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Concise Timeline of Recent Israeli-Palestinian History

Nov 2, 1917 British issued the Balfour Declaration, viewed by Jews and Arabs as promising a “National Home” for the Jews in Palestine.
1936-1939 Arab Revolt led by Haj Amin Al-Husseini. Over 5,000 Arabs were killed according to some sources, mostly by British. Several hundred Jews were killed by Arabs. Husseini fled to Iraq and then to Nazi Germany.
May 15, 1948 Israel War of Independence (1948 War). Declaration of Israel as the Jewish State; British leave Palestine; Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia declared war on Israel. Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian invasion began. See 1948 Israel War of Independence (1948 Arab-Israeli war) Timeline (Chronology) and Israel War of Independence
April 3, 1949 Armistice - Israel and Arab states agree to armistice. Israel gained about 50% more territory than was originally allotted to it by the UN Partition Plan.
Oct. 29, 1956 Suez Campaign. In retaliation for a series of escalating border raids as well as the closure of the straits of Tiran and Suez canal to Israeli shipping, and to prevent Egyptian use of newly acquired Soviet arms in a war, Israel invades the Sinai peninsula and occupies it for several months, with French and British collaboration.
May, 1964 PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) founded with the aim of destroying Israel. The Palestinian National Charter (1968) officially called for liquidation of Israel.
May, 1967 Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser closes the straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping and dismisses UN peacekeeping force. Negotiations with US to reopen the Straits of Tiran fail.
June 5-10,1967 6-day war. Israel destroys the Egyptian air force on the ground, conquers and occupies Sinai and Gaza, then conquers the West Bank from Jordan, and Golan Heights from Syria. UN resolution 242 called for  Israeli withdrawal, establishment of peace. 1967 Six Day War Timeline (chronology)
Oct. 6, 1973 Yom Kippur War (October War). In a surprise attack on the Jewish day of atonement, Egypt retook the Suez canal and a narrow zone on the other side. Syria reconquered the Golan Heights. Following massive US and Soviet resupplying of the sides, Israel succeeded in pushing back the Syrians and threatening Damascus. In Sinai, the IDF crossed the Suez Canal and cut off the Egyptian Third Army.
March 26, 1979 Peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel.
June 7, 1981 Israel destroys Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor in daring raid.
Oct. 6, 1981 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is assassinated while on the reviewing stand of a victory parade.
June 6, 1982 Massive Israeli invasion of Lebanon to fight PLO.
Sept. 13, 1993 Oslo Declaration of Principles - Israel and PLO agree to mutual recognition.
Sept 28, 1995 Oslo Interim Agreement signed. Palestinian Authority to be established.
Nov. 4, 1995 Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin assassinated by right-wing Israeli fanatic Yigal Amir. Rabin is replaced by Shimon Peres
June, 1996 Right-Wing Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu elected Prime Minister in Israel, replacing Shimon Peres.
Sept, 1996 "Al-Aksa tunnel riots - Arab sources spread the false rumor that a gate opened in an underground tunnel tourist attraction by the Israeli government, endangered the foundations of the Al-Aqsa mosque. This caused several days of rioting and numerous casualties.
Jan 18, 1997 Israel and Palestinians reach agreement on Israeli redeployment in the West-Bank city of Hebron
Oct. 1998 Wye River Plantation talks result in an agreement for Israeli redeployment and release of political prisoners and renewed Palestinian commitment to correct its violations of the Oslo accords including excess police force, illegal arms and incitement in public media and education.
May 17, 1999 Israel elects Labor party leader and Former General Ehud Barak as Prime Minister in a landslide. Barak promises rapid progress toward peace.
March, 2000 Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations fail when Hafez Assad rejects an Israeli offer relayed by US President Clinton in Geneva.
Sept. 28, 2000 Palestinians initiated riots after Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon  visited the Temple Mount, which is also the location of the Haram as Sharif holy to Muslims. Start of Second Intifada See Second Intifada Timeline Second Intifada
Feb 6, 2001 Right-wing Likud leader Ariel Sharon elected Prime Minister in Israel replacing Ehud Barak and promising "peace and security."
Sept. 11, 2001 Terror attacks on World Trade Center in NYC and the Pentagon carried out by fanatic Islamic Al-Qaida group headed by Osama Bin Laden initiate US war on terror. Israel and Palestinians agree to a cease fire, but it is not implemented.
March-April 2002 Israel conducts operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank, following a large number of Palestinian suicide attacks on civilian targets. Saudi peace initiative adopted at Beirut summit.
Jan 28, 2003 Elections in Israel give wide margin (40 seats) to right wing Likud party, returning PM Ariel Sharon for another term.
March 19,2003 US begins invasion of Iraq by a strike against a building where Saddam Hussein and other leaders are meeting. Baghdad falls, April 9.
July 9, 2004 International court of Justice (ICJ) rules that the Israeli security barrier violates international law and must be torn down.
Nov 11, 2004 Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat dies.
Jan 9, 2005 Mahmoud Abbas elected President of the Palestinian National Authority.
Jan 10, 2005 Ariel Sharon forms unity government with Labor and United Torah Judaism parties in Israel.
April 2005 Ariel Sharon visits US President George Bush at his Texas ranch. Syrian Army leaves Lebanon, officially ending Syrian occupation.
May 26, 2005 Mahmud Abbas visits  US President George Bush at the White House, an important symbolic gesture signaling US backing for Abbas and Palestinian aspirations. Israel releases 400 Palestinian prisoners including some with blood on their hands.  Britain confirms "low level" negotiations with Hamas.
June,  2005 Violence flares in Gaza. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits Palestinian and Israeli leaders to ensure coordination of Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israeli PM Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meet in Jerusalem June 21. Sharon announces that Palestinians have promised to coordinate regarding Gaza withdrawal. PM Abbas postpones Palestinian legislative elections in order to change the election law, amidst growing concern that Hamas will trounce Abbas's Fatah party in the elections. Lebanese elections give a decisive majority to the opposition to Syria, led by Saad Hariri, son of slain leader Rafiq Hariri. 
Aug. 15, 2005 Disengagement - Israeli evacuation of Gaza settlements and four West Bank settlements began on August 15 and was completed August 24.

See detailed timeline below

Current Commentary

 

Detailed Timeline


1300? BCE Migration and conquest of Canaan by the Philistines and Israelite tribes. Map of Canaan.
1000? BCE Jewish conquest of Jerusalem; reign of David (maps); After the death of David's son, Solomon, the kingdom split into two: Israel in the north, Judea in Jerusalem and the south (maps).   Brief History of Early Palestine in maps.
721 BCE Fall of Israel (Northern Kingdom) to Assyria.
586 BCE Fall of Judea (Southern Kingdom) to Babylon and destruction of the first temple.
About 539 BCE Fall of Babylon. Jews allowed to return to Judea. Tradition has it that Ezra and Nehemia led this return, and later rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, but the walls were apparently not built until 100 years later.
