 10 Prime Minister Rabin, Foreign Minister Peres, and chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization Yasser Arafat are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. December 11 Israel and Jordan open embassies in each other's counties. December 19 The European Union announces finalization of principles of the new Israel-EU agreement. December 25 A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 12 Israelis in a bus bombing in Jerusalem. Hamas claims responsibility. December 26 Prime Minister Rabin visits Oman. 1995
January 2 Prime Minister Rabin halts new construction in a West Bank settlement, stating that Israel's future lies in territorial compromise with the Palestinians. January 8 The government votes to establish a state commission of inquiry into the disappearance of Yemenite immigrant children between 1948-1954. January 15 Prime Minister Rabin orders construction of bypass roads in the West Bank. January 22 PIJ claims responsibility for a bombing in Beit Lid junction in central Israeli by two Palestinian suicide bombers in which 21 Israelis were killed. February 2 February 23 Tanzania restores diplomatic relations with Israel. February 24 Israel and Burundi resume diplomatic relations. March 21 Rabin reiterates the separation plan through a fence manned by IDF and dogs. April 6 Israel launches its first spy satellite into orbit. April 9 Two Palestinian suicide bombers set off bombs outside two Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and kill 7 Israeli soldiers and one American. Hamas and PIJclaim responsibility. April 27 Israel confirms its intention to confiscate 130 acres of land in East Jerusalem. May 18 U.S. vetoes a Security Council draft resolution condemning Israeli seizure of land in East Jerusalem. May 22 The government suspends its plan to confiscate land in East Jerusalem. May 24 Israel and Syria make small progress in talks on future security arrangements. June 9 Prime Minister Rabin holds talks in Cairo with President Mubarak. June 25 A PIJ member detonates cart filled with explosives near an I.D.F. vehicle, wounding three soldiers. July 2 Worst fire in Israeli history hits Jerusalem, near Shoresh and Neve Ilan. July 24 Hamas claims responsibility for Palestinian suicide bus bombing in Tel Aviv in which 6 Israelis were killed and 28 injured. August 11 Israel and the PLO reach an agreement on redeployment of forces in the West Bank. Broadened Palestinian self-government implemented in West Bank and Gaza Strip; Palestinian Council elected. Shimon Peres becomes Prime Minister. Treaty of Association is signed with the EU. August 21 A Palestinian suicide bomber blows up a bus in Jerusalem, killing 4 Israeli soldiers and 1 American, and wounding over 100 Israelis. Hamas claims responsibility. September 4 Jerusalem 3000 celebrations begin. September 24 Israeli and Palestinian negotiators intial the Oslo II agreement in Taba, Egypt. September 27 The government approves the Oslo II agreement 18-0-2. September 28 Oslo II signed in Washington. October 6 The Knesset approves the Olso II agreement 61-59. October 24 U.S. Congress approves a bill calling for the transfer of the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem no later than 1999. October 29-30 The second Middle East North Africa Economic summit is held in Amman. November 4 Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin assassinated by Yigal Amir at a peace rally in Tel Aviv. November 6 Representatives and heads of state from all over the world , including King Hussein and President Mubarak attend Rabin's funeral in Jerusalem. November 8 High Court of Justice rules that the air force cannot bar Alice Miller from its combat pilots' course based on her gender. The PA takes over Jenin, and deploys forces to surrounding villages. November 19 The state commission of inquiry into the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin begins. November 20 Israel and the EU sign a trade agreement in Brussels. The IDF withdraws from six West Bank towns. November 22 The Knesset votes confidence in Shimon Peres' new government. December 5 Yigal Amir indicted for murdering Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. December 9 A Jewish vehicle is fired upon by terrorists in Gush Etzion. One girl is shot in the back. December 11 IDF pulls out of Nablus a day earlier than scheduled. Palestinean forces arrive in Ramallah. Samiha Khalil announces her candidacy for presidency. December 12-13 Prime Minister Peres holds talks in Washington with President Clinton. December 19 Trial of Yigal Amir begins. December 21 Israel evacuates Bethlehem, Palestinean police enter. December 26 Israeli army pulls out from 5 villages near Hebron: Dura, Yat-ta, Bani Naim, Thahariyeh, and Nuba. December 27 IDF leaves Ramallah. Israeli and Syrian negotiators meet at Wye Planation near Washington. 1996
January 6 Hamas master bomb-maker, Yihya Ayash (the Engineer), is killed in Gaza by a booby-trapped cell phone. January 10 King Hussein of Jordan visits Tel Aviv, holds talks with Prime Minister Peres. January 17 Israel redeploys from Abu-Dis. Ahmed Qur'ei raises the Palestinean flag, and declares the city free. January 20 First election of Palestinian Council, Arafat becomes president with 90% of the vote. January 28 Israel and Oman issue a joint statement. February 5 Prime Minister Peres decides to call early elections for the 14th Knesset to be held on May 29. February 12 Yasser Arafat sworn in as first elected President of Palestine. February 25 Twenty-five killed and about 90 wounded when Hamas suicide bombers attacks the #18 bus in Jerusalem and the hiking post at Ashkelon Junction February 26 An American Arab drives a rental car into a Jerusalem bus stop, killing one Israeli and injuring 23. The driver is shot and killed. Hamas claims responsibility, though the man seems to have acted on his own. February 28 Peres warns Israel may delay its redeployment in Hebron as a result of the wave of suicide bombings. March 2 Hamas suicide bomber blows up a bus in Jerusalem killing 20 Israels. March 3 Palestinian suicide bomber blows up bus stop in Jerusalem, killing 8 Israelis and wounding 10. The Students of Yehiye Ayyash, a breakaway group of Hamas, claims responsibility. March 4 A Palestinian suicide bomber blows himself up in the midst of a holiday shopping crowd in a Tel Aviv mall killing 14, wounding 130. Both Hamas and PIJclaim responsibility for the attack. March 5 President Clinton pledges to help Israel with high technology bomb detection devices. March 13 An anti-terrorist summit conference, called the Summit of the Peace Makers is held in Sharm-el-Sheikh, attended by 25 world leaders. Syria boycotts the summit March 14-15 President Clinton visits Israel. March 27 Yigal Amir convincted for the assasination of Yitzchak Rabin. He received life and six additional years. Fundamentalist Arab terrorism against Israel escalates. Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox wage battle against Shabbat traffic on Bar Ilan Street, Jerusalem. April 11 Israel lanuches “Operation Grapes of Wrath,” retaliation against Lebanon for Hizbullah terrorists' attacks on northern Israel. April 18 A stray Israeli shell kills 100 Lebanese at Kafr Qana. April 22 Palestine National Council (PNC) meets for first time since 1964 in Gaza. PNC votes to amend the PLO Covenant by 504 votes to 54, with 14 abstentions. April 28 A cease fire in Lebanon is arranged by the U.S.. April 30 President Clinton and Prime Minister Peres issue a joint statement at the conclusion of talks in Washington. May 3 Israel decides to postpone redeployment in Hebron. May 4 The PLO announces it amended its National Covenent to remove anti-Israel sections. PLO refuses to announce changes and no changes appear on PLO website Yeshiva student David Reuvein Boim shot and killed by terrorists near Bet El. Jerusalem celebrates its 3,000th anniversary as the capital of the Jewish state. Israeli trade representation offices set up in Oman and Qatar. May 5 Final Status Talks between the PA and Israel begin in Taba. May 13 Near the Beth El settlement, a Hamas shooter opens fire on a bus and a group of Yeshiva students, killing a dual US/Isaeli citizen and injuring 3 Israelis. Hamas is suspected to be responsible but has not confirmed it. May 29 Benjamin Netanyahu wins the first direct election for Prime Minister. May 30 Likud forms government after elections for the Fourteenth Knesset. June 2 President Arafat's plane inaugurates Gaza International Airport, coming from Sinai June 9 A dual US/Israeli citizen and an Israeli are killed by an unidentified gunman while in their car near Zekharya. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is suspected to be responsible. June 9 Efrat and Yaron Unger shot to death by arab terrorists near Bet Shemesh. June 22-23 Egypt host the first Arab League Summit in six years Summer Israeli wins bronze medal in windsurfing competition at the Atlanta Summer Olympics. July 2 Israeli jets bomb a base of Abu Moussa's Palestinian National Liberation Movement in Lebanon. July 3 Israel eases the closure on the territories. July 9 Prime Minister Netanyahu holds talks in Washington with President Clinton. July 10 Prime Minister Netanyahu addresses the U.S. Congress, saying Israel will gradually ease its dependence on U.S. economic aid. July 21 The bodies of two IDF soldiers missing since the 1982 war in Lebanon are returned to Israel. Israel and the SLA release 45 Hizbollah prisoners and return the bodies of 123 terrorists killed by the IDF over the years. July 26 President Clinton denies clemency to Jonathan Pollard. August 2 The cabinet decides to terminate the freeze on construction in Judea-Samaria and GAza placed by the previous government. August 8 The five-nation committee monitoring the Israel-Hizbullah cease-fire in Lebanon holds its first meeting in Naqura. August 11 Oman opens a trade office in Tel Aviv, becoming the seventh Arab state to have an official presence in Israel. August 14 Talks between Israel and the PA resume after eight months' suspension. August 20 In a test, an Arrow 2 missile successfully intercepts and destroys a target missile. September 4 Netanyahu and Yasser Arafat meet for the first time at Erez Checkpoint. Both reiterate their committment to implementing the 1995 Interim Agreement. September 9 Sgt. Sharon Edri kidnapped and shot to death by Hamas terrorists. September 22 Qatar's Minister of Foreign Affairs says his country postponed its decision to open a trade office in Israel. September 23 Israel opens a new exit to the Western Wall tunnel. Prime Minister Netenyahu announces this in London. This triggers off a wave of Palestinian violence in the territories and Jerusalem. September 23-27 In a wave of violence 14 Israelis and 56 Palestinians are killed in clashes September 25 Violence erupts after the opening of Hasmonean Tunnel alongside the Temple Mount and Western Wall. September 28 The UN Security Council adopts a resolution condemning Israel for opening the tunnel. The U.S. abstained in the vote, which was carried by 14-0. October 1-2 Clinton holds bilateral talks with Netanyahu, Yasser Arafat, and King Hussein. Arafat secretly marries Suha Tawil in Tunis. Their daughter Zahwa is born July 24, 1995, in Paris. November 6 Azzam Azzam, an Israeli Druze working in an Israeli-Egyptian plant in Cairo, is arrested and charged with spying for Israel. December 13 The Governmnent reinstates financial subsidies to all settlements in the territories. December 24 Prime Minister Netenyahu and Yasser Arafat hold talks in Erez. 1997
