A TIMELINE OF AGGRESSION: The Israel-Palestine Conflict (1942-2009)

In 1942, leading Zionists met in New York to formulate plans for a Jewish state. And by 1944, Jewish guerilla groups had broken their truce with British authorities and resumed bombings and other terror attacks, culminating in the assassination in Cairo of Lord Moyne, British Secretary of State in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the ethno-nationalist plans of Arabs were developing apace. In 1944-45 seven Arab states and one Palestinian representative agreed to the Alexandria Protocol and formed the Arab League, forming a unified opposition both to further development of a Jewish homeland in British Palestine and to intervention of foreign powers in the area.

Rapid change and open warfare followed World War II. The United States put increasing pressure on the British to allow Jewish refugees into Palestine, but the British refused, acceding to Arab demands. Soon after, in 1947, Britain passed the Mandate over Palestine to the United Nations, which proposed a partition plan allocating roughly 44 percent of the area for an Arab state and 56 percent for a Jewish state, with Jerusalem under international administration. The U.N. General Assembly accepted the plan, as did the Jews. But the Arabs did not, and the plan was never implemented.

The conflict came to a head when, in May of 1948, a Jewish state of Israel was declared.

The 1948 War (known to Israelis as the War of Independence) proceeded haltingly until Israelis, aided by clandestine arms shipments, repelled the Arab forces and broke the blockade of Jerusalem. The fighting created a wave of Palestinian refugees, numbering between 500,000 and 800,000, and came to be known as al-Nakba ("the Catastrophe") to Palestinians.

At then end of this short but decisive war, the 1949 Armistice established Israel´s boundary well beyond that outlined by the U.N. partition plan, encompassing roughly 75 percent of formerly British Palestine. The West Bank would be controlled by Jordan, the Gaza Strip by Egypt, and the city of Jerusalem was divided between the western Israeli portion and the eastern Arab section. Israel´s national boundary came to be known as the "Green Line."

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: 1954 - 1973

In 1954, an Israeli spy ring was caught trying to bomb U.S. and British institutions in Egypt with the intent of provoking animosity between Egypt and the Western powers.

1956: David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, said in an interview: "Why should the Arabs make peace? If I were an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure, God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? Our God is not theirs. We come from Israel, it's true, but two thousand years ago, and what is that to them? There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: we have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that?"

1967: Prolonged tension between Israel and its Arab neighbors culminated again in six days of hostilities starting on June 5, 1967 and ending on June 11. The War of 1967 changed the geographic map considerably. "Israel seized Gaza and the Sinai from Egypt in the south and the Golan Heights from Syria in the north. It also pushed Jordanian forces out of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The territorial gains doubled the area of land controlled by Israel.

1967: The UN issued Security Council Resolution 242, stressing "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war" and calling for "withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict." According to the UN, the conflict displaced another 500,000 Palestinians who fled to Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan" (BBC). Israel was trying to fulfill the Zionist vision of creating a modern state with Biblical borders. When "occupied Palestine" is referred to, it is usually originating from the 1967 conflict when the West Bank of Jordan and the Gaza strip of Egypt were taken by Israel.

1973: After trying to negotiate with international authorities to regain the territory they had lost in 1967, in 1973 Egypt and Syria launched major offensives against Israel on the Jewish festival of the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. The Yom Kippur War, as it is known to Jews, and the Ramadan War as known to Arabs, ended in January 1974, when Israeli Defense Forces withdrew across the Suez canal of Egypt and on May 31, 1974, agreed with Syria to withdraw to the 1967 cease-fire line in the Golan Heights (On War). Israel´s dependence on the US for military, diplomatic and economic aid increased at this time. Soon afterwards, Saudi Arabia led a petroleum embargo against nations that supported Israel, causing inflated gasoline prices and fuel shortages across the US (BBC), remembered by my parents as the long gas pump lines of the early 1970s.

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: 1974-1993

1974 Arab League declares PLO the sole legitimate representative of Palestinian people; Arafat addresses United Nations which grants PLO observer status in 1975.

1975 U.S. promises Israel it will not to talk officially with PLO until, inter alia, PLO accepts U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338.

