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The Jewish Kingdoms of Ancient Judah and Israel

The archeological record indicates that the Jewish people evolved out of nativeCana'anite peoples and invading tribes. Some time between about 1800 and 1500 B.C.,it is thought that a Semitic people called Hebrews (hapiru ) left Mesopotamia and settledin Canaan. Canaan was settled by different tribes including Semitic peoples, Hittites, andlater Philistines, peoples of the sea who are thought to have arrived from Mycenae, or tobe part of the ancient Greek peoples that also settled Mycenae.

According to the Bible, Moses led the Israelites, or a portion of them, out of Egypt. Under Joshua, they conquered the tribes and city states of Canaan. Based on biblicaltraditions, it is estimated that king David conquered Jerusalem about 1000 B.C. andestablished an Israelite kingdom over much of Canaan including parts of Transjordan.The kingdom was divided into Judea in the south and Israel in the north following thedeath of David's son, Solomon. Jerusalem remained the center of Jewish sovereigntyand of Jewish worship whenever the Jews exercised sovereignty over the country in thesubsequent period, up to the Jewish revolt in 133 AD.

The Assyrians conquered Israel in 722 or 721 B.C. The Babylonians conquered Judaharound 586 B.C. They destroyed Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, and exiled a largenumber of Jews. About 50 years later, the Persian king Cyrus conquered Babylonia.Cyrus allowed a group of Jews from Babylonia to rebuild Jerusalem and settle in it.However, a large number of Jews remained in Babylonia, forming the first JewishDiaspora. After the reestablishment of a Jewish state or protectorate, the Babylonianexiles maintained contact with authorities there. The Persians ruled the land from about530 to 331 B.C. Alexander the Great then conquered the Persian Empire. After Alexander's death in 323 B.C., his generals divided the empire. One of these generals,Seleucus, founded a dynasty that gained control of much of Palestine about 200 B.C. Atfirst, the new rulers, called Seleucids, allowed the practice of Judaism. But later, one of the kings, Antiochus IV, tried to prohibit it. In 167 B.C., the Jews revolted under theleadership of the Maccabeans and either drove the Seleucids out of Palestine or at least

established a large degree of autonomy, forming a kingdom with its capital in Jerusalem.The kingdom received Roman "protection" when Judah Maccabee was made a "friend of the Roman senate and people" in 164 B.C. according to the records of Roman historians.

Palestine From Roman to Ottoman Rule

About 61 B.C., Roman troops under Pompei invaded Judea and sacked Jerusalem insupport of King Herod. Judea had become a client state of Rome. Initially it was ruled bythe client Herodian dynasty. The land was divided into districts of Judea, Galilee, Peraeaand a small trans-Jordanian section, each of which eventually came under direct Romancontrol. The Romans called the large central area of the land, which included Jerusalem,Judea. According to Christian belief, Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, Judea, in the

early years of Roman rule. Roman rulers put down Jewish revolts in about A.D. 70 andA.D. 132. In A.D. 135, the Romans drove the Jews out of Jerusalem, following the failedBar Kochba revolt. The Romans named the area Palaestina, at about this time. Thename Palaestina, which  became Palestine in English, is derived from Herodotus, whoused the term Palaistine Syria to refer to the entire southern part of Syria, meaning"Philistine Syria." Most of the Jews who continued to practice their religion fled or wereforcibly exiled from Palestine, eventually forming a second Jewish Diaspora. However,Jewish communities continued to exist, primarily in the Galilee, the northernmost part of Palestine. Palestine was governed by the Roman Empire until the fourth century A.D.(300's) and then by the Byzantine Empire. In time, Christianity spread to most of Palestine. The population consisted of Jewish converts to Christianity and paganism,peoples imported by the Romans, and others who had probably inhabited Palestinecontinuously.