1997 Agreement Between the State of Israel and the Holy See. January 5 Netenyahu and Yasser Arafat meet again in Erez. January 12 King Hussein visits Gaza and Tel Aviv for talks with Yasser Arafat and Netanyahu January 14-15 Hebron Agreement signed by Netenyahu and Arafat. January 14 Christoph Meili, a guard for Switzerland's largest bank, reveals documents of transactions with the Nazis. January 15 Israel redeploys troops in Hebron. January 16 The Knesset approves the Hebron Protocol by 87 to 17 (one abstentation). The IDF completes its redeployment in Hebron. February 4 Helicopter crash kills 73 Israeli soldiers. February 11 Israel releases 30 Palestinian women prisoners. February 13 Prime Minister Netenyahu and President Clinton meet in the White House. February 23 Prime Minister Netenyahu meets King Hussein in Amman. A Palestinian gunman opens fire on tourists visiting the Empire State Building in New York City, killing a Dane and injuring tourists from the United States, Argentina,Switzerland, and France. He then shoots himself, leaving a note saying that the attack was to punish the 'enemies of Palestine.' February 28 Ministerial Committee on Jerusalem approves construction in Har Homa. March 13 Seven school girls are murdered by Jordanian soldier at Naharayim March 16 King Hussein pays condolence call to families. March 21 Suicide bombers kill 24 people in three separate attacks, one in Tel Aviv and two in Jerusalem. April 1 An Arab League meeting calls on the Arab states to freeze ties with Israel. April 7 Prime Minister Netenyahu meets with President Clinton at the White House. May 27 Israel and Jordan sign a water agreement Summer Israeli wins silver medal at European Swimming Championship. July 30 Two consecutive suicide bombings in the Mahane Yehuda market on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem kill 16 people and wound 178 wounded. Hamas claims responsibility. August 21 Israel and Croatia establish diplomatic relations. September 4 Three Palestinian suicide bombers set off explosions on Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall in Jerusalem, killing 4 Israelis and injuring nearly 200. Hamas claims responsibility. September 24 November 10 Israel and the Holy See sign a Legal Personality Agreement. November 16 Israel and Jordan sign an agreement on Irbid Industrial Zone. November 16-18 Prime Minister Netenyahu visits the United States. November 20 A Hungarian Yeshiva student is killed and an Israeli student is injured by an unknown gunman in Jerusalem's Old City. No one claims responsibility. 1998
1998 Israel celebrates its 50th anniversary. January 7 Israel, Turkey, and the U.S. begin joint naval maneuvers in the Eastern Mediterranean. Jordan sends an observer. January 14 A booby-trapped videocassette explodes at the Israel-Lebanon border near Metulla, injuring 3 Israelis and 3 Lebanese. The intended target was a senior Israeli intelligence officer. Al-amal claims responsibility. January 20 Prime Minister Netenyahu meets President Clinton in the White House. The U.S. presents a plan for a three stage FRD of at least 10% of the West Bank. Netanyahu also meets twice with Secretary of State Albright. January 22 Yasser Arafat holds talks with President Clinton. He rejects the 10% FRD plan. In a letter to Clinton he states which PLO Covenant clauses were annuled in May 1996. He also demands time out on Israel settlement expansion January 27-28 Finance Minister Neeman holds talks in Washington on phasing down the $1.2 billion of America's economic aid to Israel January 29 In view of mounting tension over Iraq, Israel and the U.S. Defense Department inaugurate an emergency hot line. January 31 The PLO Executive Committee claims to approve by voice vote the annulment of offensive PLO Covenant clauses given to President Clinton. In 2004, PLO Foreign Minister Farouk Kaddoumi denied that the charter was ever annuled. February 8 King Hussein sends President Weizman a check for $1 million for compensation to families of seven girls slain by a Jordanian soldier in Naharayim in 1997 The U.S. offers Israel defense weapons and says it will provide Israel with an early warning sytem in case of an attack on Iraq. February 19 The U.S. sends 10 Patriot missile batteries to Israel. February 27 Israel apologizes to the Swiss government for the incident involving its agents. Mossad head Danny Yatom resigns. March 1 Netenyahu offers Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in return for adequate Lebanese security guarantees. Lebanon rejects the proposal. March 4 Ezer Weizman is re-elected for a second term as Israel's president. The UN General Assembly, in an emergency session on the Har Homa issue, condemns Israel by a vote of 120 for, three against, five abstentions. March 24 Israel and Turkey sign a trade protocol in Ankara. April 2 An Israeli vehicle is shot at near Telem, Israel. There were no casualties. April 3 In a letter to Clinton, 81 senators urge him not to issue the FRD plan. The PA announces acceptance of the U.S. proposal for 13% FRD April 28 Prime Minister Netenyahu holds talks in Caito with President Mubarak - their first meeting since May 27, 1997. April 30 In Amman, Jordan, a firebomb is thrown at the Jerusalem Hotel's parking lot. The Jordanian authorities arrest 8 members of a foreign-financed Islamic group accused of being behind a number of arson attacks. May 3 A pipe bomb causes a fire in the stairwell in the apartment building of three Arab students in the Massrara neighborhood of Jerusalem. There is little damage and right-wing extremists are suspected. May 6 21 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives call on Clinton not to pressure Israel on the FRD plan. June 1 Two Palestinians ambush and fire 6 bullets at an Israeli vehicle. No casualties were reported. July 22 The Knesset adopts a bill requiring an absolute majority of Knesset members, and referendum majority before any territorial concessions are made on the Golan Heights. The bill won final approval on January 26, 1999. July 27 Netanyahu says that Israel is now proposing a new FRD proposal based on 10% + 3% nature preserve in the Judean desert. July 30 Israel transfers to Jordan the $50 million it owes under the Peace and Stability Fund agreement August 7 The U.S. embassies in Nairovi and Dar es Salaam are destroyed leaving 256 dead and thousands wounded. The IDF dispatches a drescue team to Nairobi. August 20 Rabbi Shlomo Raanan is stabbed to death in his Tel Rumeiyda home by a Hamas terrorist who came in through a window and escaped after setting fire to the house with a Molotov cocktail. September 24 Hamas blows up a bus station near Hebrew University in Jerusalem. An IDF soldier is injured and the station is destroyed. September 28 Netenyahu, Clinton and Yasser Arafat hold a meeting in the White House clearing the way for summit talks in October. September 30 A Hamas terrorist throws two grenades at a border police jeep in Hebron and injures 14 IDF soldiers and 11 Palestinians. He is shot in the leg and pursued by the patrol into the Palestinian-control area of Hebron, but escapes. October 1 A Hamas grenade attack in Hebron injures 13 soldiers and 5 Palestinians. The Palestinian terrorist from the Palestinian-controlled H-1 area threw two grenades at IDF soldiers. One injured several Palestinian bystanders, soldiers, and border policemen. The other hit two parked cars and hurt several Palestinians. Two policemen and one soldier were moderately wounded and 10 others were only slightly injured. Five Palestinians were taken to Hebron hospitals. The attacker managed to escape to the H-1 area despite being chased by soldiers and shot in the leg. October 15-23 Israel and the PA negotiate an agreement at the Wye River Plantation. October 19 During rush hour at Central Bus Station in Be'er Sheva, two grenades are thrown into a crowd of civilians. At least 59 Israelis are wounded, two of whom seriously. The terrorist is captured and turned over by a number of bystanders to civil guard policemen. Hamas claims responsibility. October 23 Netanyahu and Yasser Arafat sign the Wye River Memorandum in the White House in the presense of President Clinton and King Hussein. October 27 Mohmoud Majzoub, a senior member of the Islamic Jihad Attacker in Lebanon, survives an Israeli car bomb assassination attempt. He is seriously woundedand his wife, 9 month-old son, and a Syrian pedestrian are also hurt. October 29 A Hamas suicide bomber attempts to collide head-on with a school bus of children from the community of Kfar Darom going to a school near the Gush Katif Junction. The bus is being escorted by army jeeps, and the lead jeep cuts off the terrorist's car to block him from reaching the bus. The bomber then detonates the explosives near the jeep, killing at least one of the soldiers and himself. Two passengers of the jeep are seriously injured and six people have light-to-moderate injuries, including three young people and three children. October 31 Khaled Kurdiyeh, a Fatah activist, survives an assassination attempt in Lebanon. The car bomb goes off at a Palestinian refugee camp and no one is hurt. November 6 Two suicide bombers drive a car bomb inot the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem and injur 20 people. Palestinian Islamic Jihad claims responsibility. November 14 In a speech in Nablus, Yasser Arafat calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital on May 4, 1999. November 17 The Knesset adops the Wye River Memorandum by 75 in favor, 19 against, nine abstentions and 13 absent. November 20 The IDF carries out the first of the three FRDs outlined in the Wye agreement. Israel releases 250 Palestinian prisoners. November 24 Israel allows the opening of Gaza International Airport. December 14 The Palestinian National Council in Gaza reaffirms the annullment of the anti-Israel provisions of the PLO Covenant, in the presence of President Clinton. December 21 The Knesset votes 81-30, four abstentions and five absent, to dissolve itself. Next elections to be held on May 17, 1999. 1999
1999 Reform Movement's rabbinical body (CCAR) adopts new platform of principles which shows some openness to Jewish ritual, while reaffirming Reform's ideology of personal autonomy. 1999 Fifteenth Knesset elections. February 7 Death of King Hussein of Jordan May 17 Ehud Barak is elected Prime Minister. One Israel party wins 26 seats, Likud - 19, Shas - 17, Meretz - 10, Shinui, Merkaz and Yisrael b'Aliya - 6 each. Arab parties win 10, the NRP - 5, UTJ - 5, National Union and Yisrael Beitenu - 4 each, and Am Ehad - 2 June 24 After Hizbullah fires rockets into Israel, the IDF strikes bridges and power stations nearand in Beirut. Hizbullah fires 36 rockets into Israel killing two civilians. July 23 King Hassan of Morocco dies and is succeeded by his son King Mohammed VI. Barak attends his funeral on 25 July. July 27 August 10 At about 7:55 a.m. a driver, inspired by Hamas literature, drove twice into a group of civilians and soldiers at a bus stop in Central Israel. He injured 6 people before police shot and killed him. A gunman goes on a shooting rampage at a Jewish community center in Los Angeles, injuring five. August 30 Sharon Steinmetz, 21, and Yehezkel Shai Pinpater, 26 were hiking several kilometers from the autonomous Palestinian town of Jenin when they were murdered by two Israeli Arabs. The two Islamist group members were later arrested. September 4 Barak and Yasser Arafat sign the second Wye Accord in Sharm el-Sheikh. Secretary Albright, President Mubarak and King Abdullah also sign as witnesses. September 5 Less than 24 hours after the signing of the Sharm el-Sheik Memorandum, two car-bombs went off at around 5:30 in Tiberias and Haifa. The blasts killed three terrorist bombers and seriously injured a 73-year-old woman. September 9 Israel releases 199 of 350 Palestinian prisoners in the framework of the Wye II Accords. September 10 Israel transfers 7% of the West Bank land from Area C to Area B. October 5 Israel and the PA sign the Gaza-West Bank Safe Passage Protocol. October 12 Barak orders dismantling of 15 of 42 unauthorized settlements built since October 1998. Eleven are to remain; in 16, no new buildings are to be allowed. October 15 Israel releases additional 151 Palestinian prisoners. October 18 Former South African President Nelson Mandela holds talks in Jerusalem with Israel's leaders. October 25 Israel opens the safe passage road from Gaza to the West Bank. October 28 Israel and Mauritania raise their missions to embassies. November 1 President Clinton holds talks in Oslo with Barak and Yasser Arafat on final status negotiations. Barak and Yasser Arafat also have a private meeting. Clinton meets with both the next day. November 11 Yasser Arafat refuses to sign the map for the next FRD. November 14 Barak and Yasser Arafat meet but fail to reach an understanding on the next FRD. Israel decides to delay the second stage of the Wye II FRD. December 13 Barak tells the cabinet that an Israel-Syria agreement is possible within a few weeks. Addressing the Knesset, Barak says Israel may have to pay a “heavy territorial price” for peace with Syria. He wins a vote of confidence 47 for, 31 against, 24 abstentations and 18 absent. December 15 Israel and Syria resume talks in Washington, DC. Barak, Clinton, and Syrian Foreign Minister Shara hold an opening ceremony at the White House. December 16 Israel-Syria talks end in Washington, DC. They will resume near Washington in early January.
