Key Dates
Courtesy of the Anti-Defamation League
| February 14, 1896 |
Publication of Theodor Herzl’s treatise “The Jewish State” |
| August 29, 1897 | Opening of the First Zionist Congress at Basel, Switzerland |
| November 2, 1917 |
Issuing of Balfour Declaration: British support for a “Jewish Homeland” |
| April 24, 1920 | Britain assigned mandatory power over Palestine at the San Remo Conference |
| August 23, 1929 | Arab attack on Jewish community of Hebron |
| April 15, 1936 | Arab revolt begins |
| May 17, 1939 | British White Paper limiting Jewish immigration to Palestine |
| December 1945 | Initiation of Arab League Boycott (on the Jewish community of Palestine) |
| July 22, 1946 | Irgun bombs King David Hotel |
| February 14, 1947 | Britain gives UN responsibility for Palestine |
| November 29, 1947 |
UN Partition Plan approved (Resolution 181) |
 1948 - 1967 |
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| May 14, 1948 |
Declaration of the State of Israel |
| May 15, 1948 - January 1949 | Outbreak of War of Independence. Ends January 1949 |
| January 25, 1949 | Israel’s first national election takes place; David Ben-Gurion elected Prime Minister |
| May 1950 | Operation Ali Baba; brings 113,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel |
| September 1950 | Operation Magic Carpet completed; 47,000 Yemeni Jews brought to Israel |
| October 29 -November 6, 1956 | Suez Campaign |
| October 10, 1959 | Creation of Fatah |
| January 1964 |
Creation of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) |
| January 1, 1965 | Fatah attack on Israeli water system |
| May 15 - 22, 1967 |
Egyptian Mobilization in the Sinai/Closure of the |
| June 5 - 10, 1967 | Six Day War |
| November 22, 1967 |
Adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 242 |
|
1968 - 1973 |
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| April 4, 1968 | Establishment of Jewish settlement in Hebron |
| July 18, 1968 | Hijacking of El Al airliner by PLO |
| February 1 - 4, 1969 |
Arafat becomes PLO Chairman |
| March 8, 1969 |
War of Attrition begins, lasts to August 1970 |
| September 5, 1972 | Massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at Munich Olympics |
| October 6 - 24, 1973 | Yom Kippur War |
| October 17, 1973 | Arab Oil Embargo |
| October 22, 1973 |
Adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 338 |
| November 5, 1973 | Kissinger begins shuttle diplomacy |
|
1974 - 1979 |
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| May 15, 1974 |
Terrorist Attack on school in northern Israeli town of Ma’alot |
| November 10, 1975 |
“Zionism is Racism” resolution passed by the UN |
| November 19, 1977 | Egyptian President Anwar Sadat visits Jerusalem |
| September 17, 1978 | Camp David accords signed |
| March 26, 1979 | Egypt-Israel peace treaty signed |
|
1981 - 1987 |
|
| June 7, 1981 | Israel attacks Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactor |
| June 6, 1982 | Operation "Peace for the Galilee" launched; start of Lebanon War |
| November 1984 |
Operation Moses airlifts 7000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel |
| October 7, 1986 | Hijacking of Achille Lauro |
| December 8, 1987 | Start of the Intifada |
|
1991 - 1995 |
|
| January 16 | Gulf War; Iraq launches SCUD missiles at Israel |
| May 24, 1991 | Operation Solomon brings 14000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel |
| October 30, 1991 | Madrid Peace Conference |
| December 16, 1991 |
UN repeals “Zionism is Racism” resolution |
| September 13, 1993 | Israel-Palestinian Declaration of Principles announced |
| December 30, 1993 | Israel and Vatican sign “Fundamental Agreement” |
