HISTORY OF THE ISRAELI-
PALESTINIAN CONFLICT
The
history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has a convenient elasticity; it
changes dramatically depending
on who is telling it and where they start the story. Therefore, it is important to note that a historic
timeline of events concerning this conflict is always difficult to present in
an objective
manner. For this reason, certain events
of the timeline include both a Palestinian (on the right side) and an
Israeli (on the left side) perspective.
1880-1914
The Zionist movement was founded in response to the worsening persecution
of European Jews and out
of the desire to join the community of modern nation-states that defined
Europe.
Thousands of Jews began immigrating to Palestine, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire.
Thousands of Jews began immigrating to Palestine, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire.
An Israeli Perspective
November, 1917
The British government, in the Balfour Declaration (signed by their
Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour and drafter in part by U.S. President Wilson,
stated its support for “the establishment in Palestine of a National Home for the
Jewish people.” Lord Rothschild, to whom the letter was addressed, was a leading British
Zionist.
Issuing of the statement was motivated by both sympathy for the Zionist
cause and by British desire to rally Jews to the side of the Allies. The spirit
of the time emphasized the “self-determination of small nations,” and the British thought that supporting Zionism was the easiest way of
securing lasting British influence of the region east of the Suez
Canal.
An Arab- Palestinian
Perspective
1915
In an exchange of ten
letters between Sir Henry McMahon, Britain’s
high commissioner in Egypt, and Sharif Hussein bin
Ali, Emir of Mecca and King of the Arabs (and
great, great grandfather of King Abdullah of
modern-day Jordan), Britain pledged to support
Arab independence if Hussein’s forces revolted
against the Ottomans.
The exchange of
letters became known as the Hussein-McMahon correspondence.
Hussein envisioned a unified
Arab state stretching from Aleppo (Syria) to Aden
(Yemen).
1918
As a result of World War I, Britain wins control over the area of
Palestine from the Ottoman Empire. The area becomes known as British-mandate
Palestine. [A mandate
is an
authorization to govern over conquered territory]. From 1918 to 1948, Britain governs over the
Jews and Arabs
living in this territory.
1921
Britain gives the area of British-mandate Palestine east of the Jordan
River to Emir Abdullah, to form the Hashemite Kingdom of TransJordan. This area is now known as the country of
Jordan. The
first major intercommunal violence of the mandate period erupts along the
Jaffa-Tel Aviv border on May Day, leaving scores of Jews and Arabs dead.
Jews described the violence as a “pogrom” or Palestinians term the violence a “revolt.”
“riots.”
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1929
The second major intercommunal violence erupts in Jerusalem, spreading
throughout the country, particularly in Hebron, where sixty-seven Jews are killed.
1936
In April, in response
to the killing of Sheikh Izz al-Din al-Qassam by the
British, Arab residents of British Mandate Palestine begin “rioting,” causing intercommunal violence,
and the seizure of a shipment of illegal arms destined for the Hagana, or Jewish defense
force. The “rioting” lasts until 1939, when the British, in
part to obtain Arab support for the recently erupted war with Germany, ban most
land sales
to Jews.
In April, in response
to the killing of Sheikh Izz al-Din al-Qassam by the
British, Arab residents of British Mandate Palestine begin the “Great Arab Revolt,”
causing intercommunal violence, and the seizure of a shipment of illegal arms destined
for the
Hagana, or Jewish defense force. The “revolt”
lasts
until 1939, when the British, in part to obtain Arab support for the recently
erupted war with Germany, ban most land sales to Jews.
November 1947
The General Assembly of the United Nations recommended the partition of
British-mandate Palestine into two separate states, one for Jews and one for
Arabs. Fighting breaks out soon thereafter, as all the
surrounding Arab states rejected the partition plan.
Zionist leaders
accepted the proposed partition for tactical and strategic
reasons.
1948
Arab-Palestinians
considered the proposal unrepresentative of the demographic distribution of Jews and Arabs living
in Palestine at that time, and so rejected it.
In May, Zionist leaders proclaimed the state of Israel. Fighting breaks out between the newly declared state of
Israel and its Arab neighbors as British troops are leaving the country.