2000Modern Israel & the Diaspora
(2000-2009)
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
20092000
| 2000 | Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman named first Jewish vice presidential candidate of a major political party - becomes first Jew on a major party ticket. |
Birthright Israel is created with the goal of sending thousands of young Jewish adults on trips to Israel. | |
| January 3-10 | Israeli and Syrian leaders convene in Shepardstown, WV to negotiate a peace deal. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara fail to make a deal. |
| January 5 | |
| January 10 | The Israel-Syria talks end after the U.S. proposes a draft agreement. |
| January 12 | |
| January 17 | The U.S. announces freezing of the Israel-Syria talks due to fundamental differences. |
| January 19 | Syria says it will not resume talks with Israel unless Israel pledges to withdraw to the June 5, 1967 lines. |
| January 25 | |
| February 1 | The Multilateral Steering Committee meets in Moscow. |
| March 5 | Israeli cabinet votes to withdraw from southern Lebanon by July. |
| March 14 | Israel begins the deployment of the Arrow 2 missile system. |
| March 21 | |
| March 21-26 | |
| March 26 | |
| March 27 | A suicide bombing on No. 6 bus in the French Hill junction of Jerusalem injurs 28 people. |
| March 28 | At a gas station east of Kfar Saba a suicide bombing kills two and injurs four. |
| April 11 | |
| April 17 | Israel informs the United Nations of its plans to withdraw from southern Lebanon. |
| April 22 | A suicide bombing at a bus stop in Jerusalem leaves one dead and 39 injured. |
| April 24 | Israel is given temporary membership in the UN regional group Western European and Other Groups. Israel is allowed to take part in WEOG activities in New York, but no other UN office. |
| May 7 | |
| May 12 | |
| May 14 | |
| May 15 | The cabinet, and later the Knesset, approve the transfer of Abu Dis, Izariyah and Sawarah al-Sharquiya to Area A. |
| May 18 | Outside a Netanya shopping center a suicide bomber kills five and injurs more than 100. |
| May 21 | |
Election of Jorg Haider, leader of the ultra-right Freedom party, to Austria's parliament. | |
Deborah Lipstadt, U.S. academic, is sued by Holocaust denier David Irving in England for libel. The case is ultimately dismissed. | |
| May 23-June 1 | Unilateral withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan notes that most of the disputed region of Sheba Farms is within United Nations control, and recommends Lebanon to proceed with negotiations. |
| June 1 | |
Federal judges approve $1.25 billion to settle Holocaust claims brought against Swiss banks. | |
| June 10 | Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad dies in Damascus. He was quickly suceeded by his son, Bashar Assad. |
| June 16 | UN Secretary-General Annan certifies that Israel completed its withdrawal from Lebanon. This certification is endorsed on June 18 by the Security Council. |
| June 18 | The United Nations officialy recognizes Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. |
| July 10 | President Ezer Weizman resigns his office. |
| July 11-25 | |
| July 12 | Israel cancels the Phalcon deal with China. |
| July 25 | The Camp David meeting ends in failure. President Clinton and PM Barak blame Arafat for the failure; Clinton says that Barak was much more flexible. |
| July 29 | Arafat begins to visit foreign heads of state in an effort to gain support for the Palestinian position. |
| July 31 | Moshe Katsav is elected Israel's eighth president. |
| August 5 | |
| September 6 | Clinton fails to resolve the differences between Barak and Arafat during separate meetings held with each leader during the UN Millenium Summit in New York. |
| September 10 | The PLO Central Committee votes to postpone plans to declare Palestinian statehood. |
| September 13 | Both sides fail to meet the deadline set for reaching a peace agreement. |
| September 27 | An Israeli soldier is killed by a roadside bomb in Gaza. |
| September 28 | Visit of Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount, ultimately sparking the Second Intifada. |
| September 29 | Clashes erupt between Palestinians and Israeli security forces. |
| October 1 | |
| October 4 | Israeli and Palestinian negotiators agree to a limited cease-fire during talks in Paris between Prime Minister Ehud Barak, PA President Yasser Arafat and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. The cease-fire only lasts a few hours before violence is renewed. |
| October 7 | Destruction of Joseph's Tomb after Israeli forces withdraw. Hezbollah shells northern Israel and captures three Israeli soldiers. |
Three Israeli soldiers (Adi Avitan, Omer Soued and Binyamin Avraham) are kidnapped by Hizbullah on the Israel-Lebanon line in the Mt. Dov sector. | |
| October 12 | Lynching of Israeli reservists in Ramallah. |
Israeli helicopters attack Palestinian targets in Gaza and Ramallah. | |
Destruction of the Shalom al Yisrael Synagogue in Jericho. | |
| October 13 | |
| October 16-17 | |
| October 17 | |
| October 20 | Cease-fire ends when new clashes erupt. |
| October 22 | PM Barak suspends the peace process. |
In the wake of an Arab League summit decision, Tunisia demands Israel close its trade office in Tunis. | |
| October 26 | |
| November 7 | The U.S. names the Mitchell Commission members. |
| November 9 | |
Hussein Abayat, head of Fatah's armed militias in the southern West Bank, is killed when a missile hits his vehicle. | |
| November 12 | |
| November 16 | Hizbollah militants plant an explosive near an IDF convoy. There are no casualties. |
| November 21 | |
| November 22 | Jamal Abdel Razeq, suspected of involvement in a serious of deadly attacks, is ambushed and killed by the IDF, along with three other Palestinians. |
| November 23 | Ibrahim Beni Ouda, leaders of Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, is blown up in a car in Nablus. |
| November 26 | A charge is detonated near an IDF convoy. IDF soldier Khalil Taher is killed and two other soldiers are wounded. |
| December 9 | PM Barak announces that he will resign on December 10 and call elections for the office of prime minister within two months. Former premier Benjamin Netanyahu, not a Knesset member, cannot run against him unless the Knesset dissolves itself, which it does not. |
| December 10 | Prime Minister Ehud Barak resigns hoping to win a mandate in a new election for his peace policies. |
Mahmoud Yusef Moghradi, a Fatah militant accused by Israel of having planted a bomb, is killed on a bypass road. | |
| December 11 | Investigation into causes of Palestinian-Israeli violence allegedly sparked by Sharon visit to Temple Mount is initiated under the leadership of former U.S. Senator George Mitchell. |
Anwar Mahmoud Hamran, a member of Islamic Jihad, is shot near an army post in Nablus. | |
| December 12 | Fatah militant Yusef Ahmed Abu Suwai is shot while standing outside his West Bank village home near Bethlehem. |
| December 13 | Hamas militant Abbas Osman Awidi is killed outside his home in Hebron. |
| December 19 | The Knesset decides not to dissolve itself, but to allow Netanyahu to run. He decides not to run. |
| December 22 | President Clinton presents the Israeli and PA negotiating teams with a peace plan and demands acceptance by Barak and Arafat within five days. |
| December 25 | Barak says he is prepared to accept the Clinton plan with no reservations as long as the PA does the same. |
| December 27 | Arafat says he cannot accept the Clinton plan without additional clarifications. |
| December 28 | |
| December 31 | Thabet Thabet, head of Fatah in Tulkarem, is shot and killed. |
2001
| January 6 | CIA Director Tenet holds talks on security issues with Israeli and PA officials. |
| January 21-27 | Peace talks are held at Egyptian town of Taba, but break up after Arafat gives a vitriolic speech to an international forum accusing Israel of being “fascist” and after Palestinian militants kills two Israeli civilians. |
| January 31 | Six mortar bombs are fired in the area of the Sion river outpost near the Lebanese border. There are no casualties. |
| February 6 | Election of Ariel Sharon as Prime Minister of Israel, winning 61 percent of the vote. |
| February 13 | |
| February 14 | A Palestinian terrorist drives a bus into a group of soldiers and civilians at a bus stop near Holon, south of Tel-Aviv, killing eight and injuring 25. |
| February 16 | Fire at an IDF convoy on Mt. Dov near Cheeba Farms. IDF soldier Elad Shneor is killed, and three other soldiers wounded. |
| February 19 | |
| February 20 | Due to domestic political pressure, Barak backs out of a deal to forge a new Israeli government in alliance with Ariel Sharon, declaring that he will not accept the post of Defense Minister in a future partnership. |
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell states that the Bush Administration believes the Israelis and Palestinians must solve their own security issues, and that theUnited States' aid cannot substitute continued efforts on both sides. | |
| February 26 | The Israeli Labor Party joins a coalition government headed by Ariel Sharon. Shimon Peres is named Foreign Minister and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer assumes the position of Minister of Defense. |
| March 1 | A bomb goes off in a service taxi at the Mei Ami juntion in Wadi Ara, killing one Israeli and injuring nine. |
The IDF and Israeli civilian officials discuss reoccupying Palestinian-controlled territory. | |
| March 4 | A suicide bomber kills himself and three Israelis and injures dozens of others at a busy intersection in Netanya. The Izzedin al-Qassam states that this is the first of ten suicide bombers trained by Hamas in response to Ariel Sharon's election. |
| March 7 | Ariel Sharon is sworn in as Prime Minister of Israel. |
| March 18 | An Israeli army base near Kibbutz Nahal Oz, next to the Gaza Strip, is fired at with mortar shells by Palestinians. This is the first time Palestinian terrorists in Gaza have attacked Israeli targets within Israel's borders. |
| March 20 | Ariel Sharon meets with President Bush at the White House. |
Colin Powell visits the Middle East for the first time as Secretary of State and calls for an end to the violence. | |
| March 21 | |
| March 26 | |
| March 27 | |
| March 28 | A suicide bombing near the Palestinian city of Qalquilyah, two Israeli teenagers are killed. Ariel Sharon, in his first military response since taking office three weeks prior, responds by sending helicopter gunships to bombard Arafat's Force-17 military bases and training camps. One Force-17 member and two other Palestinians are killed. In another incident, a suidice bomber detonates explosives at a gas station near Kfar Saba, killing two and injuring four. |
| April 1 | A 42-year-old Israeli woman is stabbed to death in Haifa. Her murder was the initiation rite of a terrorist cell, whose members were apprehended in July. Six members of a Hizbollah-linked Palestinian terrorist cell responsible for the murder, originally thought to be criminally motivated, were arrested in July. The murder was the initiation rite of one of the terrorists into the organization. |
| April 2 | Israel assassinates Mohammed Abdel Al, a military activist in Islamic Jihad, by shooting rockets from helicopters at his car in Rafah in southern Gaza. |