About 519 BCE Rebuilding of the Second Temple under Persian rule.
331 BCE Alexander the Great conquers Persia. The land was subject to Egyptian rule after his death, followed by Seleucid Syrian rule.
313 BCE Ptolemy of Egypt rules Jerusalem and Judea.
170 BCE Antiochus Ephiphanes rules Judea.
166 BCE Revolt of Judah Maccabee against Syrian Hellenic dynasty; Simon. 164 - Liberation of Jerusalem. Judah is named Friend of the Roman Senate and People; Rule of the Maccabees: 166 - Judah 160 -Jonathan 143 
About 61 BCE Roman conquest of Jerusalem by Pompei. Land is divided into various provinces (maps)
40 BCE Reign of Herod the Great; Herod conquered Jerusalem in 37 BCE. Herod began an extensive restoration of the temple about 20 BC
4 BCE Probable year of birth of Jesus. Jesus was crucified between 31 and 33 AD.
66-73 AD First Jewish revolt. Fall of the Jewish Second Temple to Romans in 70 AD. Fall of Masada to Romans in 73 or 74.
133-135 Second Jewish revolt under Bar Kochba  crushed. Judea renamed Palestina. Jews are banned from Jerusalem by Hadrianus Caesar.
313 Roman Emperor Constantine legalizes Christianity
614 Persians conquer Judea and Jerusalem..
622 Hijra of Muhammad. Islam is founded.
628 Emperor Heraclius defeats Sassanid Persians, reconquers Jerusalem.
About 638 Arab conquest of Jerusalem. (slightly earlier or later according to different sources). Caliph Omar provides the Christians of Jerusalem with the Covenant of Umar guaranteeing their protection. Land  divided into the Jund of filastin, in the south (capital in Al-Lod and later in Ramlah), and the Jund of Urdun in the north, with capital in Tiberias (Tabariyeh).
641 Arab conquest of Egypt.
705 Dome of the Rock (Omar) is completed by Caliph Abd’ al Malik ibn Marwan who rules from Jerusalem.
715 The Al-Aqsa Mosque is completed by the Caliph Walid.
717 Caliph Suleiman builds Ramlah
750 Rise of the Abbasids in Baghdad, full of the Umayyad dynasty in Damascus.
969 Fatimid conquest. Churches and synagogues of Jerusalem destroyed.
1071

Battle of Manzikert. The Byzantine emperor Romanus IV Diogenes is defeated by the Seljuk Turks, opening Asia Minor to Turkish invasion. Seljuks devastate Jerusalem.

1099 Crusaders conquer Jerusalem, slaughter most Jewish and Moslem inhabitants, expel Jews.
1187 Salah-ed-din (Saladin)  (Saladin) reconquers  Jerusalem.
1229 Jerusalem briefly held by Crusaders.
1244 Rise of Mamelukes. Jerusalem taken by Muslims.
1260 Battle of Ayn Jalut (Nazereth) - Holagu (Mongols) defeated.
1291 Crusaders defeated at Acre and evicted from Palestine.
1453 Constantinople falls to Ottoman Sultan Mehmed.
1517 Ottoman Turkish conquest of Palestine.
1537-41 Muslim walls built around Jerusalem by Suleiman the Magnificent.
1799 Napoleon conquers Jaffa but retreats before Acco (Acre, Akka); Napoleon's Proclamation of a Jewish State was stillborn, and his declaration of equal rights for Jews was repealed in part in 1806.
1831 Egyptian Conquest of Palestine area by Mehmed Ali of Egypt, who rebelled against the Ottomans. He was forced to withdraw in 1840 under pressure by European allies.
1834 Jerusalem families including the Abu Ghosh clan revolt against Egyptian rule. The rebellion is eventually crushed.
1839 Tanzimat - reorganization program- is proclaimed in the Ottoman empire.
1840 Blood libel (accusation that Jews kill Christian children to use their blood for Passover Matzoth) against Damascus Jewry
1843 First Zionist writings of Rabbi Alcalay and of Rabbi Kalischer, Emuna Yeshara.
1844 First census in Jerusalem shows 7120 Jews, 5760 Muslims, 3390 Christians.
1856 Ottoman reforms (Tanzimat) - including requirement to register ownership of land and pay taxes on it.
1860 First Jewish settlement (Mishkenot Sha'ananim) outside Jerusalem walls.
1878 First Zionist Settlement - Petah Tikwa.
1892 Railroad from Jaffa to Jerusalem.
1897 First Zionist Congress convened in Basle, Switzerland by Theodor Herzl.
1906 Beginnings of Zionist socialist movements. First Congress of Poalei Tziyon in Poltava, under the leadership of Ber Borochov.
July 3 1908 The Young Turks revolt breaks out in the Ottoman empire, and is eventually led by Enver Pasha; Sultan ‘Abd al-Hamid II is forced to restore the constitution of 1876, entailing the creation of a new parliament, and indirect representative elections. ‘Abd al-Hamid is then deposed (27Apr 09), and his brother Mehmet V installed. Policies for the ‘Turkification’ of the Ottoman territories promulgated through 1909, resulting in the creation of societies promoting pan-Arab ideas
1908 First Arabic newspaper in Haifa, al-Karmil, popularizes opposition to selling land to Zionists.
1909 Foundation of Tel Aviv by Zionists (Called Ahuzat Bayit) near Jaffa; foundation of first Kibbutz - Degania.
1911 Filastin, large Arabic newspaper, launched in Jaffa.
June 15, 1914 Anglo French agreement on Baghdad railroad and Mesopotamia.
Aug 1914 Start of WW I
Nov 1914 Allies at war with Turkey
Dec 17 British protectorate in Egypt; Prince Husein Kemal becomes Khedive.
April 25, 1915 Anglo-French landing at Gallipoli
  July 1915  Husayn-McMahon Correspondence - Britain promises independence for Arabia.
Jan 6-8 1916 Allies evacuate Gallipoli.
Apr 29, 1916 British surrender to Turks at Kut, in Mesopotamia.
May  1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement divides up Fertile Crescent between France & Britain into zones of influence, recognizing Arab independence in part of the land.
 Jun 1916 Husayn of Arabia proclaims revolt against the Turks urged on by British promises of independence and with support of T.E. Lawrence for military operations. In October or November he was proclaimed king of Saudi Arabia, but the British supported Saud, who had been in control of Riyadh since 1902, and who made a pact with the British in 1915.
Jan 1, 1917 Britain , France and Italy recognize Husayn as king of the Hejaz.
Nov 2, 1917 British issued the Balfour Declaration, viewed by Jews and Arabs as promising a “National Home” for the Jews in Palestine. 
Dec 1917 Gen. Sir Edmund Allenby captures Jerusalem from Ottomans for the British. Col. Reginald Storrs is appointed military governor.
Apr, 1918 Zionist commission arrives in Palestine.