The war is known by
Israelis as the “Milhemet Ha-atzma’ut,” or “War of
Independence” by Israelis.
Some 700,000
Palestinians leave what had been British-mandate Palestine. Eventually 300,000 Arabs stayed and Israel gains control over large tracts of
land, including some one hundred dilapidated Arab-Palestinian villages.
The war is known as “al-Nakbah”
or “the Catastrophe,” by Arab-Palestinians. Some 700,000 Palestinians
flee or are driven from what had been British-mandate Palestine. Israel annexes large tracts of land and
destroys some one hundred dilapidated Ara-Palestinian
villages. The Arab countries expel over a million Jews and confiscate their assets, businesses, homes and Real estate 120,000 sq. km or 46,000 sq. miles which is 5-6 times the size of Israel. It is valued in the trillions of dollars
Jordan establishes control over the West Bank with the tacit agreement of
Israel and Egypt establishes control of the Gaza Strip.
Control of Jerusalem is split between Israel in the west and Jordan in the east.
On December 11, the UN General Assembly passes Resolution 194, stating
that Palestinian refugees who wish to return to their homes should be permitted to do so
and that those who do not wish to return should be compensated by the state of
Israel.
1948-1967
Ongoing skirmishes
between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
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May, 1964
Following an Arab League decision, 422 Palestinian national figures meet
in Jerusalem under the chairmanship of Ahmad Shuqeiri, who founded the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) and laid down the structure of the Palestine
National Council (PNC), the PLO Executive Committee, the National Fund and
the Palestine Liberation Army (PLA).
The meeting also approved a Palestinian national covenant and basic law.
June 5, 1967
In what Israelis call
the “Six Day War,” Israel conducts a pre-emptive
attack against Egypt and gains control over territory formerly controlled by Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Israel gains
control over the Sinai
Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt, the Golan
Heights from Syria, and the West Bank and East
Jerusalem from Jordan. In six days,
Israel roughly
triples the size of the territory under its control.
Israel begins establishing settlements in Gaza, the Sinai Peninsula, and
the West Bank, which right-wing Israelis refer to by the biblical names “Judea and Samaria” and
consider the biblical lands of the Jewish people.
In an attack that
begins what became known as the “al-Naksah,” or “the
Setback,” to Palestinians,
Israel
seizes Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian territory. The Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip are captured from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria,
and the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan.
Israel begins establishing settlements in the West Bank, Gaza, and the
Sinai Peninsula. Palestinians view this as a violation of international law regarding territory
seized during war.
Iraq sends forces into
Jordan to support the war, even though Jordan had not requested such action.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) moves its
operations from the West Bank to Jordan.
In response to the war, the UN Security Council passes Resolution 242,
which calls for the “withdrawal
of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict [in
official UN languages
other than English the article “the” precedes “territories,” thus implying that
Israel has to return
all the conquered territory]; termination of all claims or states of
belligerency and respect for and
acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political
independence of every
state in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized
boundaries free from
threats or acts of force.” This
resolution, with its formula of “land for peace,” is the basis of for
all subsequent peace negotiations between Israel, Palestinians, and the
surrounding Arab states.
September, 1970
Frustrated with and feeling threatened by the Palestine Liberation
Organization’s involvement in Jordanian politics, King Hussein declares war on the PLO
and imposes martial law. Three thousand people lost
their lives in the fighting that ensued between the Jordanian and the PLO forces. In a peace agreement brokered by the Arab
League and by Gamel Abdel Nasser, leader of Egypt, the PLO agreed to move its headquarters
from Jordan to Lebanon. This was one of
Nasser’s
last acts as leader of Egypt, as he died later that month of a heart attack.
September 5, 1972
Palestinian gunmen
kill 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.
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October 6, 1973
Egypt and Syria organize a surprise attack on Israeli forces in the Sinai
Peninsula and the Golan Heights on the day of the Jewish fast of Yom Kippur and
the Muslim month of Ramadan, in which the annual fast is performed. The war lasted for 3 weeks, ending on
October 22 on the Syrian front and October 26 on the Egyptian front.