| April 5 | Iyyad Hardan, the military leader of the Islamic Jihad is killed when a booby-trapped public telephone booth in Jenin explodes. |
| April 6 | Palestinians in Gaza fire three mortar shells at Netiv Haasara, an Israeli village next to Gaza. Israel responds by firing rockets by helicopter at Palestinian police installations north of Gaza City. Four or more rockets are fired, hitting a police headquarters and two other buildings. |
| April 10 | Palestinians continue firing mortar rounds at Israeli targets in the Gaza Strip and within Israel's borders. There are no casualties. Israel's response is to fire antitank missiles at Palestinian police posts in Gaza. At one target, a Palestinian naval post, a lieutenant is killed and seven policement injured. At another target, a police headquarters in a refugee camp, ten are wounded. There incidents are considered daylight attacks, without warning, on occupied buildings, compared to previous nighttime raids. |
| April 11 | Israeli tanks and bulldozers level buildings in a Gaza refugee camp in Khan Younis suspected of being used as lauching pad for mortar attacks. Following the raid, a ground battle ensues as hudreds of armed Palestinians summoned by mosque loudspeakers rush to defend the refugee camp against and “Iraeli invasion.” Two Palestinians are killed and 24 injured; no Israelis are killed. This is the largest and furthest Israeli ground attack into Palestinian-governed territory since the latest series of violence beginning in September. |
| April 14 | |
Fire at an IDF post in the Mt. Dov sector near Cheeba Farms. IDF soldier Elad Litvak is killed. | |
Mohammed Yassin Nasser, a Hamas activist, is killed in an explosion in a house in Gaza City. | |
| April 15 | Israeli planes attack Syrian radar sites in the central mountains of Lebanon in response to Hizbollah strikes on stations of IDF soldiers along the northern Israeli border. This is the first Israeli attack against the Syrian military in five years. One Syrian soldier is killed and four other injured. |
| April 16 | Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdullah Khatib presents Israel with an Egyptian-backed proposal for ending Israeli-Palestinian violence and renewing peace negotions. The proposal calls for Israel to end settlement construction in Gaza and the West Bank, pull out of Palestinian towns, and lift the blockade of Palestinian-controlled regions. In return, the Palestinians would stop the violence against Israelis. Israel responds coldly, promising to look over the minister's suggestions further. |
| April 17 | For the first time since ceding the Gaza Stip to the Palestinian Authority under the 1993 Oslo Agreements, the IDF occupies territory in Gaza in response to the increased attacks from the area. Ariel Sharon states that he will keep forces in the region as long as necessary, but pulls Israeli troops back after public outcries.Yasser Arafat calls the situation an “unforgivable crime”, and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, in a rare criticism of Israel, calls the military act “excessive and disproportionate.” Powell calls for the Israeli government to vacate the area, but places the blame on a “provocative” Palestinian mortar attack for triggering the move. |
| April 22 | A suicide bomber blows up a bus in Jerusalem, killing one and injuring 39 others. |
| April 28 | A 60-year-old Israeli man is found stabbed to death in Kfar Ba'aneh, near Carmiel in Galilee. The terrorists responsible for the attack were apprehended in July. Six members of a Hizbollah-linked Palestinian terrorist cell responsible for the murder were arrested in July. The murder was the initiation rite of the organization. |
Imad Daud Karake, a Fatah activisit, is shot dead while driving near Bethlehem. | |
| April 30 | Mitchell Commission makes recommendations for ending violence. |
Two Hamas militants, Hamdi Madhoun and Mohamed Abu Khaled, are killed by the explosion of a booby-trapped car in a garage in Gaza City. | |
| May 5 | Ahmad Khalil Issa, a member of PIJ, is shot outside his ship in the West Bank village of Artas. |
| May 18 | A suicide bomber blows himself up at a shopping mall in Netanya, killing five and injuring over 100. |
| May 21 | The Mitchell Commission issues its report. |
| March 28 | In a suicide bombing near the Palestinian city of Qalquilyah, two Israeli teenagers are killed. Ariel Sharon, in his first military response since taking office three weeks prior, responds by sending helicopter gunships to bombard Arafat's Force-17 military bases and training camps. One Force-17 member and two other Palestinians are killed. |
| May 25 | |
| June 1 | |
| June 12 | U.S. CIA Director George Tenet negotiates a cease-fire, but Palestinians break it within a few hours of its announcement. |
| June 22 | A suicide bombing in Gaza claims the lives of two Israeli soldiers and the bomber. |
| June 24 | Osama Jawabri, a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and on the list of Israel's most wanted terrorists, is killed when a booby-trapped public telephone he often used exploded. |
| June 26 | Ariel Sharon meets with President Bush at the White House. |
| June 29 | Hizbollah fighters fire 12 rockets and mortars at an Israeli position in Cheeba Farms. Two IDF soldiers are wounded. |
| July 1 | Hizbollah fires rockets and mortars at Israeli positions in Cheeba Farms. There are no casualties. |
| July 15 | Israel insists on seven days of calm before it will resume peace talks with Palestinians, but violence continues to escalate. |
| July 16 | |
| July 17 | Helicopter gunships kill four men in Bethlehem, two of who are linked to Hamas. Israeli sources claim the men were planning an attack on the athletes at the Maccabiah games. |
| July 23 | |
| July 25 | Hamas activist Saleh Darwezeh dies when Israeli antitank missiles strike his car near Nablus. |
| July 30 | Israeli rockets destroy a Hamas office in Nablus, killing Jamal Mansour, a leading Hamas figure in the West Bank. |
| August 5 | Hamas activist Amer Mansour Habiri dies when Israeli missiles strike his car in Tulkarem in the West Bank. |
| August 9 | One of the worst of a serious of suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks occurs when a Palestinian blows himself up at a downtown Jerusalem pizzeria, Sbarro, killing 15 and wounding more than 130. Hamas and the PIJ both claim responsibility. |
| August 10 | Israeli forces capture Orient House in East Jerusalem which acted as a base for Palestinian activity. |
| August 12 | |
| August 15 | Israeli troops ambush and kill Palestinian militant Emad Abu Sneineh. |
| August 27 | A shell attack destroys the offices of Abu Ali Mustafa, leader of the PFLP, and kills him. |
| August 31-September 8 | |
| September 1 | Colonel Taiseer Khatab, an aide to the chief of Gaza intelligence, is killed when a bomb ignites under the seat of his car. |
| September 6 | U.S. diplomats walk out of UN conference in Durban when organizers attempt to equate Zionism with racism. |
| September 9 | |
| September 11 | Terrorists crash airplanes into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Thousands of Palestinians take to the streets tocelebrate while most of the world mourns and expresses outrage. |
| September 18 | |
| September 24 | Sharon declares his willingness to “give the Palestinians what no one ever gave them before, the possibility of a state.” |
| October 2 | President Buch declares support for a Palestinian state, so long as it does not threaten Israel's right to exist.. |
| October 7 | In Beit Shean, a PIJ suicide bomber kills himself and one Israeli. |
| October 8 | A PIJ terrorist blows himself up near Kibbutz Shluhot in nothern Israel. |
| October 14 | Israeli forces shoot and kill Abdel Rahman Hamad, the alleged architect behind the June 1 attack on a Tel Aviv discotheque that killed 22 people. |
| October 17 | Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi is assassinated by Palestinian terrorists from the PFLP. Israel responds by sending troops into six Palestinian cities in the West Bank. |
| October 18 | Atef Abayat of the PFLP is killed along with two other Palestinian gunmen when their car explodes near Bethlehem. |
| October 22 | Hamas bombmaker Hayman Halaweh is killed and three others wounded when his booby-trapped car explodes in Nablus. |
Hizbollah operatives attack Israeli military positions in Cheeba Farms. There are no casualties. | |
| November 1 | Hamas officials Yasser Asideh and Fahami Abu Eisha are killed in a missile attack outside Tulkarem in the West Bank. |
| November 10 | President Bush addresses U.N. General Assembly and for the first time an American president formally lays out a vision of a Palestinian state living in peace beside Israel. |
| November 23 | An Israeli helicopter fires two missiles at a van in Nablus, killed Mahmoud Abu Hamoud, a top-tanking Hamas official. |
| November 26 | President Bush sends Anthony Zinni to try to mediate an Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire. |
| November 29 | A PIJ militant blows himself up on a passenger bus in northern Israel, killing three Israelis and wounding six. |
| December 1 | Back-to-back suicide bombings in west Jerusalem leave 10 dead and 170 injured. |
| December 2 | A suicide bomber in Haifa kills 16 and wounds 40. |
Ariel Sharon meets with President Bush at the White House. | |
| December 10 | President Bush becomes the first American president to host a reception celebrating Chanukah in the White House residence. |
Muhammed Sidr, and Islamic Jihad leader, is wounded in a missile attack in Hebron. | |
| December 12 | Israeli cabinet declares Arafat “no longer relevant” after a series of horrific Palestinian terrorist attacks. |
| December 15 | U.S. vetoes UN Security Council draft resolution that would have established an international monitoring force in Israel. |
| December 16 | Again under pressure from the United States, Arafat issues a call for a cease-fire, but various Palestinian factions ignore him. |
| December 22 | Israel confines Arafat to his Ramallah office until he arrests the killers of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi. |
2002
| January 3 | Israel captures Karine-A, a ship laden with 50 tons of weapons from Iran bound for the Palestinian Authority. |
| January 7 | Ariel Sharon meets with President Bush at the White House. |
| January 15 | Raed Mahmoud Karmi, a commander of Fatah Tanzim in Tulkarem, is killed. |
| January 24 | A missile strike killes senior Hamas militant Adali Bakr Hamdam and two of his associates. |
| January 23 | Hizbollah militants shell Israeli positions in the Golan Heights. There are no casualties. |
| January 25 | |
| January 27 | A suicide bomber kills one man and injures more than 100 other people in Jerusalem in the latest of a series of terrorist incidents. This one is distinct because it is the first case of a female suicide bomber. |
| February 4 | Five members of the DFLP are killed when their car explodes in the Gaza Strip. |
Hizbollah anti-aircraft weapons fire on Israeli warplanes conducting a surveillance mission over southern Lebanon. There are no casualties. | |
| February 17 | Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah calls for complete Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders in exchange for recognition. |