1976 Pro-PLO candidates sweep Palestinian municipal elections in the West Bank.

1978 Temporary Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon; Begin, Sadat, and U.S. President Jimmy Carter sign the Camp David Accords.

CAMP DAVID ACCORDS OF 1978 - Agreement between Israel and Egypt, mediated in 1978 by the U.S. The Accords led to a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel in 1979, Egyptian recognition of Israel, Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai, and the creation of demilitarized zones in the Sinai; they also included the framework of a Palestinian Autonomy Plan. ****

1980: Israel's Basic Law on Jerusalem annexes East Jerusalem; U.N. Security Council condemns action.

1981: Israel attacks Iraqi nuclear reactor; U.S. sponsors cease-fire between Israel and the PLO that lasts until June 1982; Israel annexes Syria's Golan region.

1982: Israeli invasion of Lebanon; over 18,000 Lebanese and Palestinian civilian casualties; PLO evacuated from Beirut to Tunisia; three-day massacre at Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps near Beirut; 400,000 Israelis demonstrate, call for investigation of Israel's role in massacre.

1985: Israel withdraws from most of Lebanon, leaving an Israeli-allied Lebanese force in control of the southern areas; Israel bombs Tunisian headquarters of the PLO.

1987-1993 Predominantly nonviolent (demonstrations, strikes) First Palestinian intifada.

INTIFADA, FIRST - "Shaking off" in Arabic. The First Intifada took place in the Occupied Territories from 1987-1993. The Intifada was mainly a non-violent uprising against the Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Territory. The Palestinians organized boycotts of Israeli products, tax strikes, neighborhood watches, and emergency medical relief. The Israeli reported economic loss to Israel through the Palestinian boycotting efforts amounted to about $650 million in export goods and about $280 million in tourism.*****

1988: Jordanian disengagement from West Bank; emergence of Hamas; declaration of the State of Palestine at the Palestine National Council meeting in Algiers; Arafat condemns terrorism, accepts U.N., Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, and recognizes the State of Israel; U.S. opens direct discussions with PLO.

1989: U.S. State Department publishes highly critical report on Israeli human rights practices; massive international peace demonstration in Jerusalem.

1990: Israeli coalition government collapses over proposed negotiations with Palestinians; influx of Jews from former Soviet Union to Israel begins; Yitzhak Shamir forms a narrow, right-wing government headed by Likud; U.S. suspends dialogue with PLO; Iraq invades Kuwait.

1991: U.S.-led coalition defeats Iraq; international Arab-Israeli peace conference in Madrid includes Palestinians in joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation.

1992: Ongoing bilateral and multilateral peace talks; Labor party wins Israeli elections, Yitzhak Rabin becomes prime minister; Bush administration attempts to limit Israeli settlement by delaying U.S. loan guarantees.

1993: Israel drastically restricts Palestinian movement between Occupied Palestinian Territories (except East Jerusalem) and Israel, marking the beginning of the Israeli policy of closures and restriction of Palestinian movement; Israel and the PLO sign Declaration of Principles (the "Oslo Accords") on interim self-government arrangements.

OSLO - Refers to the Oslo Accords, crafted by Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Oslo and ratified in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., September 13, 1993. Oslo was meant to be negotiated in stages, with prisoners, economy, Palestinian sea and air ports, and security issues taking precedence, and "final status" issues negotiated last, including Jerusalem, state borders, refugees, and settlements. The process failed, instead increasing violence in the region and eventually leading to the Second Intifada.***

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: 1994-2009

1994: Massacre of Palestinians praying in Hebron mosque by Israeli settler; first Palestinian suicide bombing against Israeli civilians carried out in response to Hebron massacre; Cairo Agreement on implementation of the Oslo Accords; Arafat establishes Palestinian Authority headquarters in Gaza; Israel and Jordan sign peace treaty.

1995: Oslo II Accords establish three types of control in the West Bank (Area A: direct Palestinian control, Area B: Palestinian civilian control and Israeli security control, Area C: Israeli control); Rabin assassinated in Tel Aviv by Jewish Israeli male.

1996: First Palestinian elections for president and parliament result in Arafat victory; Palestinian suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv; Israeli "Grapes of Wrath" operation against Lebanon, notable for bombing the UN compound in Qana which killed 102 civilians; Binyamin Netanyahu elected Israeli prime minister.