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During the seventh century (A.D. 600's), Muslim Arab armies moved north from Arabiato conquer most of the Middle East, including Palestine. Jerusalem was conquered about638 by the Caliph Umar (Omar) who gave his protection to its inhabitants. Muslim powerscontrolled the region until the early 1900's. The rulers allowed Christians and Jews tokeep their religions. However, most of the local population gradually accepted Islam andthe Arab-Islamic culture of their rulers. Jerusalem (Al-Quds) became holy to Muslims as

the site where, according to tradition, Muhammad ascended to heaven after a miraculousovernight ride from Mecca on his horse Al-Buraq. The al-Aqsa mosque was built on thesite generally regarded as the area of the Jewish temples.

The Seljuk Turks conquered Jerusalem in 1071, but their rule in Palestine lasted lessthan 30 years. Initially they were replaced by the Fatimid rulers of Egypt. The Fatimidstook advantage of the Seljuk struggles with the Christian crusaders. They made analliance with the crusaders in 1098 and captured Jerusalem, Jaffa and other parts of Palestine.

The Crusaders, however, broke the alliance and invaded Palestine about a year later.They captured Jaffa and Jerusalem in 1099, slaughtered many Jewish and Muslimdefenders and forbade Jews to live in Jerusalem. They held the city until 1187. In thatyear, the Muslim ruler Saladin conquered Jerusalem. The Crusaders then held a smaller and smaller area along the coast of Palestine, under treaty with Saladin. However, theybroke the treaty with Saladin and later treaties. Crusade after crusade tried to recaptureJerusalem, but they were unable to do so for more than a brief period.

The Crusaders left Palestine for good when the Muslims captured Acre in 1291. Duringthe post-crusade period, crusaders often raided the coast of Palestine. To deny theCrusaders gains from these raids, the Muslims pulled their people back from the coastsand destroyed coastal towns and farms. This depopulated and impoverished the coast of Palestine for hundreds of years.

In the mid-1200's, Mamelukes, originally soldier-slaves of the Arabs based in Egypt,

established an empire that in time included the area of Palestine. Arab-speaking Muslimsmade up most of the population of the area once called Palestine. Beginning in the late1300's, Jews from Spain and other Mediterranean lands settled in Jerusalem and other parts of the land. The Ottoman Empire defeated the Mamelukes in 1517, and Palestinebecame part of the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish Sultan invited Jews fleeing the SpanishCatholic inquisition to settle in the Turkish empire, including several cities in Palestine.

In 1798, Napoleon entered the land. The war with Napoleon and subsequentmisadministration by Egyptian and Ottoman rulers, reduced the population of Palestine.Arabs and Jews fled to safer and more prosperous lands. Revolts by Palestinian Arabsagainst Egyptian and Ottoman rule at this time may have helped to catalyze Palestiniannational feeling. Subsequent reorganization and opening of the Turkish Empire toforeigners restored some order. They also allowed the beginnings of Jewish settlement

under various Zionist and proto-Zionist movements. Both Arab and Jewish populationincreased. By 1880, about 24,000 Jews were living in Palestine, out of a population of about 400,000. At about that time, the Ottoman government imposed severe restrictionson Jewish immigration and land purchase, and also began actively soliciting invitingMuslims from other parts of the Ottoman empire to settle in Palestine, includingCircassians and Bosnians. The restrictions were evaded in various ways by Jewsseeking to colonize Palestine, chiefly by bribery.

The Rise of Zionism - Jews had never stopped coming to "the Holy land" or Palestine in small numbers throughout the exile. Palestine also remained the

center of Jewish worship and a part of Jewish culture. However, the Jewish connectionwith the land was mostly abstract and connected with dreams of messianic redemption.

In the nineteenth century new social currents animated Jewish life. The emancipation of European Jews, signaled by the French revolution, brought Jews out of the Ghetto and

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into the modern world, exposing them to modern ideas. The liberal concepts introducedby emancipation and modern nationalist ideas were blended with traditional Jewishideas about Israel and Zion. The marriage of "love of Zion" with modern nationalism tookplace first among the Sephardic (Spanish and Eastern) Jewish community of Europe.There, the tradition of living in the land of the Jews and return to Zion had remainedpractical goals rather than messianic aspirations, and Hebrew was a living language.