June, 1918 Emir Feisal and Dr. Chaim Weizmann meet near Aqaba
Oct, 1918 British and Arabs occupy Damascus, French occupy Beirut and Alexandretta
Nov 1918 First Muslim-Christian association formed in Jaffa to oppose the creation of a Jewish homeland. Another was formed in Jerusalem soon after. Armistice between Allies and Germany, Nov 11.
Jan. 1919 First Palestinian Congress advocated incorporation of Palestine into greater Syria.
Jan 18, 1919 Paris Peace Conference opens - results in Treaty of Versailles, June 28, 1919.
March 1919 Widespread national revolt begins in Egypt against British rule after nationalist leaders were arrested and Zaghloul Pasha was exiled. The Wafd party is created.
May 19 1919 Mustafa Kemal Ataturklands at Samsun in Turkey and  begins organizing nationalist forces to oppose the sultanate & the Allied occupation
May 23 1919 Kurdish revolt against the British, led by Shaykh Mahmud Berzendji of Sulaymaniyya, who proclaims an independent Kurdistan. The revolt continued until 1931.
July 1919 General Syrian Congress (which included prominent Palestinians, Transjordanians, Lebanese & Syrians) held in Damascus, supporting the independence of an undivided Syria, and opposed to Zionism. Britain cedes authority over Syria to France after the congress finishes; Gen. Henri Gourand becomes High Commissioner.
July 19 1919 In Turkey, Ataturk creates a provisional government based in Ankara.
28 Aug 1919 Henry King and Charles Crane, the US members of the International Commission of Inquiry, sent primarily on the initiative of President Wilson, present their report based on their visit to the region in June-July, against creation of a Jewish National home in Palestine.
Feb - Mar 1920 Jewish settlements of Tel Hai and Metullah in N. Palestine attacked (Feb 20). Josef Trumpeldor killed in second attack at Tel Hai (March 1)
March 1920 Faysal elected and crowned king of Greater Syria at 2nd General Syrian Congress in Damascus; assembly proclaims independence from France of Greater Syria; rejects Balfour Declaration and Sykes-Picot agreement. Allies occupy Constantinople.
April, 1920 Musa Kazim al-Husayni, mayor of Jerusalem, is replaced by Raghib al-Nashashibi; clan rivalry grows. 
April, 1920 "Nebi Musa" Arab riots led by Haj Amin El Husseini and Aref El Aref in Hebron and Jerusalem. Forty Six Jews Killed.
Apr 25, 1920 San Remo Conference - Supreme Allied Council assigns mandates for Mesopotamia and Palestine to Britain, and Syria and Lebanon to France.
June 1920 Haganah,Jewish Self Defense, organized by Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky, Eliahu Golumb and others.
July 1920 Herbert Samuel named High Commissioner of Palestine. King Faisal recognizes French Mandate. French forces under Gourand retake Damascus by force with British support.  Britain arrests Palestinian notables who had supported Faysal.
Dec 1920

 

Histadrut, the General Federation of Hebrew Workers in the Land of Israel (Histadrut Haklalit Shel Haovdim Haivriyim Be'eretz Yisrael), was formed. Remained exclusively Jewish until 1960s, when it officially dropped ‘Hebrew’ from its name (1966).
May 1921 Arab riots in Jaffa against Jewish population.
May 10, 1921 Hajj Amin Al Husseini appointed Grand Mufti by British High Commissioner Herbert Samuel, though Husseini had been convicted of organizing riots in 1920 and had been sentenced to ten years in jail.
Jan 1922 Haj Amin El Husseini appointed President of the Supreme Muslim Council.
March 1922 British grant independence to Egypt.
June 3, 1922 The Churchill ("Command") White Paper notes that the Balfour declaration only promised a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and reserves East Palestine for Transjordan.
July 24, 1922 British Mandate for Palestine; Official establishment of Transjordan as a separate state; Britain, in military control of Syria, allows French forces led by Gourand to retake Damascus by force.
Nov 1, 1922 Mustapha Kemal proclaims Turkish Republic
May 25, 1923 Proclamation of Transjordanian Independence under Emir Abdullah
May 29, 1923 Palestine constitution suspended by British after Arabs refuse to participate in the government.
July 24, 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty signed by Greece, Turkey and the Allies.
Sept 29, 1923 Palestine Mandate officially comes into force.
Feb 19, 1924 Shah Ahmed deposed in Persia; Reza Khan Appointed Regent
Nov 20, 1924 Egyptian troops withdrawn from Sudan under British ultimatum, after the assassination of Sir Lee Stack.
1925 Official inauguration of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
July 20, 1925 Druze uprising in Syria, continues until June, 1927.
Oct 12, 1925 Syrian uprising against the French Mandate.
Jan 8, 1926 Ibn Saud becomes king of the Hejaz, now called Saudi Arabia.
May 23, 1926 France proclaims Republic of Lebanon.
May 20, 1927 Britain recognizes Saudi independence.
Dec. 14, 1927 Britain recognizes Iraqi independence (subject to treaty provisions) and continuing mandate.
Feb. 20, 1928 Britain recognizes Transjordanian independence (subject to treaty provisions).
July 5, 1928 Sir John Chancellor becomes High Commissioner in Palestine.
July 19, 1928 King Fuad dissolves Egyptian parliament, suspends freedom of the press.
August, 1929 Arab Riots and Massacres in Hebron,Jerusalem, Safed, Haifa, Motza and elsewhere. The Jews had set up a dividing screen at the Wailing Wall in Yom Kippur of 1928 to separate men and women worshippers, prompting rumors that the Jews wanted to build a synagogue at wall, which were spread deliberately by Hajj Amin al-Husseini. Amid heightening tensions, a demonstration by Jews in 1929 and Arab incitement ignited violence and rioting again Jews. Thousands of Jews fled the ancient Jewish quarter in Jerusalem. The Hebron Jewish community was evacuated after 64-67 were killed in riots.
Oct. 21, 1929 Egyptian Constitution restored.
1930 The Hope-Simpson Report  recommends cessation of Jewish immigration.
Oct 21, 1930 British Passfield White Paper proposes to limit Jewish immigration to Palestine.
1931 After questions in commons and League condemnation,   Ramsay MacDonald  writes to Haim Weizmann Rescinding the Passfield White Paper; IZL (Irgun or Etzel - The Irgun Tzvai Leumi) leave the Haganah, rejoin in 1936 and split again.
Oct. 3, 1932 British Mandate over Iraq terminated.
Jul-Aug. 1933 Massacre of Assyrian Christians in Iraq.
Sept. 8, 1933 King Feisal of Iraq dies, succeeded by his son Ghazi.
May-June 1934 War between Saudi Arabia an Yemen.
Nov. 2, 1934 Syrian Parliament suspended indefinitely.
Nov. 30, 1934 Egyptian Constitution of 1930 suspended.