1997: Hebron Protocol divides West Bank city of Hebron into Israeli and Palestinian areas; Israel begins building Har Homa settlement between East Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

2000: Clinton-led Camp David II summit and negotiations end in failure; new Palestinian uprising (Second Intifada) begins, sparked by Ariel Sharon's visit to el-Haram el-Sharif/Temple Mount.

2002: In retaliation for a series of suicide bombings, Israeli army reoccupies Palestinian areas. Yasser Arafat is placed under house arrest. Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah proposes a peace plan, endorsed by Arab League, promising recognition of Israel for ending the Occupation. UN Security Council passes Resolution 1397 affirming a two-state solution. President George W. Bush declares a vision for a "viable Palestinian state next to a secure Israel." Israel begins construction of security barrier in the West Bank.

2003: The United States, the European Union, the UN, and Russia release the Road Map to Peace, which contains a process to guide Israelis and Palestinians toward peace. Israelis and Palestinians acting as individuals, and not as representatives of any government, release the Geneva Initiative, containing a vision for a two-state peace.

2004: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) rules that the Israeli security barrier violates international law. UN General Assembly votes to order Israel to dismantle the barrier. Israel announces that it will ignore the ruling but changes the barrier route according to rulings of the Israeli High Court. Yasser Arafat dies.

2005 Mahmoud Abbas is elected president of PNA. Israeli settlers and troops evacuate Gaza Strip and four settlements in West Bank. Ariel Sharon quits Likud Party to form a new party, Kadima. Ariel Sharon suffers massive stroke and Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert assumes power. Hamas, which is on the US State Department's list of terrorist organizations, wins majority in Palestinian Legislative Council elections.

January 26, 2006: Hamas movement wins an upset victory in Palestinian Legislative Council elections, threatening an end to nearly forty years' leadership of Fateh-PLO and jeopardizing chances of peace with Israel. Hamas leaders send mixed signals, but vow to never recognize Israel or to give up claim to all of Palestine. Donor countries suspend direct aid to Hamas until they are willing to recognize Israel and participate in the peace process. Mechanism is then agreed upon to pay salaries to PNA employees and to give emergency humanitarian aid, but is not implemented. To pay salaries, Hamas smuggles in cash through Rafah crossing with European monitors' connivance.

March 2006: Over 40 Qassam rockets fall on Sderot, with the number increasing in the next few months. IDF responds by shelling launching sites and raids to kill leaders of the Popular Resistance Committees, Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and Fatah Al-Aqsa involved in the attacks.

March 28, 2006: Ehud Olmert elected Israeli PM at the head of Kadima party Coalition.

May 11, 2006: Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails issue document of national unity calling for a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank and the right of return for Palestinian refugees. Hamas government rejects it; Hamas prisoners who signed it repudiate it. President Mahmoud Abbas announces referendum of approval of document if factions cannot come to agreement .

June 2006: Targeted killing in Gaza and the West Band by Israel continue. Hamas fires about 90 Qassam rockets into Sderot and other Western Negev communities. An explosion attributed by Palestinians and HRW to an IDF shell kills seven Palestinian civilians picnicking on a Gaza beach. IDF denies that it was shelling the beach at the time, pointing out that shrapnel recovered from the victims does not come from IDF shells.

June 2006: Following announcement of truce agreement with PNA, Hamas kidnaps soldier from Israeli outpost in Israel and kills two others. They demand release of Palestinian prisoners. Israel refuses to negotiate and demands release of soldier.

June 2006: Hamas and Fatah sign Palestinian prisoners' document, supposedly cementing unity. Israel launches Operation Summer Rain, invading Gaza to recover kidnapped soldier and stop Qassam rockets.

June 2006: Revised prisoners' document is issued, supposedly agreed to by Hamas and Fatah. But not all factions agree and Abbas decides to hold a referendum. July 12, 2006 Israel-Lebanon Conflict. Hizbollah launches Katyusha rockets over border into Israel on July 12 as a diversion; crosses border and kidnaps two Israeli soldiers and killed three. Israel attempts rescue; five more killed. In retaliation, Israel launches massive artillery and airstrikes against Lebanese civilian infrastructure and invades southern Lebanon.