| February 18 | Israel rejects Saudi peace plan. |
| March 5 | Mohand Dirya (Abu Haliwa), a top Fatah Tanzim operations officer, and two members of Force 17 die in a missile strike on their car near Ramallah. |
A PIJ suicide bus bombing in Afula claims the lives of one Israeli and injures 11 others. | |
| March 9 | At Jerusalem's Cafe Moment, a suicide bombing kills 11 Israelis and injures around 54. |
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Bridages activist Samer Awis is killed in a missile attack on his car near Ramallah. | |
| March 12 | Infiltration — In a shooting attack on the Shlomi-Metzuba route, six Israeli civilians are killed, among them IDF officer Lt. German Rojkov. |
| March 14 | Zinni returns for a third attempt to achieve a cease-fire. This follows a decision by Sharon to drop his demand for seven days of quiet before he will enter negotiations and a period of Israeli restraint in reaction to a number of terrorist attacks. |
| March 20 | A PIJ suicide bombing near the town of Umm-al-Fahm claims the lives of seven Israelis and injures 29 others. |
| March 27 | Twenty-eight people are killed and 134 injured when a suicide bomber blows himself up at a Passover seder in a Netanya hotel. |
| March 28 -April 17 | “Operation Defensive Shield” is launched to halt terror attacks from the territories. |
| March 29 | Sharon delcares Arafat an “enemy” of Israel and sends troops to root out the terror infrastructure in the Palestinian Authority. Israeli forces surround Arafat's office and keep him in “isolation.” |
| March 31 | |
| April 2 | Terrorists take over St. Mary's Church grounds in Bethlehem and hold the priest and a number of nuns there against their will. The terrorists used the Church as a firing position, from which they shot at IDF soldiers in the area. That same day, Palestinian gunmen entered the Church of the Nativity. |
| April 5 | The military leader of Hamas in the West Bank, Kayes Adnan, is killed along with five other Hamas militants. |
| April 8 | Hizbollah launches a rocket against an Israeli hilltop military position. There are no casualties. |
| April 10 | |
| April 19 | A PIJ suicide bombing at the Israeli checkpoint at Kisufim injures two soldiers. |
| April 22 | Marwan Zalloum, a commander in the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, and his bodyguard are killed in Hebron when missiles strike their car. |
| May 2 | The Quartet proposes holding another conference to seek an end to the violence |
| May 6 | Palestinian officials say deal is reached to expel six to nine Palestinian terrorists holed up in the Church of the Nativity to Italy, and transfer more than 30 others to a Gaza prison guarded by American and British jailers. |
| May 7 | Ariel Sharon meets with President Bush at the White House. |
In Rishon Lezion, south of Tel Aviv, 16 Israelis are killed and more than 57 other injured in a suicide bombing of a crowded hall. | |
| May 9 | |
| May 10 | Palestinians leave the Church of the Nativity, bringing an end to the standoff. |
| May 14 | Khalid Abu Khairan, a Palestinian General Intelligence agent, is shot and killed in the West Bank town of Haloul. |
| May 19 | A suicide bomber dressed as an Israeli soldier blows himself up in a Netanya marketplace, killing 3 people and wounding 59. |
| May 22 | Mohammed Titi, chief of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, and two other militants are killed while hiding in a cemetary in the West Bank. |
| June | “Operation Determined Path” is a new military operation to root out terrorists in the territories following three major terrorist attacks. Israel begins to erectsecurity fence to prevent terrorist infiltration into Israel and major settlements. |
| June | Nefesh b'Nefesh, a new organization founded to encourage North American aliya (immigration to Israel), launches first chartered flight of 400 North Americans making aliya at one time - a first in Israel's history. Nefesh b'Nefesh flight is also first time in history that Israel's Interior Ministry (Misrad HaPanim) processes olim (immigrants) on the flight to Israel. In 2003, Nefesh b'Nefesh brings approximately 1,000 new immigrants to Israel from North America. |
| June 5 | A PIJ terrorist drives an explosive-laden truck into an Israeli Egged commuter bus at the Megiddo Junction near Afula, killing himself and 17 Israelis. |
| June 10 | Ariel Sharon meets with President Bush at the White House. |
| June 17 | President Bush chooses to exercise waiver to avoid moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem as called for in the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act. He argues that it would interfere with the president’s authority to formulate foreign policy. |
Walid Na'aman Aliu Sbeh, a senior member of the al-Aqsa Martyry's Bridages, is killed. | |
| June 18 | During rush hour, a suicide bomb on a Jerusalem bus kills 19 and injurs 74. |
Yusef Besharat, a member of Islamic Jihad who was accused of killing two European observers from an international force in Hebron, is killed. | |
| June 24 | President Bush calls on the Palestinians to elect new leaders, eradicate terrorism and create institutional reforms, with the vision of a Palestinian state by 2005. In the speech, Bush also calls for Israel to withdraw to its September 2000 borders and to end its settlement activity as progress is made toward security. |
Yasser Rizik, Rafah-area Hamas commander, and five other militants are killed when Israeli Apache helicopters destroy the two taxis they were riding in. | |
| June 30 | Mohamed Tahir, a senior Hamas leader, is killed in his house near Nablus. |
| July 4 | Jehad al-A'marin, a top leader of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, and another militant are killed in a car bomb. |
| July 17 | |
| July 23 | An Israeli warplane srops a one-ton bomb on the house of Salah Shehadeh, the head of Hamas' military wing and a close personal aide to the movement's spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, killing him. |
| July 30 | |
| August 6 | Hussaan Hamdam, a leader in Hamas' military wing, is killed. |
| August 14 | Hamas leader Nasr Jarrar is killed when rockets hit his house in the West Bank. |
| August 29 | Fire at an IDF post in the Mt. Dov sector. IDF soldier Ofer Misali is killed, and two other soldiers are lightly wounded. |
| September 19 | |
| September 26 | The bodyguard of Hamas operations chief and bombmaker Mohammed Dief is killed. |
| September 30 | President Bush chooses to exercise waiver to avoid moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem as called for in the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act. He argues that it would interfere with the president’s authority to formulate foreign policy. |
| October | Drafts of the road map” for Israeli-Palestinian peace, crafted by the Quartet — the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia — are leaked to the media. The plan calls for a three-staged approach to peace, leading to an interim Palestinian state after elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the creation of a permanent state at the end of the road. Israelis argue that progress on the road map is based on a timeline, rather than measuring compliance with the plan. |
| October 13 | Mohammed Shtewie Abayat, a member of the Fatah Tanzim militia, is killed when a public telephone explodes in his hands. |
| October 16 | President Bush and Ariel Sharon meet in Washington. Sharon agrees to release $400 million in Palestinian tax revenue that had been frozen, and Bush gives Sharon a draft version of the road map. The two leaders also work to coordinate the right to retaliate if attacked by Iraq. |
| October 21 | |
| November 4 | |
Hamad Sadder, a wanted Hamas militant, and one other man are killed in Nablus. | |
| November 9 | Iyad Sawalha, a leader of Islamic Jihad, is killed when he is shot dead in his house in Jenin. |
| November 21 | |
| December 4 | Israeli helicopters fire several missiles at a room in the Palestinian Authority Preventive Security headquarters compound in Gaza City where Mustafa Sabah, a bombmaker responsible for destroying three Israeli battle tanks and killing seven soldiers, is employed as a guard. Sabah dies in the assault. |
2003
| January 5 | |
| January 21 | Hizbollah fires an estimated 25 rockets and mortars at the Israeli outpost of Roueissat al-Alem in the Cheeba Farms region. There are no casualties. |
| January 28 | Elections for the 16th Knesset. |
| February 16 | A mysterious explosion kills six Hamas members in the Gaza Strip. |
| February 19 | Tha'er Zakarneh, a leader in the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Bridages, is killed and four others are wounded when a small bomb detonates within a car in Jenin. |
| March 8 | Ibrahim Makadmed, co-founded of the political wing of Hamas, and three of his bodyguards are killed in a missle strike in Gaza City. |
| March 10 | Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is appointed the new Palestinian prime minister. |
| March 19 | U.S.-led war against Iraq commences. |
| March 25 | Two Hamas militants are killed in Bethlehem. |
| March 30 | |
| April 8 | Vice President Cheney visits northern Israel and calls on Syria to restrain Hezbollah. |
Two Hamas leaders, Saad Arabid and Ashraf Halaby, are killed in Gaza City. | |
| April 10 | Islamic Jihad military leader Mahmoud Zatme is killed in Gaza City when Israeli missiles destroy his car. |
| April 14 | Israeli emissaries submit 14 reservations to the proposed Roadmap. |
| April 29 | |
| April 30 | |
| May 1 | Allied military operations in Iraq end. |
| May 7 | Hizbollah attacks IDF positions in the Sheba farms with heavy rocket, mortar, and small arms fire. One Israeli soldier is killed and five others wounded in the attack. |
| May 8 | Hamas militant Iyad al-Beik is killed in an Israeli helicopter strike in Gaza. |
| May 17 | Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas hold first summit meeting. |
| May 18 | |
| May 19 | The first PIJ female suicide bomber blows herself up at a shopping mall in Afula, killing three people and injuring dozens of others. |
| May 23 | After White House officials acknowledge Israel’s concerns about the road map in a statement, Ariel Sharon officially accepts it. |
| May 25 | |
| June 3 | President Bush meets with Arab leaders in Egypt. He says Israel “must deal with the settlements” and make sure there is a contiguous Palestinian state. Arab leaders endorse the road map and agree to crack down on terrorism and its sources of funding. |
| June 4 | President Bush meets in Aqaba, Jordan, with Ariel Sharon, Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah. Abbas calls for an end to the Palestinian “armed intifada” and Sharon says that he understands the Palestinians’ need for “territorial continuity” in the West Bank. Bush names John Wolf as a new Middle East envoy, charged with monitoring implementation of the road map. |
| June 10 | Chief Hamas political leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi is wounded and his bodyguard is killed in an Israeli helicopter attack in Gaza City. |
| June 11 | |
| June 12 | Yasser Taha, a Hamas militant, is killed in Gaza City. |
| June 13 | Hamas militant Fuad Lidawi is killed in Gaza City, |