Jan. 14,1935 Iraq-Mediterranean oil pipeline opened.
April, 1936 Farouk succeeds Fuad I as King of Egypt; Arab Higher Committee formed in Palestine.
1936-1939 Arab Revolt led or coopted by the Al-Husseini family and Fawzi al-Kaukji and financed by Axis powers. Over 5,000 Arabs were killed according to some sources; most were killed by other Arabs and by British.Orde Wingate forms "night squads" for Jewish self-defense. Several hundred Jews were killed by Arabs. Husseini fled to Iraq and then to Nazi Germany.
Aug. 26, 1936 Anglo-Egyptian treaty ends military occupation of Egypt except in the Suez Canal zone.
Oct, 29, 1936 General Sidqi Bakr seizes power in Iraq.
1937-1938 Peel and Woodhead commissions recommend partitioning Palestine into a small Jewish state and a large Arab one.
Aug. 11, 1937 Assassination of General Sidqi Bakr, Iraqi dictator.
Oct. 1, 1937 British declare Higher Committee in Palestine an illegal body.
Oct. 16, 1937 Following assassination of British District Officer for Northern Palestine, Hajj Amin El-Husseini Mufti of Jerusalem escapes to Syria and thence to Iraq.
Jan.-Mar. 1939 Round-table conference on Palestine in London, with Arab countries, Zionists and Palestinian representatives.
May 17, 1939 1939 White Paper limits Jewish immigration to Palestine to 75,000 in total, restricts Jewish land purchases, envisions an Arab Palestinian state. Jews found the Mossad to arrange for illegal immigration.
Sept. 3, 1939 Britain and France declare war on Germany
Nov 25, 1940 The Jewish illegal immigrant ship Patria  (also called Patra) carrying refugees from Europe, detained in Haifa by the British, is blown up by the Jewish underground Hagana to prevent transshipment of the refugees to Mauritius. The explosion was supposed to cause a small leak. Instead, the ship sank and 252 people died.
Apr. 1, 1941 Agitation by exiled Palestinian Mufti Hajj Amin al Husseini leads to coup. Pro-Axis Government under Rashid Ali in Iraq.
May -June, 1941 British reoccupy Habbanieh and Baghdad, Rashid Ali and pro-Axis leaders flee to Teheran and Berlin; After the revolt is suppressed, a pogrom against the Jews (Farhoud) takes place in Baghdad, while British troops stand by and refuse to intervene. (Click for details of Iraq Axis coup, Mufti, British Intervention and the Farhud)
June, 1941 Free French and Australians occupy Syria and Lebanon; Britain and France guarantee Syrian independence.
Feb. 1942 British force the appointment of Nahas Pasha, a British ally, as Egyptian PM.
Feb. 24, 1942 The Jewish illegal immigrant ship Struma, forced to sail north from Turkey, is torpedoed by a Soviet submarine (either collaborating with British or because the ship was mistaken for German shipping) and sunk with the loss of  428 men, 269 women and 70 children.
Oct. 1942 Battle of El Alamein. British under General Montgomery defeat Rommel's Afrika Korps and end the Nazi threat on Egypt.
May 9, 1942 Biltmore Program - Zionist leaders, headed by Chaim Weizmann and David Ben-Gurion, convene at the Biltmore Hotel in New York and set their postwar program (known as the Biltmore Program).  The program recommended an end to the British Mandate and demand Jewish control over immigration to Palestine with the aim of founding a Jewish "Commonwealth."
Oct 7, 1944 Arab leaders meet in Alexandria to discuss postwar plans for independence and ways to prevent implementation of Jewish control over Palestine.
Nov 6, 1944 Members of the Jewish LEHI underground  Eliyahu Hakim and Eliyahu Bet Zuri  assassinated Lord Moyne in Cairo. Moyne, a known anti-Zionist, was Minister of State for the Middle East and in charge of carrying out the terms of the 1939 White paper - preventing Jewish immigration to Palestine by force.
Mar, 1945 All Arab states declare war on Germany and Japan.
March 22, 1945 League of Arab States set up  (Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Transjordan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, with Musa ‘Alami as Arab States’ chosen representative of the Palestinians) with British approval to shift welfare responsibility onto local population and to ensure continuing Arab support. The goals of the league were as stated in the Alexandria Protocol, of which it was an outgrowth. Arab League charter proclaims goal of achieving closer aims between Arab States and declares that Palestine is a member of the League in a special annex.
May-June, 1945 Crisis in Syria and Lebanon. British ultimatum to French causes French to withdraw their forces.
Aug, 1945 US President Truman asks British to admit 110,000 Jewish refugees to Palestine.
Sept., 1945 British limit Jewish immigration into Palestine to 1,500 a month.
Nov. 1945 Anglo American Committee of Inquiry for Palestine appointed.
Mar, 1946 British-Tranjordanian treaty; British recognize Emir Abdullah as King of Transjordan.
Apr. 1946 Report of Anglo American Committee of Inquiry published. Recommend admission of 100,000 Jews to Palestine.
June,, 1946 Haj Amin El Husseini, Mufti of Jerusalem, escapes from detention in France aided by French collaborators. Husseini was to have been deported to Germany and tried for war crimes after spending the war working for the Nazis in Germany.
July 22, 1946 Irgun Jewish underground blows up British HQ in King David Hotel, Jerusalem, killing 91 persons.
Aug, 1946 British start deporting illegal Jewish immigrants to detention camps in Cyprus.
Sept, 1946 Palestine round-table conference opens in London.
Dec. 1946 Nokrashy Pasha, new Egyptian PM, repudiates Anglo-Egyptian treaty.
Feb. 1947 Britain refers Palestine issue to the UN.
May, 1947 UN General Assembly appoints UN Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP).
July 18, 1947 British rammed the Jewish illegal immigrant ship Exodus (formerly "President Warfield") on the high seas. They towed it to Haifa where it was the subject of extensive publicity, generating public sympathy for the Zionist cause. The passengers were eventually disembarked in Hamburg. The incident set world and particularly US opinion against the British, and caused the British to intern illegal immigrants thereafter in Cyprus, rather than attempting to return them to Europe.
Sept 1, 1947 UNSCOP Report issued, calls for partition of Palestine.
Nov. 29, 1947 UN Partition Resolution (GA 181) - Palestine was to be divided into a Jewish State and an Arab State; Jerusalem was to be internationalized. The resolution is supported by both the US and USSR. Arab countries and Arab league refuse to recognize the resolution.
Dec. 1, 1947 Arab riots in Jerusalem. Beginning of Arab blockade of Jerusalem. The period to May 1948 was characterized by numerous skirmishes, road ambushes, riots, bombings and massacres, whether organized by one of the other sides or spontaneous. The Haifa riots and massacres were typical.  In December, the Irgun began the first of its bombings in Arab Jerusalem. Beginning of the first phase of the Israel War of Independence (First Arab-Israeli War).