Israelis refer to the
war as the Yom
Kippur war.
Israel saw the war as a military victory because it maintained possession
of the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights.
Arabs refer to the war
as the Ramadan
war. Egypt and Syria made initial gains but retreated after Israeli
counter-attacks. Because they
successfully carried out a surprise attack, the war was a political victory for Egypt and Syria. Though they overextended their
forces and did not succeed in regaining control over the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights, Israel’s
military vulnerabilities were exposed, particularly because the U.S. air-lifted a large supply of
weapons to Israel, without which Israel might not have been as successful in defending its
territory.
October, 1973
The UN Security Council passes Resolution 338, which calls for an
immediate cease-fire and the immediate commencement of negotiations toward the
implementation of UNSCR 242 with the goal of “establishing a just and durable peace
in the Middle East.”
1974
The Arab League
declares the P.L.O. the sole spokesman for the Palestinian Arabs.
1975
In what has become an annual event, the first “Land Day” protests by
Palestinian citizens of Israel erupt to protest Government confiscations of Palestinian
land and other discrimination in access to land and housing.
July 4, 1976
Israeli commandos rescue 98 Israeli and Jewish hostages in Entebbe,
Uganda, held by Palestinians who hijacked an Air France Airbus.
1978-1981
President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel
and President Jimmy Carter of
the United States sign the Camp David accords.
Israel agrees to hand back the Sinai Peninsula
to Egypt in return for peace and normalization. This was significant because it was the first time an Arab country signed a peace treaty with Israel and thus accepted
the state’s existence.
Signing the Camp David accord made Sadat unpopular among many Egyptians as well as Arabs living outside Egypt.
Signing the Camp David accord made Sadat unpopular among many Egyptians as well as Arabs living outside Egypt.
Egypt is expelled from the Arab League as a reaction to the peace
agreement with Israel. Yet in 1980, Egypt and Israel
establish diplomatic relations. This led directly to the assassination of President of Egypt
Anwar Sadat on October 6, 1981, by 3 soldiers of the Egyptian Army. The hitherto unknown organization, the Liberation
of Egypt, claims responsibility.
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June 6, 1982
Israel invades Lebanon and establishes a “security zone” in Southern
Lebanon in order to block Hezbollah (a Lebanese Shi’a Muslim group whose name
means “Party of God” in Arabic) forces from staging attacks on Northern Israeli
communities from Lebanon. The Israeli
Army reaches Beirut and succeeds in driving out Yasser Arafat’s Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO). Arafat moves his organization to Tunisia.
September 16, 1982
An official Israeli
inquiry found Defense Minister Ariel Sharon indirectly
responsible for the killings of 2000 unarmed Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps
by Israel-allied Christian Militias, saying he did nothing to stop the militias from
entering the camps.
Israel-allied
Christian militias enter the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps
(housing Palestinian refugees) in Beirut and massacre
about 2,000 unarmed Palestinians after
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) fighters are
forced out of Lebanon by Israel.
The Israeli army
occupied the camps at the time.
1983-1985
Israel makes a phased
withdrawal from most of Lebanon, except for a “security zone” in south.
December 9, 1987
A Palestinian Intifada [“uprising” in Arabic]
begins in the West Bank and Gaza.
Israel tried to
suppress the “riots” and “disturbances,” with police and army forces, curfews, closing of
universities, arrests, deportations and
restrictions on economical activities. But a united Palestinian public continued its
protests and demonstrations for six years.
Some believe that as a result of the Intifada, Israeli public opinion changed and the majority of Israelis became in
favor of entering into peace negotiations with the
Palestinians. More than 20,000 people were killed or injured between 1987 and 1993.
The Intifada was in protest of
continued Israeli occupation of the West
Bank and Gaza and involved
demonstrations, strikes, riots and violence.
The most symbolically important act of the Intifada was the
stoning of Israeli security forces and civilians, often performed by young men and boys.
What made the Intifada stand out from earlier forms of protests was its duration and its wide public support, including women. The Intifada also marked the first time that Arab-Palestinians living in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and Gaza became significantly involved in the movement against Israeli liberation-occupation. Until then, most of the opposition was organized from outside the occupied territories by the PLO.