| February 25, 1994 |
Jewish gunman kills 29 Palestinian worshippers in Hebron |
| April 6, 1994 | Afula suicide bombing |
| May 4, 1994 | Agreement on the Gaza Strip and Jericho reached |
| May 13, 1994 |
Israel withdraws from Jericho, followed by Gaza on May 18 |
| July 1, 1994 | Arafat enters Gaza |
| October 9, 1994 |
Hamas kidnaps and kills an Israeli soldier |
| October 14, 1994 |
Rabin, Peres, and Arafat awarded Nobel Peace Prize |
| October 19, 1994 | Tel Aviv bus bombing, kills 13 |
| October 26, 1994 | Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty |
| December 1, 1994 |
Transfer of West Bank administrative control to Palestinians |
| January 22,1995 | Beit Lid suicide bombing, kills 21 |
| April 9, 1995 |
Gaza suicide bombings, kills 8 |
| September 28, 1995 | Signing of Oslo II agreement |
| November 4, 1995 |
Assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin |
| November 13 |
Israel redeploys from Palestinian population centers |
|
1996 - 1999 |
|
| January 20, 1996 | First Palestinian elections |
| February 25, 1996 |
Jerusalem/Ashkelon suicide bombings, kill 27 |
| March 3, 1996 | Bombing of bus in downtown Jerusalem kills 19 |
| March 4, 1996 |
Bombing outside main Tel Aviv mall, kills 13 |
| September 24, 1996 | Palestinian "Tunnel Riots" erupt |
| January 17, 1997 |
Israel withdraws from Hebron |
| March 13, 1997 |
Jordanian soldier kills 7 Israeli schoolgirls |
| July 30, 1997 |
Hamas suicide bomber explodes in a Jerusalem market, killing 16 |
| September 4, 1997 | Three bombs on Jerusalem pedestrian mall, kill 5, injure 181 |
| October 23, 1998 |
Israel-Palestinian “Wye Memorandum” signed |
| December 10, 1998 |
Palestinians vote to change PLO charter in presence of President Clinton |
|
2000 - 2001 |
|
| May 24, 2000 |
Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon |
| July 11 - 25, 2000 | Camp David Summit |
| September 29, 2000 | Outbreak of widespread Palestinian violence, “Second Intifada” begins |
| October 12, 2000 |
Two Israeli soldiers lynched by Palestinian mob in Ramallah |
| June 1, 2001 | Suicide bombing of Tel Aviv night club, kills 21 youths |
| August 9, 2001 | Suicide bombing at pizzeria in Jerusalem, kills 15 |
| December 1, 2001 |
Suicide bombing in pedestrian mall in central Jerusalem, kills 11 youths |
| December 2, 2001 | A suicide bomber of a bus in Haifa, kills 15 |
|
2002 - 2003 |
|
| January 4, 2002 | Israel intercepts massive Palestinian arms shipment on Karine A ship |
| March 2, 2002 | Suicide bombing outside a bar mitzvah party in Jerusalem, kills 11 |
| March 9, 2002 |
Suicide bombing of Jerusalem cafe, kills 11 |
| March 12, 2002 |
Hezbollah operatives open fire on Israeli vehicles in Kibbutz Metzuba, kill 6 |
| March 27, 2002 |
Suicide bomber kills 30 at Passover seder at Netanya hotel |
| March 29, 2002 |
IDF begins Operation Defensive Shield to uproot terrorist infrastructure in West Bank |
| March 31, 2002 |
Suicide bombing in Haifa restaurant, kills 15 |
| April 10, 2002 |
Suicide bombing of bus traveling from Haifa to Jerusalem, kills 8 |
| April 12, 2002 |
Female suicide bomber attacks Jerusalem market, kills 6 |
| May 7, 2002 |
Suicide bombing at Rishon Le-Zion billiards hall, kills 15 |
| June 5, 2002 | Suicide bombing of bus in Meggiddo Junction, kills 17 |
| June 18, 2002 |
Suicide bus bombing in Jerusalem, kills 18 |
| July 31, 2002 |
Suicide bombing of cafeteria at Hebrew University, kills 9 |
| August 4, 2002 |
Suicide bombing of bus in Meron Junction, kills 9 |
| September 19, 2002 |
Suicide bus bombing in Tel Aviv, kills 6 |
| October 21, 2002 |
Car bomb kills 14 people on a bus at Karkur Junction |
| November 21, 2002 | Suicide bombing of Jerusalem bus, kills 11 |