| June 19 | The first Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) conference on anti-Semitism takes place in Vienna. |
| June 21 | Abdullah Qawasmeh, a senior militant commander of Hamas, is killed near Hebron. |
| June 27 | An Israeli soldier and four Palestinian militants are killed in an Israeli commando operation on the house of a Hamas bombmaker in Mughraqa and capture a cell that had launched rocket attacks from Gaza. |
| July 5 | Hizbollah fires 26 anti-aircraft missiles into northern Israel, but there are no casualties. |
| July 20 | Hizbollah snipers fire on an Israeli outpost near Shtula, killing two Israeli soldiers. |
| July 22 | Hizbollah fires anti-aircraft shells as Israeli jets flying over southern Lebanon. Two Israelis in the nearby town of Shlomi are wounded. |
| July 29 | Ariel Sharon meets with President Bush at the White House. Hamas and PIJ suspend attacks against Israel for three months, while Fatah declares six month truce. |
| August 6 | Israel releases 339 Palestinian prisoners. |
| August 8 | Hizbollah militants fire rockets and mortars at three Israeli military positions in Cheeba Farms. Israeli retaliates with airstrikes against suspected Hizbollah positions in the disputed area and Lebanon. |
| August 10 | Haviv Dadon, 16, of Shlomi, was struck in the chest and killed by shrapnel from an antiaircraft shell fired by Hizbollah terrorists in Lebanon. Four others are wounded. It is the first killing of an Israeli civilian since Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon three years earlier. |
| August 12 | |
| August 19 | |
| September 6 | Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) resigns as Palestinian prime minister. |
| September 7 | Ahmed Qureia (Abu Alaa) is named Palestinian prime minister. |
| October 6 | |
| October 15 | Bomb explodes in Gaza killing three United States security guards. |
| November 7 | Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the Reform Movement's synagogue arm, renames itself the Union for Reform Judaism, after 130 years of being the UAHC. |
| December 1 | Geneva Accords signed, outlining a draft of permanent status agreements. |
| December 17 | |
| December 18 | Sharon announces intent of unilateral disengagement. |
2004
| January 5 | Prime Minister Ariel Sharon addresses the central committee of the Likud Party to affirm his “Disengagement Plan” for unilateral withdrawal, which he announced in December 2003 at the Herzliya Conference. Sharon informs the committee that, as Prime Minister of Israel, and head of the Likud party, he plans on going forth with his plan even if the Central Committee refuses to go along with him. |
| January 19 | An antitank missile is fired at IDF D9 while neutralizing explosive charges near Zari't. An IDF soldier, Yan Rotzenski, is killed and another soldier is severely wounded. |
| January 30 | Israel exchanges over 400 prisoners and the remains of close to 60 Lebanese with Hezbollah, for a captured soldier and the remains of 3 other soldiers. |
| February 13 | The White House declares that unilateral diengagement from Gaza may help ease tensions between the two parties, but that a final settlement must be reached through negotiations. |
| March 18 | King Abdullah of Jordan meets with Israeli Prime Minister Sharon to discuss Israel's security fence and the pending disengagement from Gaza. |
| March 22 | The IDF kills Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmad Yassin. |
| March 24 | Abd al-Aziz Rantissi chosen as new leader of Hamas. |
| March 25 | |
| April 14 | President Bush commends Israeli Prime Minister Sharon's withdrawal plan and recognizes that territorial modifactions will be made to include large settlement blocks. |
| April 17 | Israeli security forces kill Abd al-Aziz Rantisi, the co-founder of Hamas and successor to Sheikh Ahmad Yassin. |
| April 18 | Israeli Army Radio reports that following the assassination of Abdel Aziz Rantisi, Mahmoud Zahar becomes the leader of Hamas. Hamas did not publicly announce Rantisi's successor out of fear that Israel would target him. |
| April 19 | Israel gives the U.S. written commitment to dismantle illegal settlements. |
| April 28-29 | The second Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) conference on anti-Semitism issues declaration to fight anti-Semitism. |
| April 30 | U.S. Court rules John Demjanjuk was a Nazi guard. |
| May 7 | Fire in the Mt. Dov sector. IDF soldier Dennis Leminov is killed, and two other soldiers are severely wounded. The IDF returns fire. |
| May 11 | |
| May 19 | Marwan Barghouti convicted of murder for his involvement in three terrorist attacks in Israel that killed five people. He was acquitted for 33 other murders due to a lack of evidence of his direct involvement in those crimes. |
| June 6 | Israel's cabinet approves a compromise disengagement plan whereby Israel would evacuate all 21 settlements in Gaza Strip and 4 settlements in the northernWest Bank. |
| June 30 | Israeli High Court upholds Israel's right to build security fence, but makes slight modifications on its route. |
| Summer | Windsurfer Gal Fridman wins Israel's first Olympic Gold Medal. |
| July 9 | The International Court of Justice issues non-binding advisory opinion that Israel's security barrier violates international law.. |
| July 20 | Hizbollah sniper fires at an IDF post in the western sector of the Israeli-Lebanese border. Two IDF soldiers are killed. |
| September 2 | Security Council declares support for a free and fair presidential election in Lebanon conducted without foreign interference and calls upon all remaining foreign (Syrian) forces to withdraw from Lebanon. |
| November 11 | Yasser Arafat dies in Paris. |
2005
| January 9 | |
An explosive device is detonated against an IDF patrol at Nahal Sion. One Israeli solider is killed, and a UN officer is killed. | |
| January 30 | Iraq holds first free election in a half century. |
| February 7 | United States Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice visits Israel and the PA. |
| February 8 | Summit at Sharm e-Sheikh attended by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubara, and Jordan's King Abdullah during which Sharon and Abbas declare an end to violence. Jordan proposes deploying Palestinian soldiers (Badr Bigade) to the northern part of the West Bank. Israel approves the offer, though the plan is never put into effect. Jordan also deploys ambassador to Israel. |
| February 16 | Knesset approves the Disengagement Implementation Law to compensate Jews who will be evacuated as a result of the disengagement plan. |
| February 20 | Israel's cabinet adopts a revised route for the security fence closer to the pre-1967 borders in some areas. |
| March 16 | Israel transfers control of Jericho to the Palestinians. |
| March 17 | Multiple Palestinian groups agree to informal truce until end of year. |
| March 20 | It is reported that Israel's defense minister approved the building of 3,500 new housing units between the Ma'ale Adumim settlement and East Jerusalem, in the E-1 corridor. |
| March 21 | Israel transfers control of Tulkarem to the PA. |
| April 2 | Pope John Paul II dies. |
| April 7 | Two Israeli Arabs from the village of Rajar on the Israel-Lebanon border are kidnapped by Hizbollah operatives and held in captivity for four days in an attempt to obtain information on Israel. |
| April 19 | Joseph Alois Ratzinger elected Pope and becomes Benedict XVI. |
| May 26 | In a meeting with Abbas, Bush declares that changes to the 1949 armistice line must be mutually agreed upon. Abbas claims that the PA is willing to work with Israel to help plan the diesngagement from Gaza. |
| June 29 | More than 20 mortars are fired from across the border. Cpl. Uzi Peretz of the Golani Brigade is killed and four soldiers wounded, including the unit’s doctor. Fire was exchanged and helicopters and planes attacked five Hizbullah outposts in the Reches Ramim area. |
| July 12 | A Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) suicide bombing kills 5 in Netanya. Israel responds by reentering Tulkarem and Hamas increases rocket attacks in the South. |
| August 15 | |
| August 17 | Forcible evacuation of Jews in Gaza begins. |
| August 22 | Disengagement from the Gaza Strip completed. |
| August 23 | |
| August 29 | Sharon declares that there will be no more disengagements, that future territorial concessions will be handled in accordance with the Roadmap, and reiterated that the large settlement blocks would remain in Israel. |
| September 20 | Last army units leave settlements of Ganim and Kadim in northern Samaria. |
| September 25 | Hamas anounces intent to hault operations in Gaza. |
| September 27 | Hamas kidnaps and kills a settler in the West Bank. |
| October 20 | Bush urges Abbas to stand up to armed gangs and bring an end to violence. |
| October 26 | PIJ suicide bomber kills 6 in Hadera. Israel responds by ruling out talks with PA until violence quels. |
| November 14 | Secretary Rice visits Israel to urge Sharon not to interfere with Palestinian elections if Hamas runs for power. |
| November 15 | Agreement on movement and access from the Gaza Strip to Israel reached. |
| November 21 | Sharon asserts he is no longer willing to deal with Likud rebels, so he resigns from the party and creates a new centrist party, Kadima. Asks President Katzavto dissolve Parliament and schedule an early election. |
| November 25 | Rafah border crossing reopened. |
| December 5 | PIJ kills 5 in Netanya, Israel retalliates by barring Palestinians from entering Israel for a week. |
| December 27 | A branch of a Palestinian organization connected to al-Qaeda fires six Katyushas, damaging a house in Kiryat Shmona and a house in Metulla. In reponse, theIAF attacks a training base of the Popular Front, south of Beirut. |
| December 28 | Responding to rockets fired from Lebanon to northern Israel, Israeli jets attack a terrorist base south of Beirut. |
2006
| January 4 | Prime Minister Sharon suffers severe stroke and falls into a coma. Ehud Olmert assumes role of Acting Prime Minister and acting Chairman of Kadima. |
| January 19 | PIJ suicide bombing in Tel Aviv wounds 30. |
| January 25 | |
| January 30 | Quartet calls on Hamas to renounce violence, recognize Israel's right to exist, and accept all prior agreements. |
| February 21 | Ismail Haniyah sworn in as Palestinian Prime Minister. |
| March 28 | Kadima party wins Israeli elections and Ehud Olmert becomes Prime Minister. Voter turnout was the lowest ever (63.2%). |
| March 30 | The Al-Aqsa martyrs brigade claims responsibility for a suicide bombing in the West Bank killing four. Hamas reacts by applauding their efforts. |
| March 31 | In an interview with the British press, Hamas head Ismail Haniyah calls for an end of requests to recognize Israel's right to exist. |
| April 9 | Israeli security cabinet recommends severing ties with PA. |
| April 17 | PIJ suicide bombing in Tel Aviv kills 11. Hamas applauds efforts while Fatah denounces it. |
| April 26 | Abbas calls for an international peace conference. |
| May 4 | New Israeli government takes office. Vows to strive to shape the permanent borders of the State of Israel as a democratic Jewish state with a Jewish majority. |