What made the Intifada stand out from earlier forms of protests was its duration and its wide public support, including women. The Intifada also marked the first time that Arab-Palestinians living in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and Gaza became significantly involved in the movement against Israeli liberation-occupation. Until then, most of the opposition was organized from outside the occupied territories by the PLO.
December 14, 1988
Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat condemns all forms of terrorism and recognizes the state of
Israel.
U.S. President Ronald Reagan authorizes the U.S. to enter into a “substantive
dialogue” with the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO). Israel
remains hostile to the PLO. Jordan
renounces all territorial
claims to the West Bank. The next day,
in a clear show of support for the PLO, the UN General
Assembly passed Resolution 53/196, which “reaffirmed the inalienable rights of”
Palestinians
and Syrians in the Golan, called on Israel not to exploit natural resources in
the
occupied territories.
occupied territories.
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October 1991
The Madrid Peace Conference takes place in Madrid, Spain. The conference includes delegations from Israel, Syria,
Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and the Palestinians.
The Madrid conference marks the first time most of the Arab parties
(except for Egypt) and Israel sat down at a table together. The conference is
organized along bi-lateral
[involving
or participated in by two nations] lines as well as multilateral [participated in by more than two
nations] lines.
January-September
1993
Secret talks between Israeli and the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) negotiators begin in Oslo, Norway. On September 13, Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin sign a Declaration of Principles
in Washington on the basis of the negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian teams
in Oslo, Norway.
Israel recognized the PLO
and gave them limited autonomy (in the occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza) in
return for peace.
The PLO in turn gave
up its claims to Israel’s territory as defined
by its borders before the 1967 war. The Palestinians also agreed to end
the Intifada and establish
security in the West Bank and Gaza.
The trade-offs made became known as “land for peace.” Because they could not resolve all the issues
right away, the two sides agreed to make gradual steps towards a final
settlement of the conflict. The process by which the two sides would
gradually exchange land for peace and work out the more difficult issues standing in the way of a final agreement became
known as the “Oslo peace
process.”
What was significant about Oslo is that it ended the existential [of, relating to, or
affirming existence] conflict between the
Israelis and Palestinians. The two
sides were no longer claiming that the other did not have the right to exist as
a state or peoples on that land and both pledged to work towards a final
agreement that would settle all outstanding issues between them.
1994
In February a militant Jewish settler kills 29 Palestinians praying at
the main mosque in Hebron, the West Bank. In
May, Israel and the PLO reach the “Cairo Agreement,” which included an Israeli military
withdrawal from about 60% of the Gaza Strip (Jewish settlements and their environs are excluded)
and the West Bank town of Jericho. Further Israeli withdrawals were anticipated during a
five year period in which a permanent resolution would be negotiated on the issues of Jerusalem,
settlements, Palestinian refugees and Palestinian sovereignty.
On July 1, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat makes a triumphal return to
Gaza to take up his new position as head of the new Palestinian self-rule
Authority (PA), after nearly 12 years of running the PLO from Tunisia. On October 26, a
comprehensive peace treaty between Israel and Jordan is signed. The peace treaty ended the conflict between
the two countries that dated back to the war of 1967, when Israel gained control of
Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan.
1995
On September 28, Arafat and Rabin sign the Taba agreement (known as Oslo
II) in Washington to expand Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza and allow
Palestinian elections (held on January 20, 1996).
However, on November
4, Israeli Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin
is assassinated
by Yigal Amir, an orthodox Jewish student opposed to Israeli withdrawals from
the occupied
West Bank. Shimon Peres becomes Prime
Minister of Israel.
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February-March 1996
A series of Hamas
suicide
bomb attacks kills 57 Israelis. Shimon
Peres suspends negotiations with Syria. Hamas is an Islamist political group founded in
1988 that opposes Israel and rejects the Oslo peace process and other
negotiations. Hamas is not an abbreviation but a nickname, and comes from the Arabic
for “zeal.” The full name is Harakatu Mujawamati
Islamiya,
or Islamic Resistance Movement.