2006: Israel army reports withdrawal, but some troops remain near the border. Israel continues jet fly-overs

2006 Israelis and Palestinians announce truce to apply to Gaza strip. Israeli incursions and arrests of Palestinian youth continue in West bank.

2006: In a meeting between Israeli P.M. Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Abbas, Olmert promises to improve quality of life for Palestinians and remove checkpoints, but in practice nothing is implemented.

2007: Abbas meets Khaled Meshaal of Hamas in Damascus in response to an invitation by Bashar Al-Assad, the Syrian president.

January 30: Fatah and Hamas reach a ceasefire agreement mediated by Egypt after a series of clashes that lead to the death of 32 Palestinians. Both sides welcome a Saudi initiative to meet in Mecca.

February 8: Hamas and Fatah agree on a deal in Mecca to end factional warfare that has killed scores of Palestinians and to form a coalition, hoping this would lead Western powers to lift crippling sanctions imposed on the Hamas-led

February 15: Ismail Haniya and his cabinet resign. Haniya is re-appointed by President Abbas and begins the process of forming a new Palestinian unity government.

March 15: Palestinians reach agreement on the formation of the government.

March 17: The new Palestinian unity government holds its first cabinet meeting in Gaza City, with ministers in the West Bank participating from Ramallah via video link.

March: Israel refuses to talk to the coalition, saying it fails to meet international demands - renouncing violence, recognising Israel and honouring past peace deals.

March: Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, describes Ismail Haniya, his Palestinian counterpart and senior Hamas leader, as a "terrorist".

April: Israel plans Gaza invasion, a day after Ehud Olmert, Israeli prime minister, calls for a regional peace conference with Arab states.

April: The US gives Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, $60m to boost his presidential guard and for other security expenses. The money would also be used for security improvements at Gaza's main commercial crossings with Israel, for logistics and communications equipment, and other security expenses.

May: Israel presses ahead with air raids on Gaza, launching five attacks after dark. The strikes came after Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, said that Israel would continue its crackdown on Hamas following Qassam rocket attacks on Sderot that killed one Israeli civilian and injured one.

June: Hamas issues Gaza arms ultimatum and tightens its grip and control on the territory. Abbas issues new government, and announces Salam Fayyad, an economist, as the emergency government head. Abbas swears in new emergency government, by passing Hamas.

June: Palestinian aid embargo lifted. The US and the European Union resume aid to Palestine. Abbas announces it is time to resume peace talks with Israel.

November: George Bush, US president, hosts peace talks between Palestine and Israel at Annapolis, Maryland, while Hamas still holds control over Gaza.

January, 2008: Israel steps up military actions on Gaza and Hamas, killing seven Palestinians. Olmert vows to hit back after Hams rocket attacks in Israel. Israel continues powerful incursion on Gaza, leaving Palestinians in a humanitarian crisis without fuel, power, food and water.

December 27, 2008: Israel began its bombardment on Gaza .

January 3, 2009: Israel began its ground offensive.

By January 8, 2009: in Gaza, at least 763 Gazans had been killed, including more than 200 children, and more than 3,000 injured since 27 December, according to Al Jazeera.

AS OF TODAY, January 14th, 2009:

The ongoing assault on Gaza is the largest Israeli military operation in the territory occupied during the 1967 War.

Although Israel unilaterally withdrew its illegal settler population from the Gaza Strip in 2005, it remained the occupying power as it controlled the borders, sea and airspace, as well as the population registry, and regularly carried out sonic booms over the area, terrorizing the population.

Israeli forces have also frequently carried out extrajudicial executions of Palestinian activists in Gaza, killing scores of bystanders as well.

REFERENCES:

1) http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/suicide-bombers/timeline-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict/1914-1949/2770/

2) http://www.doublestandards.org/walt1.html

3) http://www.towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/615/60/

4) http://refundyouth.com/israel-palestine/learn/timeline.htm

5) http://new.gbgm-umc.org/missionstudies/israelpalestine/timeline/

6) http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/arabunity/2008/02/20085251908164329.html

7) http://electronicintifada.net/bytopic/687.shtml