| November 28, 2002 | Gunman attacks Likud Party headquarters in Beit Shean, kills 6 |
| January 5, 2003 |
Two simultaneous suicide bombings in Tel Aviv, kill 23 |
| March 5, 2003 | Suicide bombing of Haifa bus, kills 17 |
| April 20, 2003 | Suicide bombing at Mike’s Place, a Tel-Aviv blues club, kills 3 |
| April 30, 2003 | The “Road Map for Peace” is presented by the Quartet to the Israelis and Palestinians |
| May 18, 2003 |
Suicide bombing of Jerusalem bus, kills 7 |
| June 11, 2003 | Suicide bombing of Jerusalem bus, kills 17 |
| August 19, 2003 |
Suicide bombing of Jerusalem bus, kills 24 |
| September 8, 2003 |
Suicide bombing on Jerusalem bus, kills 9 |
| September 8, 2003 |
Suicide bombing of Jerusalem cafe, kills 8 |
| October 4, 2003 | Suicide bombing at Haifa cafe, kills 21 |
|
2004 - 2005 |
|
| January 29, 2004 |
Suicide bombing on Jerusalem bus, kills 11 |
| January 29, 2004 |
Israel swaps prisoners with the terrorist group Hezbollah; releases 435 Arab prisoners in return for the remains of murdered soldiers and a kidnapped Israeli businessman |
| February 22, 2004 |
Suicide bombing of Jerusalem bus kills 8 |
| March 14, 2004 |
Double suicide bombing at an Ashdod port, kills 8 |
| August 31, 2004 | Two simultaneous suicide bombing in Beersheba kills 16 |
| November 11, 2004 |
Yasir Arafat dies in a Paris hospital |
| December 23, 2004 |
The first phase of PA municipal elections are held; Hamas secures nearly half the seats |
| February 25, 2005 | Suicide bombing at Tel Aviv nightclub, kills 5 |
| February 26, 2005 | The Knesset gives final approval to the Disengagement Plan, rejects calls for a national referendum |
| July 12, 2005 | Suicide bombing of Netanya mall kills 5 |
| August 17- 22, 2005 | Evacuation of settlers from the Gaza Strip |
| August 23, 2005 | Evacuation of four settlements in the northern West Bank completed |
| September 12, 2005 |
Israeli military completes withdrawal from the Gaza |
| December 5, 2005 |
Suicide bombing of a shopping mall in Netanya kills 5 |
|
2006 - 2010 |
|
| January 4, 2006 | Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon incapacitated by massive stroke; Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appointed Acting Prime Minister |
| January 26, 2006 | Palestinian parliamentary elections; Hamas wins 74 seats in the132-seat legislature |
| April 17, 2006 |
Suicide bombing near the old central bus station in Tel Aviv kills 11 |
| June 25, 2006 |
IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit is kidnapped by Hamas from IDF army post; Israel responds with military operation |
| July 12, 2006 |
Hezbollah sparks the second Lebanon War when they cross the border into Israel and attack an Israeli military patrol, killing eight soldiers and kidnapping two others |
| August 11, 2006 | The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 1701 for cease fire in the Lebanon War |
| June 15, 2007 | Hamas takes over Gaza |
| November 27, 2007 |
Forty-six nations gather at Annapolis, Maryland for a |
| March 6, 2008 | A Palestinian gunman attacked a Jerusalem yeshiva, killing 8. |
| July 16, 2008 | Hezbollah releases the bodies of captive Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, whose kidnapping sparked the Second Lebanon War. |
| December 27, 2008 |
In response to increasing rocket barrages Israel launches Operation Cast Lead against Hamas in Gaza |
| January 18, 2009 |
Israel signs a unilateral ceasefire. Twelve hours later Hamas agrees to a week-long ceasefire. |
| March 31, 2009 | Benjamin Netanyahu is sworn in as Israel’s Prime Minister |
| March 31, 2010 | Israel intercepts a flotilla of six ships enroute to Gaza. |