Rabbi Yehuda Alcalay, who lived in what is now Yugoslavia, published the first Zionistwritings in the 1840s. Though practically forgotten, these ideas took root among a fewEuropean Jews. Emancipation of Jews triggered a new type of virulent anti-Jewishpolitical and social movement in Europe, particularly in Germany and Eastern Europe.Beginning in the late 1800's, oppression of Jews in Eastern Europe stimulated emigrationof Jews to Palestine.

The Zionist movement became a formal organization in 1897 with the first Zionistcongress in Basle, organized by Theodor Herzl. Herzl's grandfather was acquainted withthe writings of Alcalay, and it is very probable that Herzl was influenced by them. TheZionists wished to establish a "Jewish Homeland" in Palestine under Turkish or Germanrule. Initially, most Zionists were not concerned about the Arab population, which theyignored, or thought would agree to voluntary transfer to other Arab countries. In any

case, they envisioned the population of Palestine by millions of European Jews whowould soon form a decisive majority in the land. The Zionists established farmcommunities in Palestine at Petah Tikva, Zichron Jacob, Rishon Letzion and elsewhere.Later they established the new city of Tel Aviv, north of Jaffa. At the same time,Palestine's Arab population grew rapidly. By 1914, the total population of Palestine stoodat about 700,000. About 615,000 were Arabs, and 85,000 to 100,000 were Jews. (Seepopulation figures). Additional information about Zionism and the creation of Israel ,British Zionism and (off site) Christian Zionism Click here for books aboutZionism. Photo history of Zionism Zionism

World War I - During World War I (1914-1918), the Ottoman Empire joined Germany andAustria-Hungary against the Allies. An Ottoman military government ruled Palestine. Thewar was hard on both Jewish and Arab populations, owing to outbreaks of cholera andtyphus; however, it was more difficult for the Jews. For a time, the Turkish militarygovernor ordered internment and deportation of all foreign nationals. A large number of Jews were Russian nationals. They had been able to enter Palestine as Russiannationals because of the concessions Turkey had granted to Russian citizens, and theyhad used this method to overcome restrictions on immigration. They had also maintainedRussian citizenship to avoid being drafted into the Turkish army. Therefore, a largenumber of Jews were forced to flee Palestine during the war. A small group founded theNILI underground that fed intelligence information to the British, in order to free the landof Turkish rule. The Turks eventually caught members of the NILI group, but theinformation they provided is said to have helped the British invasion effort.

Britain and France planned to divide the Ottoman holdings in the Middle East among

themselves after the war. The Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 called for part of Palestineto be under British rule, part to be placed under a joint Allied government, and for Syriaand Lebanon to be given to the France. However, Britain also offered to back Arabdemands for postwar independence from the Ottomans in return for Arab support for theAllies and seems to have promised the same territories to the Arabs. In 1916, Arabs ledby T.E. Lawrence and backed by Sharif Husayn revolted against the Ottomans in thebelief that Britain would help establish Arab independence in the Middle East. Lawrence'sexploits and their importance in the war against Turkey were somewhat exaggerated byhimself and by the enterprising publicist Lowell Thomas. The United States and other countries pressed for Arab self-determination. The Arabs, and many in the Britishgovernment including Lawrence, believed that the Arabs had been short-changed by theBritish promise to give Syria to the French, and likewise by the promise of Palestine as aJewish homeland. The Arabs claimed that Palestine was included in the area promised

to them, but the British denied this.

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The British Mandate for Palestine

The Balfour Declaration - In November 1917, before Britain had conquered Jerusalemand the area to be known as Palestine, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration. Thedeclaration was a letter addressed to Lord Rothschild, based on a request of the Zionistorganization in Great Britain. The declaration stated Britain's support for the creation of aJewish national home in Palestine, without violating the civil and religious rights of theexisting non-Jewish communities. The declaration was the result of lobbying by the smallBritish Zionist movement, especially by Dr. Chaim Weizmann, who had emigrated fromRussia to Britain, but it was motivated by British strategic considerations. Paradoxically,perhaps, a major motivation for the declaration may have been the belief, inspired byanti-Semitism, that international Jewry would come to the aid of the British if theydeclared themselves in favor of a Jewish homeland, and the fear that the Germans wereabout to issue such a declaration.