January 1948 Arab Salvation Army (also called Arab Liberation Army - ALA)  are admitted to Palestine by the British, following a promise not to attack Jewish settlements. Their leader, Fauzi Al-Kaukji may have entered Palestine only in March. Jewish Agency concludes arms deal with Czechoslovakia, but most arms do not arrive until June 1948, after the British have left. The UN, including the US, had placed an arms embargo on Palestine. This did not apply to Arab countries including Transjordan. As independent states, they were allowed to acquire arms. The Jordan Legion received a steady supply of arms from Britain through the Suez Canal, at least until May 1948, including a large number of 25 pounder cannon at the beginning of 1948.  Hagannah agents purchased 20 Auster light aircraft in Britain, sold for scrap, rebuilt them and brought them to Palestine for use of the Haganah. Haganah later rebuilt Spitfires left by the mandate for scrap as well, but did not have real fighter and bomber aircraft until May 1948  when Czech Avia S-199 (version of the Messerschmitt 210) (and later other aircraft including B-17s) purchased clandestinely were brought into the country. Irgun bombed the Jaffa city hall January 4. It had been used as a center for organizing attacks on Tel Aviv.
January 16, 1948 Jewish convoy to Gush Etzion  intercepted, fighters killed, and bodies mutilated.
Feb. 1948 Anti-British riots in Baghdad against new British-Iraq treaty bring down pro-British government.
Mar. 1948 Provisional Jewish government formed in Tel-Aviv. Convoy to Gush Etzion ambushed in Nebi Daniel. Arabs begin to flee Haifa.
April 6-8, 1948 Arab blockade of Jerusalem is broken temporarily by Operation Nachshon. Death of Abd-El-Qader Al-Husseini at Kastel - The foremost Palestinian military leader is shot by a Jewish sentry when he wanders into Jewish held Kastel in the Jerusalem corridor thinking it is in Arab hands.
April 9, 1948 Deir Yassin Massacre - Jewish dissident underground groups - Irgun and Lehi kill over 100 Palestinian civilians in the Jerusalem village of Deir Yassin.
April 13, 1948 Hadassah Convoy Massacre - In retaliation for Deir Yassin, Arabs killed Jewish medical personnel and sick persons on their way to Hadassah hospital.
April 13-20, 1948 Operation Har'el launched by Haganah at conclusion of Operation Nachshon, does not succeed in opening the road to Jerusalem. 
April 1948 Arab flight from Haifa continues; Arab flight from Jaffa.
April 22-31 1948 Operation Misparayim launched by Hagannah to assume control of Haifa after British withdrawal and attacks by Arab forces and Irgun.
May 12, 1948 Haganah captures Tsfat (Safed). Arab population flees the city before it is captured.
May 13, 1948 Jaffa surrenders to Haganah.
May 13, 1948 Kfar Etzion Massacre - In retaliation for Deir Yassin Massacre, Arabs killed about 128 Jewish defenders at Kfar Etzion, after they had surrendered.
May 14, 1948 Remaining kibbutzim of Gush Etzion surrender. British High Commissioner Cunningham leaves Palestine. State of Israel declared on Friday May 14, in advance of the Sabbath. recognized immediately by USA and on May 17 by USSR.
May 15, 1948 British leave Palestine. Israel War of Independence (First Arab-Israeli War).(1948 War), phase II. Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia declared war on Israel. Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian invasion begins. Egyptian attacks repulsed at Kfar Darom and  Nirim. See 1948 Israel War of Independence (1948 Arab-Israeli war) Timeline (Chronology) and Israel War of Independence
May 17, 1948 Haganah captures Acco (Acre). Most of the Arab population flees the city before it is captured.
May 18, 1948 Syrian army captures Massada and Merom Hagolan.
May 19-24, 1948 Battle of Yad Mordechai - Kibbutz falls after five days of fighting superior Egyptian regular army forces. 
May 28, 1948 Jewish quarter of the old city of Jerusalem falls to the Jordan Legion. The inhabitants were protected from the wrath of a lynch mob by the Legion under Abdullah Tell, and noncombatants were expelled to West Jerusalem. About 300 Haganah defenders were taken prisoner and sent to Jordan. The entire quarter including 58 of the 59 synagogues was demolished by the Arab mob despite efforts of the Legion.
June 11, 1948 First truce begins, lasting until 8 July.
June 23, 1948 Irgun’s Altalena ship brings weapons and 940 immigrants to Palestine. The arms shipment was a violation of UN embargo, but Israel government agreed to it, provided the Irgun handed over the weapons to IDF and formed a unified force. Irgun Commander Menachem Begin refused to hand over weapons and Irgun insisted on keeping a portion of the arms for its own use as a separate force. Palmach units of IDF under Yigal Allon attempted to capture weapons by force, killing 14 Irgun men. Yitzhak Rabin, in command of shore batteries in Tel-Aviv, was ordered to fire upon and sink the Altalena after it attempted a landing there. According to some reports, factions of the Irgun (Etzel) were planning a coup with the arms.
June, 28, 1948 Count Folke Bernadotte's first peace plan - Jerusalem to be Arab. (First Plan of Count Bernadotte for settling the Arab-Israel war of 1948)
July 08, 1948 Egyptian army breaks truce, due to end July 9. Attacks from neighborhood of Majdal (Ashdod). Israeli counterattack at Faluja was unsuccessful. This phase of the war is known as "the ten days," and included Operation (Mivtza) Dani - the Israeli conquest of Lydda (Lod) and Ramla, breaking the Arab siege of Jerusalem, and creating thousands of refugees, as well as advances in the north. During this time Israel had acquired three B-17s and some Dakotas. One of the B-17s succeeded in dropping some bombs on Cairo on its way to delivery in Israel, others bombed Damascus and Rafah. The bombing of Cairo put an end to Egyptian air-raids on Tel Aviv.
 July 10, 1948 Arab League announced the establishment of a temporary Palestinian civilian administration over Arab held-areas of Palestine, but it was never implemented.
July 12, 1948 Egyptians attack Kibbutz Negba with armor and massive troop concentrations. Israelis suffer 5 dead, 16 wounded, Egyptian casualties 200- 300 dead and wounded.
July 19, 1948 Second truce in Israel-Arab war.