1996
In May, Likud candidate Binyamin Netanyahu wins the election for prime
minister, defeating incumbent Shimon Peres, of the Labor party. Netanyahu had campaigned against the Labor party’s approach to
the peace process, promising that he would provide “Peace with Security.” Yet in September,
violence claims the lives of 61 Arabs and 15 Israeli soldiers over Israel’s
opening of an archaeological tunnel site close to Muslim shrines in Jerusalem.
January 17, 1997
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel hands
over 80% of the West Bank town of Hebron to Palestinian rule, but holds on to
the remainder, where several hundred Jewish settlers live among 20,000
Palestinians.
October 23, 1998
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu signs the Wye River Memorandum
outlining further Israeli withdrawals from the West Bank.
The Wye River Memorandum resulted from meetings between
President Bill Clinton and Netanyahu at the Wye Plantation in Maryland. The U.S. had been
pressuring Israel to end 18 months of stagnation of the Israeli-Palestinian
peace process.
1999
On May 19, Labor Party leader Ehud Barak is elected Prime Minister of
Israel, defeating Likud party incumbent Binyamin Netanyahu. Barak campaigned on a platform of bringing an
end to all of Israel’s conflicts with all its neighbors, Syria, Lebanon, and the
Palestinians. On September 5, 1999, Israel and the Palestinian Authority sign a revised
deal based on the stalled Wye River accord, aimed at reviving the Middle East
peace process. On November 8, 1999 final status talks resume between Israel
and the Palestinians.
2000
In February a summit between Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
breaks up over a disagreement on a promised Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank under
the revised Wye accord. Final status negotiations between Israel and the
Palestinians are deadlocked as the deadline for a framework agreement [basic guidelines for an eventual final
agreement for peace between Palestinians and Israelis] is missed. In March, Israel hands over part of the West
Bank to Palestinians
as part of a land transfer agreed to at the Wye River conferences of 1998. The land amounted to 6.1% of the total of the West
Bank.
On May 23, 2000, Israel unilaterally withdraws from the area of Lebanon
it was occupying since 1982. And in July,
a peace summit between Palestinian and Israeli leaders and negotiators at Camp David ends
deadlocked over competing claims to Jerusalem and the issue of Palestinians refugees. Palestinians and Israelis accused each
other of not being willing to make the compromises necessary for an agreement.
Israel believes its offer of handing over 95% of the Palestinians believe
they should not have to accept
West Bank and Gaza to Palestinians for the less than 100% of the West Bank and Gaza
because
formation of a Palestinian state to be generous. the total of both territories only comprises
22% of
what was originally
Palestine.
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Israel views its
condition of maintaining control over settlements and
security zones in the West Bank to be not only reasonable but also necessary for its
national security.
Palestinians also view
the Israeli proposal as unacceptable because
it would divide the Palestinian state into disconnected regions; a situation that would not free them from
Israeli occupation
and would not make for a truly independent
state.
In this atmosphere of stalemate and recrimination, on September 28, 2000
Ariel Sharon, the leader of
Likud [Israel’s right-wing
political party], visits the Temple Mount, known to Muslims as the
Haram al-Sharif (“Noble Sanctuary”) with 1,000 Israeli soldiers. A Palestinian protest of Sharon’s
visit turns violent and sparks demonstrations and violence that have continued
until today.
Sharon and his
supporters state that the Palestinian violence was planned before his visit to the Temple Mount and
that the Palestinians are only using his visit to the Mount as an excuse for their attacks.
The Israeli Ministry of
Foreign Affairs has used the term “Terror
Intifada” to describe the violence committed
by Palestinians since September 2001.
Israelis point to
Palestinian attacks on Joseph’s tomb (in West Bank town of Nablus) on October 8th, 2000 and Rachel’s
tomb (in West Bank town of Bethlehem) as proof that Palestinians do not respect
Jewish holy sites and therefore should not be granted sovereignty over the
Temple Mount.
Because Jews do not
normally visit the Temple Mount except as
tourists and because Sharon made his visit accompanied by 1,000 soldiers during
a delicate part of the peace process, Sharon has been criticized for trying to
provoke a Palestinian reaction that would
undermine the peace process.