At the Paris peace conference in 1919, Zionist and Arab representatives pleaded their case, and met each other. The Zionists presented a map of the area they wanted for theJewish national home. Remarkably, Dr. Weizmann and the Emir Feisal reached a signed

agreement regarding Arab support for a Jewish national home. Feisal also assured theAmerican Zionist representative, Chief Justice Frankfurter, of his support for the Zionistcause (see Feisal-Frankfurter Correspondence ). However, Feisal conditioned hissupport on satisfaction of Arab aspirations in Syria. Instead, Syria was given to theFrench as a League of Nations mandate and Feisal not only withdrew his support fromthe Zionist project, but claimed he had never signed any such documents.

At the Paris peace conference and through the League of Nations, much of the OttomanEmpire was divided into mandated territories assigned to the victors of the war. TheBritish and French saw the Mandates as instruments of imperial ambitions. US PresidentWilson insisted that the mandates must foster eventual independence. The British wereanxious to keep Palestine away from the French, and decided to ask for a mandate thatwould implement the Jewish national home of the Balfour declaration, a project that

would be supported by the Americans. The Arabs opposed the idea of a Jewish nationalhome, considering that the areas now called Palestine were their land. The Arabs feltthey were in danger of dispossession by the Zionists, and did not relish living under Jewish rule.

Arabs lobbied the American King-Crane commission, in favor of annexation of thePalestine mandate area to Syria, and later formed a national movement to combat theterms of the Mandate. At the instigation of US President Wilson, the King Cranecommission had been sent to hear the views of the inhabitants. At the commissionhearings, Aref Pasha Dajani expressed this opinion about the Jews, "Their history and their past proves that it is impossible to live with them. In all the countries where they areat present, they are not wanted...because they always arrive to suck the blood of everybody..."  

By this time, Zionists had recognized the inevitability of conflict with the Palestinian andother Arabs. David Ben Gurion, who would lead the Yishuv (the Jewish community inPalestine) and go on to be the first Prime Minister of Israel, told a meeting of thegoverning body of the Jewish Yishuv  in 1919 "But not everybody sees that there is nosolution to this question...We as a nation, want this country to be ours, the Arabs as anation, want this country to be theirs." 

Click here for books about: The British Mandate Zionism Palestine &Palestinians

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The Zionists and others presented their case to theParis Peace conference. Ultimately, the British planwas adopted. The main issues taken into accountwere division of rights between Britain and France,rather than the views of the inhabitants.

In 1920, Britain received a provisional mandate over Palestine, which would extend west and east of theRiver Jordan. The area of the mandate (see map atright) given to Britain at the San Remo conferencewas much larger than historic Palestine asenvisaged by the Zionists, who had sought aneastern border to the West of Amman. Themandate, based on the Balfour declaration, wasformalized in 1922. The British were to help theJews build a national home and promote thecreation of self-governing institutions. The mandateprovided for an agency, later called "The JewishAgency for Palestine," that would represent Jewish

interests in Palestine to the British and to promoteJewish immigration. A Jewish agency was createdonly in 1929, delayed by the desire to create a bodythat represented both Zionist and non-Zionist Jews.The Jewish agency in Palestine became in manyrespects the de-facto government of the JewishYishuv (community).The area granted to the mandate was much larger than the area sought by the Zionists. It is possible,that as Churchill suggested in 1922, the Britishnever intended that all of this area would become aJewish national home. On the other hand, somebelieve that Britain had no special plans for 

Transjordan initially. In his memoirs, Sir AlecKirkbride, the British representative in Amman,wrote that "There was no intention at that stage[1920] of forming the territory east of the river Jordan into an independent Arab state." (Kirkbride, Alexander, A crackle of thorns, London, 1956 p 19)