Sept 17, 1948 Swedish Count Folke Bernadotte, a UN mediator, was assassinated in Jerusalem, and Lehi members were suspected. The Israel government outlawed the organization's branch in Jerusalem and shut down its publication, Hamivrak. The leaders of Lehi, Natan Yellin-Mor and Mattityahu Shmuelevitz, were sentenced to long jail terms by a military court, but were released in a general amnesty. Bernadotte, who had been instrumental in saving about 21,000 Jews in WW II, was proposing to "relieve" Israel of the Negev and force return of the Palestinian refugees. The latter proposal was adopted in UN General Assembly Resolution 194.  ( see Bernadotte Plan with map  Second plan of Count Bernadotte for settlement of the Arab-Israeli war of 1948  )
Sept 22, 1948 Palestinian States - AHC communiqué announces the establishment of the Government of All Palestine (APG; Hukumat 'Umum Filastin); Declaration of Independence  proclaimed by Hajj Amin to Palestine National Council in Gaza (30Sept-1Oct) on 1Oct, with Hajj Amin as President of the PNC, Ahmad Hilmi ‘Abd al-Baqi as PM, Jamal al-Husayni as Foreign Minister, in the Mandate territory of Palestine, with the flag of the 1916 Arab Revolt. Jerusalem as capital, Gaza as seat of government. Recognized and sponsored by Egypt and Arab League, who sought to forestall ‘Abdullah’s plan to annex West Bank; strongly opposed by Jordan, who organized a much larger rival Palestinian Congress in Amman on 30Sept to support Jordan’s policy in Palestine. APG issued Palestinian passports; but with Egyptian disillusionment, HQ transferred to Cairo in Oct, Hajj Amin was confined to Cairo and his actions curtailed; many leading members left to work for Amman. Ahmad Hilmi continued to represent Palestine in the League until his death in September 63.
Oct. 15, 1948 Second truce ends; Israeli offensive breaks Egyptian siege of Israeli settlements in the Negev (Operation Yoav ). Beersheva is taken. In the north, operation Hiram defeats the Arab Liberation army.
Dec. 11, 1948 UN Resolution 194 called for cessation of hostilities, return of refugees who wish to live in peace. The resolution reflected UN and US anger over the assassination of Count Bernadotte.
Dec. 1948 Israelis advance into Egypt; Nokrashy Pasha, Egyptian PM, assassinated.
Dec 19, 1948- Jan 7, 49 Israeli Operation Horev conquers Gaza and enters Sinai. Intervention by British and US forces Israel to withdraw. Israel shot down several British reconnaissance planes, apparently unarmed (four Spitfires and one Tempest) January 7, 1949.
March 7-10, 1949 Operation Uvda- IDF captures southern Negev including Eilat with no resistance. This marks the end of actual hostilities.
Feb-Jun, 1949 Israel and Arab states agree to armistice in separate agreements. Israel-EgyptIsrael -Lebanon Israel -Jordan  Israel-Syria) Israel gained about 50% more territory than was originally allotted to it by the UN Partition Plan. The war created about 780,000 Palestinian refugees who fled or were evicted from Jewish held areas. Gaza fell under the jurisdiction of Egypt. The West Bank of the Jordan was occupied by Jordan and later annexed, consistent with secret agreements with the Jewish leadership made before the outbreak of hostilities.
April 27 – Sept 1949 Lausanne conference - Abortive Israel Arab Truce Negotiations. Minor achievements - working recognition of Israel by Arab States who attended the conference, and acceptance of UN Resolutions by both sides. However no substantive agreements were reached.
July 20, 1949 King Farouk of Egypt and PM Za'im of Syria agree on a common front against Iraq.
Aug. 1949 Syrian coup d'etat - PM Za'im executed; Colonel Hinnawi in power.
Dec. 1949 Syrian coup d'etat -  Colonel Hinnawi executed; Colonel Shishakly in power.
Jan. 1950 Wafd party win Egyptian elections; Nahas Pasha PM
Apr. 1950 De Jure British recognition to Israel and Greater Jordan (including West Bank).
May 1950 Tripartite Declaration of USA, Britain and France - Middle East security and stability are a common interest.
May 2, 1951 Mossadegh, PM of Iran, nationalizes oil industry.
July, 1951 Assassination of Jordan's King Abdulla because of rumored plans for peace with Israel. His grandson Hussein was crowned in his place following the brief reign of Tallal.
July 23, 1952 The Free Officers (al-dubbat al-ahrar) movement in Egypt - aware of royal plans to remove dissidents from the army - launch a near-bloodless military coup (only 2 fatalities). Officers were nominally led by Gen. Muhammad Najib (who was not involved in the coup's planning), though they were organized by his deputy Gamal Abdel Nasser. King Faruq was forced to abdicate on July 26 and is exiled. A new governing authority, the Revolutionary Command Council, is established on July 27, and chaired by Nasser with 8 other members (11 from early 1953). Initially, a civilian administration is set up under ‘Ali Mahir, but he opposed RCC plans for land redistribution (Sept 52), with compulsory purchase by the state, and so was dismissed and replaced with direct RCC control. Constitution is suspended (Dec 52), Parliament disbanded, parties banned (Jan 53, for a projected three year period of military rule), monarchy formally abolished, a republic declared & Najib is installed as President, with Nasser as deputy PM (June 1953) Land reform ensures that the power of large landowners and  royal family was broken. Press brought under State control, esp. influential Al-Ahram (later nationalized in 1960). At Nasser’s urging, the nationalism of Egypt's previous government - especially its opposition to Israel and Sudan - is toned down; and Najib indicates that Egypt would participate in US/UK regional defense arrangements (10 Nov), coupled with a request for economic & military aid.
Aug 11, 1952 King Talal of Jordan abdicates in favor of Hussein, aged 17.
Sept 7, 1952 Najib becomes PM of Egypt.
Jan 16, 1953 Plot against Najib in Egypt; Rashid Mehanna arrested, political parties dissolved; Najib proclaims 3 year transition period without elections,
Jam. 18, 1953 Beginning of anti-Zionist stance in USSR. Moscow accuses "Zionist agents" of murdering Zhdanov and attempting to murder other Soviet leaders.
June 18, 1953 Egypt proclaimed a Republic with Najib as President.
July 12, 1953 Shishakly becomes President of Syria.
Sept. 7, 1954 Ben-Gurion resigns as Israeli PM, succeeded by Moshe Sharett.
October 1953 IDF paratrooper unit 101 under Ariel Sharon  killed 69 civilians and destroyed a great deal of property in a raid on the Jordanian village of Qibieh. The raid was a reprisal for a raid on Tirat Yehuda.
Feb. 25, 1954 Nasser deposes Najib in Egypt and assumes chairmanship of junta. Najib regains authority 2 days later.
Feb. 27, 1954 Shishakly flees from Syria following army revolt.
April 18, 1954 Nasser ousts Najib and becomes PM of Egypt.
July 1954 The Lavon Affair: Israeli government spies, seemingly without PM Sharett’s knowledge, attempt to sabotage British & US property in Egypt to put blame on Egyptian terrorists, thus driving a wedge between Britain and Egypt, and postponing British evacuation of the Suez. The plan’s failure leads to the fragmentation of Mapai’s leadership, with recurring crises of mutual recrimination over the next decade. Ben Gurion insisted on a full investigation of the affair but was rebuffed by Lavon partisans. Defense Minister Pinhas Lavon resigns in Feb 1955.  Egypt retaliated against Egyptian Jews, some of whom were involved in the plot.
Oct 19, 1954 Anglo-Egyptian evacuation agreement signed (troops guarding canal to leave).