Palestinians term their demonstrations and attacks the “al-Aqsa Intifada,” in the name of the
mosque on
the Haram al-Sharif and state that the Intifada is fueled by frustration over continued
Israeli occupation of the majority of the West Bank and parts of the Gaza
Strip.
The Al Aqsa Intifada is significant
because it marks the first time Palestinian citizens of Israel have participated in
protests and demonstrations against Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in
the West
Bank and Gaza.
Israelis cite the
participation of Arab Israelis in the recent Intifada
as a
reason not to allow Palestinian refugees to return to live in Israel.
Arab Israelis have
stated that they are protesting the continued occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as well as
the treatment of Arab Israelis within Israel.
According to the Nazareth-based Arab Association for
Human Rights, there are huge gaps in local government budgets for Jewish and Arab towns and
municipalities.
In October, President Clinton presides over a summit between Palestinians
and Israelis at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The summit attendees
announce a cease-fire and plans to bring an end to the Palestinian-Israeli
violence but the cease-fire comes undone soon after it is formed. With his
governing coalition teetering on the edge of collapse, Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Barak
gives his resignation to the country’s president on December 10, stating that
he wants to seek a new mandate from the Israeli people. In other words, he hoped to get re-elected
on the platform
of continuing to work towards a final peace agreement with the Palestinians,
and thereby
regain the authority to take the steps necessary to achieve such an
agreement. Barak ran as the Labor Party’s
candidate against Likud Party candidate Ariel Sharon.
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February 7, 2001
Likud Party (Israel’s right wing) candidate Ariel Sharon is elected as
Prime Minister of Israel, beating
Ehud Barak by more than 20 percentage points.
Sharon campaigned on the platform of “Peace
with Security,” and promised that he would take a different approach to the Palestinian
conflict
than the Oslo Peace Process approach.
Palestinians are long-time critics of Ariel Sharon because
of his role in Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, and his support of Israel’s
settlement
activity.
activity.
February 14, 2001
Following the deaths of
eight soldiers and civilians killed when a Palestinian bus driver ploughed his vehicle into a waiting
line of passengers, Israel reimposes a total blockade on the occupied
territories.
Palestinians claim
that the blockades prevent medical and
humanitarian supplies from reaching Palestinians and prevent Palestinians from attending
their jobs in Israel and traveling between towns in the occupied territories.
On March 7, Ariel Sharon formally takes office as Israeli prime minister,
heading a fragile seven party coalition and a government team comprising a third
of the 120-member Knesset. Veteran Labor leader Shimon Peres serves as Foreign
Minister, after talking his party into joining Ariel Sharon’s right wing
government of national unity. In April,
Israeli troops seize territory controlled by the Palestinians for the first time since
the start of the Oslo process. Israeli
troops seize the Gaza Strip and divide the territory into three parts.
In May, the Mitchell Commission calls for an immediate ceasefire, to be
followed by confidence building measures and ultimately by renewed peace
negotiations. Mitchell also calls for a
freeze on
expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. Additionally, the
European Union accuses Israel of using “disproportionate” force in the occupied
territories and calls on it to dismantle Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip. In June, a suicide bomber kills
19 young
Israelis at a nightclub in Tel Aviv.
Yasser Arafat orders his forces in the occupied territories to enforce
a ceasefire.
The next month, on July 4, 2001, the Israeli security cabinet votes to
give the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) a broader license to target Palestinian
terrorists. Formerly, the IDF was only permitted to
assassinate terrorists actually on their way to committing an attack. The new guidelines allow the IDF to act against known
terrorists even if they are not on the verge of committing an attack.
Israel has stated that
it must undertake preventive action against imminent terrorist threats and that in the small minority
of cases where arrests are impossible (mostly due to the lack of Israeli jurisdiction in PA areas), it is forced to carry out other types of
preventative operations it terms “active self-defense.”
Israel states that international law in general, and the law of armed
conflict in particular, recognize that individuals who directly take part in
hostilities cannot claim immunity from attack or protection as innocent
civilians. Israel states that it only
acts in a
manner that is in compliance with the principles and practice of armed conflict, and makes every effort to
avoid involvement of innocent civilians.