| May 10 | Imprisoned Hamas, Fatah, and other officials draft a National Accord Document calling for a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, a right of return of all refugees, and the release of all prisoners. Abbas accepts, Hamas rejects because of its implied recognition of Israel. |
| May 21 | Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni meets Abbas at the World Economic Forum in Egypt. Abbas asserts that "permanent" arrangements are impossible without resolving the main issues of conflict - security, borders, Jerusalem, and refugees. Also claims Israeli unilateralism will increase violence and put an end to the two-state solution. Haniya says his government will maintain a cease fire for many years if Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders. |
| May 23 | Olmert meets President Bush at the White House. Bush and Olmert reiterate their commitment to a two state solution. |
| May 27 | An IDF soldier is wounded when Katyushas were fired at an army base at Mt. Meron in the upper Galilee. |
| May 28 | Palestinian rockets hit deep into northern Israel. Israel responds by striking terrorist bases in Lebanon. |
| June 10 | Hamas ends 16 month long truce as crossborder violence escalates near Gaza. |
| June 25 | Hamas, Popular Resistance Committees, and Army of Islam militants attacked Israeli forces in Israel, killing two Israeli sodiers, wounding four and kidnapping Cpl. Gilad Shalit. The terrorists had reached Israel through a tunnel from Gaza and demanded the release of an estimated 400 prisoners, mostly women and minors. |
| June 27 | |
| June 28 | Palestinian factions agree on a revised National Accord Document (Prisoner's Document), which states that the PLO and the President of the PA will be responsible for negotiations with Israel to create a state on territories occupied by Israel in 1967. The Popular Resistance Committees announce they had kidnapped a young West Bank settler and would kill him if Israel did not stop the Gaza Operation. (Three alleged perpetrators of this attack were arrested on July 4 in Ramallah) Israeli jets fly over Syrian President Bashar Assad's summer residence in Latakia as a warning to stop supporting terrorism. |
| June 29 | |
| July 2 | A Hamas rocket hits Israeli port city of Ashkelon, hitting near a vacant school. This is the farthest north a Palestinian rocket has ever struck. The Israeli government approved prolonged activities against Hamas, institutions and infrastructures used by terrorist organizations, and rocket launching squads in Gaza. Israeli operations in Gaza were expanded. |
| July 12 | Hezbollah kidnaps two Israeli soldiers (Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev) and kills three Israeli soldiers in Israeli territory, sparking the Second Lebanon War. Hezbollah demands the release of three Lebanese and other Arab prisoners in exchange for the return of Goldwasser, Regev, and Shalit. Prime MinisterOlmert declares Hezbollah's attack an act of war. |
| July 16 | The G-8 blames Hezbollah and Hamas for the destabilization of the region and calls upon them to halt their attacks. G-8 also calls upon Israel to “be mindful of the strategic and humanitarian consequences of its actions.” Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and several Gulf States blame Hezbollah for the war. |
| July 17 | Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert issues calls on Hezbollah to return the kidnapped soldiers, cease terrorist attacks, and allow Lebanese troops to mdeploy along the border. |
| August 8 | The Lebanese Government offers to deploy 15,000 troops to the Israel-Lebanon border in exchange for complete Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. |
| August 11 | The United Nations Security Council passes Resolution 1701 calling for an end to hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. |
| August 14 | Israel and Hezbollah agree to United Nations ceasefire. The Lebanese Defense Minister declares that Lebanon has no intention of disarming Hezbollah (as required by UNSC Resolution 1701). |
| August 15 | Syrian President Bashar Assad declares that the peace process has failed. |
| August 19 | Israeli forces raid Hezbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon. |
| September 21 | Abbas informs the United Nations General Assembly that all future Palestinian governments will comply with previously signed agreements. |
| September 30 | |
| October 31-November 8 | Israeli forces enter the northern Gaza town of Beit Chanun in an effort to prevent rocket fire to Israel. |
| November | The government appoints a commission of inquiry, chaired by retired judge Eliyahu Winograd, to investigate and draw lessons from the war in Lebanon. |
| November 13 | |
| Following talks between Hamas and Fatah, both sides agree to form a unity government. | |
| November 25 | Palestinians and Israelis agree to ceasefire in Gaza. |
| November 27 | Olmert expresses willingness to implement Roadmap and urges Palestinians to uphold the principles outlined by the Quartet. |
| November 28 | United States National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley reiterates Olmert's point that an agreement between Israel and Syria cannot be reached until Syria stops supporting terrorism. |
| December 6 | |
| December 8 | Hamas head Ismail Haniyah travels to Iran and publically declares that Hamas will never recognize Israel's right to exist. |
| December 16 | Abbas calls for new elections as a solution to the ongoing crisis. |
| December 23 | Olmert promises to give PA $100 million in tax revenue for humanitarian purposes. |
2007
| January 14 | |
| January 17 | Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and Defense Minister Amir Peretz resign following criticism of their role in the Lebanon War. Olmert holds on to his office. |
| January 29 | PIJ claims reponsibility for suicide bombing in Eilat which killed three Israeli's. |
| January 30 | Fatah and Hamas reach a ceasefire agreement mediated by Egypt after a series of clashes that led to the death of 32 Palestinians. Both sides welcome a Saudi initiative to meet in Mecca. |
| February 2 | Quartet calls on PA unity government to revert to its commitments as outlined in the Roadmap. |
| February 8 | Palestinian Unity Agreement in Mecca. Hamas and Fatah agree to share power, based on vaguely worded agreement. Hamas officials reiterate that they will never recognize Israel. US and Israel insist that the new government must recognize right of Israel to exist, disarm terrorist groups and agree to end violence. |
| February 9 | The Quartet welcomes the role of Saudi Arabia in reaching the agreement to form a Palestinian National Unity government but later reaffirms that it must obey international demands to recognise Israel, renounce violence and abide by previous peace agreements. |
| February 15 | Ismail Haniyah and his cabinet resign. Haniyah is re-appointed by Abbas and begins the process of forming a new Palestinian unity government. |
| February 19 | |
| March 15 | Palestinian unity government formed. |
| March 28-29 | Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia. Reiterates adherence, without changes, to the Arab Peace Initiative and direct negotiations on all tracks. |
| April 30 | The Inquiry Commission into the military campaign held in Lebanon in summer 2006, headed by former Justice Dr. Eliyahu Winograd, submitted to the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense an interim report relating to the time from the IDF's exit from Lebanon to the soldiers' abduction on July 12, 2006 and to the time between July 12 and July 17, when the decision to move into war was taken. |
| June 13 | The Knesset elected Shimon Peres to serve as the Ninth President of Israel, after Moshe Katsaz resigned amid impending charges of sexual harassment of female subordinates. |
| June 15 | Hamas forces attack Fatah in Gaza and drive them out of the Gaza strip in brutal attacks. President Mahmoud Abbas dissolves the unity government, but Prime Minister Haniyeh insists that the government is still in power. A summit in Sharm El Sheikh attended by Egypt, Jordan and Palestinians pledges support to the Abbas government, but Egypt calls for reunification with Hamas. |
| June 17 | President Abbas forms a new Palestinian emergency cabinet to replace the unity government which he dissolved after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip. Abbas selected Salam Fayyad as the new Palestinian prime minister. |
| June 18 | Former prime minister Ehud Barak was sworn in as Israel's defense minister. Barak received a vote of approval from parliament to replace Amir Peretz, who lost to Barak in last week's Labour Party leadership election. |
| June 18 | The U.S. lifts its embargo on the Palestinian government in an effort to boost the strength of President Abbas and his Fatah party's struggle against Hamas. |
| June 19 | Prime Minister Olmert and President Bush meet in Washington to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. |
| June 24 | |
| June 25 | |
| June 25 | Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem calls on Hamas to release Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who was kidnpapped one year ago today. |
| June 26 | Olmert, Abbas, and special envoys from the European Union, Russia, the United Nations, and the United States meet today in Jerusalem at the U.S. Consulate. |
| June 27 | The Quartet ( Russia, the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations) names Tony Blair as its new Middle East envoy. |
| July 1 | Olmert transfers $118 million to the PA. |
| July 16 | President Bush calls for a Middle East peace conference in the fall to be led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and to include Palestinians, Israelis and regional neighbors who support creation of a Palestinian state, as well as new aid measures to support the West Bank-based government of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. |
| July 20 | Israel releases 256 prisoners, grants clemency to 178 members of Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, and scales back its troop operations aimed at other militants in the West Bank. |
| July 25 | The Arab League sends is first formal delegation to Israel to officially present the Arab League peace offer that would see full recognition of Israel in exchange for withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the creation of a Palestininian state. The deal was first offered in 2002. |
| July 27 | Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad presents his government's program. It seeks to establish a Palestinian state on all lands occupied by Israel in 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital and a just solution for Palestinian refugees. |
| August 6 | |
| October 9 | Syria refuses to attend after Israel declines to put issue of Golan Heights as topic of discussion at the upcoming conference. |
| November 6 | |
| November 12 | The United States promises Syria that the issue of the Golan Heights will be brought to the agenda of the upcoming regional peace conference. |
| November 21 | Announcement of Annapolis Conference, to be held at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. |
| November 27 | Annapolis Conference is held at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. |