Nov 15, 1954 Najib dismissed as President of Egypt, after Revolutionary Command Council - alienated by his public prominence - had attempted unsuccessfully to engineer his resignation (Feb), had orchestrated pro-RCC demonstrations (25-29Mar) & had installed his main opponent, Nasser, as PM in Apr. Najib is placed under house arrest, Nasser takes over as President.
Jan. 27, 1955 Military court in Cairo sentences 2 members of Israeli spy ring to death They are executed Jan 27.
Feb, 1955 Pinhas Lavon resigns as Israel defense minister and is replaced by David Ben-Gurion;
1955 Continuous incidents between Egypt and Israel/Syria, primarily in Gaza DMZ. Operation Black Arrow (Hetz Shahor) launched by Israel in Feb 1955, following Egyptian incursions, killed 38 Egyptians, resulted in a major embarrassment for Egypt and caused Nasser to rethink his strategy with Israel.
Feb. 24, 1955 Baghdad Pact - Pact of Mutual Cooperation Between the Kingdom of Iraq, the Republic of Turkey, the United Kingdom, the Dominion of Pakistan, and the Kingdom of Iran (Baghdad Pact). British/US attempt to minimize Soviet incursions and protect friendly regimes. Israel feels isolated and lacking Western protection.
Sept 27, 1955 Egyptian-Czech arms deal. Actually, the arms came from the USSR. The "Czech" source was devised by Nasser as a cover up, so as not to alarm the Americans and British.  A secret clause required Egypt to get financing of the Aswan dam from the USSR.
Nov. 2, 1955 Ben-Gurion replaces Sharett as Israeli PM.
Dec 11, 1955 Israel launched an attack on Syria following firing on a police patrol boat possibly sent as a deliberate provocation. (operation Olive Leaves), condemned in SCR111, 19 Jan 56,
April 5 1956 Increased tension between Israel & Egypt-Syria. IDF claimed 180 attacks on Israel from Gaza in past four months. Three Israelis killed April 4 when Egyptians opened fire on an Israeli patrol. Israel responded, and an artillery duel culminated in an Israeli artillery barrage aimed at the center of Gaza City (April 4-5) that killed 59, wounds about 100, mostly civilians. Egypt responded with increased commando raids, sending hundreds of fedayeen across the border in separate raids and killing 12 Israelis. Temporarily calmed through offices of UNS-G.
June 1956 Sharett resigns as Israeli FM ( dies.1965); Golda Meir takes FM post.; Last British troops leave Suez Canal base on June 13.
July 26, 1956 The US withdraws funding from the Aswan dam, USSR steps in. In response, Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal Company (26 Jul), to opposition of British (lease due to terminate in 1968). Is unanimously supported in this by the Arab League (Aug), though Iraqi leaders secretly call on the British to topple Nasser; imposition of martial law in Iraq. Britain, France and USA announce financial retaliation.
Aug. 16, 1956 London Conference on Suez Canal boycotted by Egypt.
Sept 10, 1956 Egypt rejects 18 nation proposals for Suez Canal.
Sept 19, 1956 Second London conference on Suez.
Sept. 23, 1956 Britain and France refer Suez dispute to UN Security Council.
Oct. 29, 1956

Suez Campaign. In retaliation for a series of escalating border raids as well as the closure of the straits of Tiran and Suez canal to Israeli shipping, and to prevent Egyptian use of newly acquired Soviet arms in a war, Israel invades the Sinai peninsula and occupies it for several months, with French and British collaboration. French and British were interested in reversing the nationalization of the canal. Israel withdraws after a UN peace keeping force is placed in Sinai, and US guarantees right of passage for Israeli shipping through the Straits of Tiran. Suez Canal reopned March 23, 1957.

1957 Fateh founded (informally) with the aim of destroying Israel. Formal establishment about 1964.
1957 (?) Construction of Israel nuclear breeder reactor using French technology begins in Dimona some time in the latter part of the 1950s. The French later tried to stop the program, but backed down when Israeli FM Peres said Israel would make the deal public. 
Feb 1, 1958 Egypt and Syria announce merger into United Arab Republic, on Syrian communist initiative in an attempt to outbid Ba‘thist call for a federal union, taken up by Syrian Ba'ath FM Salah al-Din Bitar, a  Syrian military delegation had flown to Egypt for unity talks (11Jan). Nasser, unexpectedly agrees to immediate unity. Approved by legislatures on 5Feb, and parallel plebiscites on 21 Feb (which also approve Nasser as President). Armies placed under Egypt command; Syrian political parties dissolved (Mar); Syrian "province" is headed by the left Ba‘thists under Akram Hurani. Large land redistribution schemes in both Syria & Iraq, on model of Egypt 1952. Egypt receives its first economic loan from USSR (($126 million) to promote national industries.
July 14, 1958 Revolution in Iraq ousts and murders British clients, King Feisal II and PM Nuri As-Said. Kassim becomes takes power.
July 15, 1958 US Marines land in Lebanon at the request of President Chamoun.
July 17, 1958 British paratroops land in Jordan to support Jordanian gov't following Iraqi coup.
Oct. 23, 1958 Soviet loan to Egypt to finance Aswan Dam.
Nov 18, 1959 Israel abandons earlier Jordan river diversion scheme, begins work on the National Water Carrier Project,  to divert the waters of the River Jordan from the Sea of Galilee to the Negev, taking its share of  Jordan water in accordance with Johnston plan.
1959(?) Yasser Arafat Khalil al Wazir and others found the Palestine Liberation Committee, soon renamed "Fatah" (Conquest). The organization was to be modeled on the Algerian FLN.
1960 Israeli Mossad Agents capture Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina and abduct him to Israel. Eichmann had order the deaths of millions of Jews as well as Romany people and other minorities.
1961 Eichmann trial is televised and seen around the world. Eichmann was executed in June, 1962.
June 25, 1961 With Soviet support, Kassim declares Kuwait is part of Iraq.
Sept. 29, 1961 Syria secedes from union with Egypt.
Sept 27, 1962 Army coup in Yemen, Abdulla al-Sallal proclaimed PM. Nasser announces support for revolution Sept. 29.
Nov. 5, 1962 Saudi Arabia severs relations with Egypt.
Feb 8, 1963 Baathist coup against Kassim in Iraq; Kassim executed on television and approximately 10,000 alleged communist supporters killed.
March 8, 1963 Baathist coup against President Qudsi in Syria.
March 14, 1963 Egypt, Syria and Iraq open abortive unity talks in Cairo.
24 June, 1963 Ben-Gurion resigns as Israeli PM, because of his frustration at being unable to get justice in the Lavon Affair.
Nov. 18, 1963 Abdul-Salem Aref takes power in Iraq, expels Baathist government members and breaks military union with Syria.