Palestinians have
taken issue with Israel’s policy of “targeted
assassinations,” stating that these killings constitute extra-judicial executions, where the victims have been killed without trial and without the
chance of a fair legal process designed to examine
the allegations brought forward against them.
Palestinians state
that under the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel as the Occupying Power has the right to arrest and
bring to trial those suspected of violent hostile activities. However, under the same Convention,
extra-judicial executions are willful killings, which constitute war crimes and are subject
to universal jurisdiction.
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On August 10th, in retaliation for a Jerusalem suicide bombing on the
previous day, Israeli warplanes
fire missiles at and level the headquarters of the Palestinian police in the
West Bank city of
Ramallah. The militant Islamist group
Hamas claimed responsibility for the bombing. Israeli Special
Forces also seize the offices of the Palestine Liberation Organization at
Orient House in East
Jerusalem. Several days later, Israeli
tanks move into the West Bank city of Jenin and open
fire on the Palestinian police station, destroying it. This is the biggest incursion into Palestinian-controlled territory since 1994. The move is strongly criticized by Washington, which is coming under increasing international pressure to step up its intermediary role in the region.
Nevertheless, on August 28, 2001 Israeli troops move into the West Bank town of Beit Jala, near the southern outskirts of Jerusalem. The U.S. and Britain strongly condemn the Israeli action.
Throughout the late Summer and Fall Israel occupies major Palestinian cities for various lengths of time, including Jerico, Ramallah and Tulkarm.
fire on the Palestinian police station, destroying it. This is the biggest incursion into Palestinian-controlled territory since 1994. The move is strongly criticized by Washington, which is coming under increasing international pressure to step up its intermediary role in the region.
Nevertheless, on August 28, 2001 Israeli troops move into the West Bank town of Beit Jala, near the southern outskirts of Jerusalem. The U.S. and Britain strongly condemn the Israeli action.
Throughout the late Summer and Fall Israel occupies major Palestinian cities for various lengths of time, including Jerico, Ramallah and Tulkarm.
Though the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has escalated since the October
17th, 2001 assassination
of the
Israeli hard-line Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi by Palestinian militants,
there are positive signs of
a renewed interest in peace talks. In a
speech to the United Nations on November 15th, Israeli
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres spoke of Israeli support for Palestinian
independence and a Palestinian
state.
Since the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. of September
11th, the Bush administration has
shown more of an interest in bringing Israel and the Palestinians to negotiations, greatly
in response to requests from Arab and Muslim governments that are supporting the U.S.
war against terrorism. On October 2,
Bush announced a dramatic break with his administration’s previous Middle East
policy by stating that he is prepared to back the creation of a
Palestinian state and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is expected to
outline a new American initiative for restoring negotiations between Israel and
Palestine.
This
timeline was compiled by Negar Katirai while working as a Research Associate at
the Council on Foreign
Relations. Thanks also to Dr. Mark
LeVine,University of California-Irvine, for reviewing this document.
Most of the information in this timeline is based on the BBC’s “In
Depth: Middle East Peace Process” website:
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/in_depth/middle_east/2000/mideast_peace_process/newsid_34
0000/340237.stm as well as the “Washington
Post’s War and Peace in the Middle East” website: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/world/issues/mideastpeace the United Nation’s
Question of Palestine website: http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/qpal/index.html and the U.S. State
Department’s website on the Middle East Peace Process:
http://www.state.gov/www/regions/nea/peace_process.html
The information on the
Israeli perspective was put together using the Israeli Government’s official
website, produced by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/home.asp Information on the
Palestinian perspective was compiled using the Palestinian National
Authority’s official website: http://www.pna.net/Peace/Index.html and the Palestinian National Authority’s Ministry of Information’s website: http://www.minfo.gov.ps/
Authority’s official website: http://www.pna.net/Peace/Index.html and the Palestinian National Authority’s Ministry of Information’s website: http://www.minfo.gov.ps/
PROMISES •
TIMELINE December
2001 Page
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