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Modern History

Home > Modern History > International Studies in Peace and Conflict > The Arab-Israeli Conflict 1948-1996 > Timeline

 

| 1948     | 1949     | 1950     | 1954     | 1956     | 1958-61     | 1964     | 1967     | 1968    
| 1969     | 1970-72     | 1973     | 1974     | 1975     | 1978    | 1979     | 1981     | 1982    
| 1985     | 1987     | 1988     | 1989     | 1990     | 1991     | 1993     | 1994     | 1995     | 1996

1948	End of British Mandate in Palestine Creation of Israel Civil war: Israel's War of Liberation, Palestine's Year of Catastrophe Massacre of Palestinians at Dier Yassin by members of Irgun Palestinian refugees flee from Palestine
1949	Failure of Arab Israeli peace talks
1950	"Law of Return" UNRWA set up to care for Palestinian refugees
1954	Gamal Abdul Nasser became President of Egypt, heralding a rise in Arab nationalism.

1956	The Suez Crisis. Israel occupied the Sinai but was persuaded by the USA to hand it back to Egypt in 1957. Britain, France and Israel withdraw from the canal zone after Suez Crisis
1958- 1961	Formation of United Arab Republic
1964	Formation of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. An umbrella organisation for a number of Palestinian groups, the most significant of which was Yasser Arafat's "Fatah".
1967	The Six Day War. Israel captured the Sinai, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the West Bank ("the Occupied Territories"). United Nations (UN) Resolution 242 calls for an exchange of land for peace.
1968	The battle of Karameh (in Jordan). PLO forces repulsed an Israeli raid, destroying several tanks and aeroplanes. Seen as a boost to Palestinian self-confidence.
1969	Egypt and Israel take part in a war of attrition across the Suez Canal.
1970- 1972	A period of Palestinian terrorism including: 1970 The hijack of three aircraft to Jordan and their destruction. 1970 The expulsion of the Palestinians from Jordan by King Hussein's troops ("Black September"). 1972 The Lod airport massacre. A Japanese group, sympathetic to the Palestinians, killed 25 people. 1972 The massacre of eleven Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics by members of the "Black September" terrorist group (named after the event described above).
1973	Yom Kippur War. Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on a religious holiday. The Israelis were taken by surprise and suffered initial setbacks, but rallied to defeat their opponents. A military victory for the Israelis, but the Arabs recovered lost prestige as a result of their early successes. Use of oil as a weapon. Peace talks held in Geneva on Resolution 242 failure

1974	A shift towards more moderate views among the Palestinians ended the major "terrorist phase". Arafat's "Olive Branch" speech at the United Nations. US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger uses shuttle diplomacy from one state to another to organise Israeli's withdrawal from parts of the Golan Heights and the Sinai
1975	Reopening of the Suez Canal.
1978	Following a PLO suicide squad's attack on a Tel Aviv bus (killing 37), the Israeli army invaded Lebanon to eliminate Palestinian bases there. The Israelis later withdrew under USA pressure.
1979	Camp David Accords signed. Participants: President Sadat of Egypt, Prime Minister Begin of Israel, President Carter of the USA. Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel; the Sinai (captured by Israel in 1967) was returned to Egypt; Israeli shipping gained passage through the Suez Canal.
1981	Anwar Sadat President of Egypt assassinated US arranges ceasefire in Lebanon
1982	Israel invaded Lebanon for the second time in response to a Palestinian attempt to murder the Israeli Ambassador in London. Beirut was bombarded, and the PLO leadership fled to Tunis in north Africa. Hezbollah (the "Party of God") formed with the objective of driving the Israelis out of Lebanon. Sabra Shatilla massacres.
1985	The Israeli army withdrew from Lebanon, but established a "security zone" in the south to prevent terrorist raids being mounted from bases there.

1987	Beginning of the Intifada in the Occupied Territories.
1988	PLO renounces terrorism.
1989	Israeli and Palestinian women call for peace.
1990	Iraq invades Kuwait.
1991	Gulf War Madrid Peace Conference.
1993	Oslo Peace Accords.
1994	Hebron massacre Limited self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho Israel and Jordan sign peace agreements.
1995	Prime Minister Rabin assassinated.
1996	59 people killed by Hamas suicide bombers Benjamin Netanyahu elected Prime Minister of Israel Netanyahu's government opens tunnel in Jerusalem, causing Palestinian riots.