 Jan 13-17 1964 First Arab summit at Cairo (the Egyptians count this as the third Arab Summit)  (ie. heads of State, instigated by Nasser), prompted by Israel’s R .Jordan diversion scheme and Palestinian agitation against it.  Arabs declare their intentions of stopping the Israeli diversion scheme, which is in accordance with the Johnson plan, and decided on establishment of the PLO. A Unified Arab Command under Egyptian supervision was created. This summit and the one that followed in September caused considerable alarm in Israel, and is cited by Avi Shlaim (The Iron Wall) as the actual beginning of the Six day war.
May, 1964 PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) founded with the aim of destroying Israel. The Palestinian National Charter (1968) officially called for liquidation of Israel. PLO was founded by Egypt to divert Palestinian energies from the nascent Fatah movement of Yasser Arafat, which had become anti-Nasserist.
Sept 13, 1964 Second Arab Summit at Alexandria decides on diversion of the headwaters of the Jordan as well as strengthening regional Arab armies. Arabs declare the aim of destroying Israel. Israel addressed two notes to the UN Security Council, concerning the alarming nature of the summit resolutions to destroy Israel.
Sept. 18. 1965 Third Arab Summit at Casablanca. Conference draws up staged plan for combating Israel, first building up armed forces of Jordan, Syria and Lebanon over 2.5-3 yrs & refraining from war with Israel; then proceeding to war.
April 13, 1965 Iraq President Aref killed in helicopter crash - possibly sabotage, and is succeeded by his brother, Abdul Rahman Aref.
Nov 13, 1966 Samu'  raid: Israeli troops kill 15 Jordanian soldiers and 3 civilians, & dynamite 125 houses, in an attack on the frontier village of Samu‘ near Hebron; in response to the death of 3 Israeli soldiers by a road mine. Israel is censured by SCR228 (25 Nov 66), but no military response from Amman. This leads to recriminations in the Israeli government, which had intended a smaller scale raid, and  Palestinian anger & clashes with Jordanian security forces throughout West Bank, especially in Nablus where the army had to intervene. The PLO gains support.
May, 1967 Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser closes the straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping and dismisses UN peacekeeping force. Negotiations with US to reopen the Straits of Tiran fail.
May 27, 1967 Nasser cancels a planned Egyptian attack on Israel, after it became obvious that the Israelis knew about the plan.
May 30, 1967 Jordan signs a defense pact with Egypt, allows Egyptian command of Jordan Legion.
Jun 2, 1967 Moshe Dayan joins Israeli cabinet as Minister of Defense. Unity gov't formed.
June 5-10,1967 Six day war. Following a long period of tension, Israel attacks - destroys the Egyptian air force on the ground, conquers and occupies Sinai and Gaza, then conquers the West Bank from Jordan, and Golan Heights from Syria. UN resolution 242 (November 1967) called for  Israeli withdrawal, establishment of peace. 1967 Six Day War Timeline (chronology)
Aug-Sept 1967 Khartoum Conference - Arab summit says no to peace or negotiations with Israel.
Sept. 4, 1967 50 Egyptian officers arrested, including Commander in Chief Amer, on charges of plotting against Nasser. Amer later reported to have committed suicide
Nov 22, 1967 UN Security Council resolution 242 (November 1967) called for  Israeli withdrawal, establishment of peace
Oct 21, 1967 Egyptian missile ship sinks the Israeli destroyer Eilath. Israel retaliates by heavy artillery bombardment of Suez refinery complex.
Nov 5., 1967 Pres. Sallal of Yemen Overthrown.
Nov. 30, 1967 People's Republic of Southern Yemen formed; last British troops leave Aden.
Jan 16, 1968 Britain announces intention to withdraw from Persian Gulf by 1971.
March 21, 1968 Battle of Karameh - Jordanian and Palestinian forces inflicted a partial defeat on Israel troops staging a massive retaliatory raid on a Jordanian town that had served as a staging area for guerilla attacks and a base for PLO/Fatah guerillas.. The Fatah declared a great victory and retreated into the hills. The anniversary of Karameh is still celebrated as a victory by Palestinians.
Jun 1968 Escalation along the Suez Canal. Egyptians violated the cease fire repeatedly along the Suez canal. Nasser stated as strategy that Egypt can suffer numerous casualties because of manpower reserves, while Israel cannot.
20-30 Jul, 1968 Baathist Gen Ahmed al-Bakr overthrows Aref Regime in Iraq. Rise of Saddam Hussein.
21-30 Nov, 1968 Student riots in Egypt;
Dec 1968 PFLP attack on El Al plane in Athens. One Israeli killed; Israel responds on Dec  28 with helicopter raid on Beirut International Airport. Commandos destroy 13 Arab planes and damage airport. SCR262 of 31Dec unanimously censures Israel,
Jan 6, 1969 French ban on arms supplies made public by Israel
Jan 27, 1969 Iraqis hang 14 (9 Jews) as Israeli spies.
Feb 1-4, 1969 Fifth Palestine National Council (PNC) in Cairo. Fatah gains formal control  with Yasser Arafat declared chair of Executive Committee. PNC statement sets goal of a "secular democratic state" society for Muslims, Christians & Jews.
Feb 18, 1969 PFLP attack El Al plane in Zurich; strong international condemnation.
Feb 20, 1969 PFLP bomb attacks on a Jerusalem supermarket
Feb 24, 1969 Israeli airstrike against 2 al-Fatah camps near Damascus; large no of casualties. Fatah moves to strengthen its position in Jordan; PFLP becomes more explicit in its call for the overthrow of King Hussein, seen as a Western puppet.
Feb 1969 Internal struggles in Syrian Ba‘th party: Hafez al-Assad, defense minister, takes full control over military in Syria; civilian institutions left under the control of President Atasi. Former stressed pan-Arab cooperation, especially with Egypt; latter rejected cooperation with the conservative regimes, & controlled the Sa‘iqa fida’i organization.
Mar 11 1969 Golda Meir becomes Prime Minister in Israel after death of Levi Eshkol.
Aug 29, 1969 Group commanded by Layla Khalid hijacks TWA plane flying to Tel Aviv.
March 1969 Hostilities along the Suez canal. between Israel and Egypt escalate  as Soviets supply SAM-2 radar and pilots, US supplies Israel with Phantom jets and Hawk missiles.
April, 23, 1969 War of attrition between Israel and Egypt  -  Nasser formally declares that he is no longer bound by the terms of the armistice. Constant artillery and air duels around the Suez canal, as well as IAF bombardment of Egyptian targets.  US agreed with Israeli reports that Nasser was violating the cease fire agreement and preparing for another war.
Aug. 21, 1969 Michael Dennis Rohan, a deranged Australian Christian, attempted to set fire to the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem in order to bring about the apocalypse. The attempt triggered widespread rioting in the occupied Palestinian territories and in Arab Muslim countries. Palestinian sources routinely claim that Rohan was Jewish or Israeli. 
Sept 1, 1969 Army coup in Libya deposes King Idr