| December 12 | Israeli and Palestinian negotiators begin formal talks to launch the U.S.-brokered peace process initiated at the Annapolis Conference. |
2008
Iran continues to threaten the annihilation of Israel as efforts to stop it trying to make nuclear weapons fail. | |
Israeli schools are closed for a recond 65 days due to a teachers' strike. | |
Rubashkin kosher meat company faces allegations of worker abuse, inhumane practices, and hiring illegals at its slaughterhouse and meat packing facility in Postville, Iowa, forcing the plant to close. | |
A haredi rabbinic court in Israel calls into question the legitimacy of thousands of conversions by a prominent Israeli Orthodox halachic authority. | |
| January - present | Qassam rockets from Gaza rain down on the surrounding Israeli communities. |
| January 3 | Palestinian militants fire a Katyusha rocket with longer range than usual from Gaza into northern Ashkelon. |
| January 17 | In an effort to pressure Hamas to stop rocket fire at Israel, Defense Minister Ehud Barak orders the closing of border crossings from Israel into Gaza. |
| January 23 | Tens of thousands of Palestinians pour into Egypt from Gaza after Hamas militants blow holes into a border wall. |
| January 24 | Approximately 700 Palestinian security forces go to Jordan to begin U.S. training for a new gendarmerie that is projected to eventually be 50,000 strong. |
| February 3 | Egypt refuses to cede control of border to Hamas and reseals the damaged border crossing. |
| February 4 | |
| February 12 | Hizballah terror chief Imad Mugniyeh is assassinated in Damascus. |
| March 6 | Eight yeshiva students are shot dead by an Arab resident of East Jerusalem in a terror attack at the Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva. |
| April | An Israeli air strike on a Syrian target in September 2007 is reported to be a nuclear facility. |
| April 9 | Palestinian gunmen kill two Israeli civilian employees at the Nahal Oz fuel depot which pumps fuel into Gaza. |
| April 16 | Hamas ambushes and kills three Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip and fires more than 20 rockets into Southern Israel. |
| April 19 | A suicide car bombing and mortar ambush carried out by Hamas' military wing at Kerem Shalom crossing injures 13 Israeli soldiers. Israel retaliates with three airstrikes, killing seven Hamas militants. |
| April 25 | Five Palestinian groups claim responsibility for killing two Israeli security guards in Tulkarem in the West Bank. |
| May 14 | As President Bush arrives in Israel to celebrate it's 60th anniversary, a rocket landed on a shopping mall in Ashkelon, wounding 30. PIJ and Popular Resistance Committees both claimed responsibility. |
| May 31 | Hezbollah returned the remains of five Israeli soldiers killed in the summer war of 2006. Israel released an Israeli of Lebanese descent who had been convicted of spying for Hezbollah. |
| June 4 | President Mahmoud Abbas calls on Hamas to join a "national and comprehensive dialogue" and offered early presidential and parliamentary elections if the talks succeeded. |
| June 19 | |
| June 24 | |
| August 25 | Israel releases 199 Palestinian security prisoners in a gesture of goodwill to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. |
| September 23 | Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks at the UN. |
| October 22 | |
| October 26 | Foreign Minister, and Olmert's replacement as leader of the Kadima party, Tzipi Livni announces that she was unable to form a new coalition government, thereby triggering early elections in Israel on February 10, 2009. |
| November 4 | Democrat Barack Obama decisively wins the United States Presidential election with 78% of the Jewish vote. |
| November 26 | Muslim terrorists attack a Chabad House in Mumbai, India in a series of coordinated attacks on India's largest city and financial capital, killing at least 173 people and injuring over 300. |
| December 18 | |
| December 27, 2008- January 16, 2009 | Israeli Defense Forces launch Operation Cast Lead to halt Hamas rocket fire on Israel from the Gaza Strip. |
2009
| January 17 | Israel declares ceasefire to end Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. Hamas rejects Israel's call for a ceasefire, but its leadership announces their own ceasefire 12 hours later. |
| January 18 | Israeli government opens an emergency clinic at the Erez Crossing in an effort to provide humanitarian assistance and medical care to the Palestinian civilian population of Gaza. |
| January 22 | George Mitchell is named special envoy to the Middle East by President Obama. |
| January 27 | Palestinian Arab militants detonate a bomb at the Kissufim crossing, killing one Israeli soldier and wounding three. |
| February 10 | Elections for the 18th Knesset are held. |
| March 5 | |
| March 15 | Two Israeli police officers are killed in a shooting attack near Massua in the northern Jordan Valley. |
| March 31 | Benjamin Netanyahu sworn in as Israeli prime minister and head of new coalition government. |
| April 2 | A 13 year old Israeli is killed by a local Palestinian Arab in the Jewish settlement of Bat Ayin. A 7 year old Israeli is also injured and treated for serious wounds. Islamic Jihad and Imad Mughniyeh claim responsibility for the attack. |
| April 3 | United Nations establishes a fact-finding mission on the Gaza war, headed by Richard Goldstone, an international jurist from South Africa. |
| May 9 | An Israeli resident of Ashdod is kidnapped and killed by three West Bank Palestinians near Gan Yavne. |
| May 18 | PM Netanyahu and President Obama meet at the White House. |
| June 4 | President Obama calls for a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims" in a historic speech in Cairo. |
| June 14 | PM Netanyahu's speech at the Begin-Sadat Center. For the first time, Netanyahu endorses the principle of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. |
| June 16 | 10 Palestinian Arab gunmen belonging to an al-Qaida-cell launch an attack at the Karni crossing using horses strapped with explosives. Four terrorists and the horses are killed in the ensuing firefight with the IDF. No IDF soldiers were wounded. |
| August 1 | Two are killed and at least 15 are wounded at a shooting at Bar-Noar, the Tel Aviv branch of the Israeli GLBT Association. Police rule out the possibility that shooting was a terror attack. |
| September 15 | Goldstone releases his report, accusing both Israel and Hamas of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during the Gaza war. |
| September 22 | White House hosts a trilateral meeting with PM Netanyahu and PA President Abbas. |
| September 30 | Israel announces it will release twenty female Palestinian detainees and prisoners in exchange for a video proving Gilad Shalit was still alive. |
| November 3 | The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passes a resolution denouncing the Goldstone report as "irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy." |
| November 25 | PM Netanyahu announces Israel will impose a 10-month freeze on construction in West Bank settlements in a bid to restart stalled peace talks with the Palestinians. |
| December 24 | Rabbi Meir Avshalom of Shavei Shomron is killed in a drive-by shooting near his home. |
Modern Israel & the Diaspora
(2010-present)
2010
| January 11 | IAF airstrike killed four Islamic Jihad operatives, including Awad Abu Nasir, one of the terror organization's senior field commanders known to be behind dozens of IED and gunfire attacks. |
| February 1 | The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip with close ties to Hamas, tries to carry out an attack on Israel by placing bombs in barrels and sending them into the Mediterranean Sea from the Gaza coast. |
| February 10 | NCO Sgt 1st Class Ihab Khatib, 28, of the Arab-Druze village of Kfar Maghar, is knifed to death at the Tapuach junction in the West Bank by a senior Palestinian police officer. |
| March 18 | A Thai greenhouse worker is killed when a Kassam rocket fired by Gaza terrorists explodes in the Netiv Ha’asara area. Ansar al-Sunna and al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade both claim responsibility for the attack. |
| March 26 | A team of IDF soldiers from the Golani Brigade is ambushed and attacked with mortar shells and gunfire after crossing the border into the Gaza Strip when several people are seen placing explosive devices near the Israeli security fence. Two soldiers are killed and three are injured. Hamas and Islamic Jihad claim responsibility for the attack. |
| May 27 | Israel joins the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). |
| May 31 | Israeli naval forces intercepted six ships attempting to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. During the boarding of the Mavi Marmara, the demonstrators onboard attacked the IDF naval personnel. As a result of the violence, seven soldiers were wounded and there were nine activist casualties. |
| June 11 | A Palestinian militant attempts to run over two Israeli border policemen in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi Joz. Other members of the border police force at the scene shoot and critically injure the driver as he tries to escape. The two policemen are lightly injured and receive medical treatment on the spot |
| June 14 | One Israeli policeman is killed and three policemen are injured when Palestinian militants open fire on a their vehicle on Highway 60, south of Hebron. |
| June 20 | The Israeli Security Cabinet votes to further ease the land blockade on the Gaza Strip to allow in all food items and additional humanitarian aid. |
| July 7 | The IDF releases images of declassified intelligence maps that show how Hizballah, in the four years following the Second Lebanon War, has turned over 100 villages in South Lebanon into military bases. |
| July 26 | Six Israeli soldiers and one Romanian soldier die in an Israel Air Force helicopter crash, during a joint Israeli-Romanian aviation exercise in northern Romania. |
| July 30 | A series of Israeli airstrikes killed a senior commander of the Hamas military wing, Issa Batran. |
| September 1 | Direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, hosted by the U.S., resume. |
| November 4 | The Shin Bet and the Israeli Air Force successfully carried out an operation to kill Mohammed Namnam, a senior al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist, by a car bomb in Gaza City. Namnam was a top operative with the Army of Islam, a radical Palestinian terror group affiliated with al-Qaida and involved in the 2006 abduction of Gilad Shalit. |
2011
| January | Meir Dagan replaced by Tamir Pardo as Director of the Mossad. |
| January 11 | Islamic Jihad operative Mohammed Najar, who was involved in the planning of a terror attack in Israel, was killed in an IAF targeted airstrike while riding a motorcycle in the Gaza Strip. |
| January 17 | Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak announces he will leave the Labor Party to establish a new faction with other legislators called Atzmaut (Independence). |
| January 23 | Al Jazeera releases The Palestine Papers, revealing a trove of documents, e-mails and minutes of meetings, shedding light on 10 years of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. |
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