However, Abdullah, the son of King Husayn of theHijaz, marched toward Transjordan with 2,000soldiers. He announced his intention to march toDamascus, remove the French and reinstate theHashemite monarchy. Sir Alec Kirkbride, had 50

policemen. He asked for guidance from the BritishHigh Commissioner, Herbert Samuel, and Samueleventually replied that it was unlikely Abdullahwould enter British controlled areas. Two days later,Abdullah marched north and by March 1921, heoccupied the entire country. Abdullah made noattempt to march on Damascus, and perhaps never intended to do so

In 1922, the British declared that the boundary of Palestine would be limited to the area west of theriver. The area east of the river, called Transjordan(now Jordan), was made a separate British mandate

and eventually given independence (See map atright) . A part of the Zionist movement felt betrayedat losing a large area of what they termed "historic

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Palestine" to Transjordan, and split off to form the"Revisionist" movement, headed by BenjaminVladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky.

The British hoped to establish self-governing institutions in Palestine, as required by the

mandate. The Jews were alarmed by the prospect of such institutions, which would havean Arab majority. However, the Arabs would not accept proposals for such institutions if they included any Jews at all, and so no institutions were created. The Arabs wanted aslittle as possible to do with the Jews and the mandate, and would not participate inmunicipal councils, nor even in the Arab Agency that the British wanted to set up.Ormsby-Gore, undersecretary of state for the colonies concluded, "Palestine is largely inhabited by unreasonable people." 

Arab Riots and Jewish immigration - In the spring of 1920, spring of 1921 and summer of 1929, Arab nationalists opposed to the Balfour declaration, the mandate and theJewish National Home, instigated riots and pogroms against Jews in Jerusalem, Hebron,Jaffa and Haifa. The violence led to the formation of the Haganah Jewish self-defense

organization in 1920. The riots of 1920 and 1921 reflected opposition to the Balfour declaration and fears that the Arabs of Palestine would be dispossessed, and wereprobably attempts to show the British that Palestine as a Jewish National home would beungovernable. The major instigators were Hajj Amin El Husseini , later Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and eventually a Nazi collaborator, and Arif -El Arif, a prominent Palestinian journalist. The riots of 1929 occurred against the background of Jewish-Arab nationalistantagonism. The Arabs claimed that Jewish immigration and land purchases weredisplacing and dispossessing the Arabs of Palestine. However, economic, populationand other indicators suggest that objectively, the Arabs of Palestine benefited from theMandate and Zionist investment. Arab standard of living increased faster in Palestinethan other areas, and population grew prodigiously throughout the Mandate years. (seeZionism and its Impact). The riots were also fueled by false rumors that the Jewsintended to build a synagogue at the wailing wall, or otherwise encroach upon the Muslim

rule over the Temple Mount compound, including the Al-Aqsa mosque. The pogroms ledto evacuation of most of the Jewish community of Hebron. . The British responded withthe Passfield White Paper . The white paper attempted to stop immigration to Palestinebased on the recommendations of the Hope Simpson report. That report stated that inthe best case, following extensive economic development, the land could supportimmigration of another 20,000 families in total. Otherwise further Jewish immigrationwould infringe on the position of the existing Arab population. However, British MPs andthe Zionist movement sharply criticized the new policy and PM Ramsay McDonald issueda "clarification" stating that Jewish immigration would not be stopped.

Jewish immigration swelled in the 1930s, driven by persecution in Eastern Europe, evenbefore the rise of Nazism. Large numbers of Jews began to come from Poland owing todiscriminatory laws and harsh economic conditions. The rise of Hitler in Germany added

to this tide of immigration. The Jewish Agency made a deal, the Hesder, that allowedJews to escape Germany to Palestine in return for hard currency that the Reich needed.The Hesder saved tens of thousands of lives.

Arab Revolt and the White Paper - In 1936 widespread rioting, later known as the ArabRevolt or Great Uprising, broke out. The revolt was kindled when British forces killed Izzal din El Qassam in a gun battle. Izz al Din El Qassam was a Syrian preacher who hademigrated to Palestine and was agitating against the British and the Jews. The revolt wascoopted by the Husseini family and by Fawzi El Kaukji, a former Turkish officer, and itwas possibly financed in part by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Thousands of Arabsand hundreds of Jews were killed in the revolt, which spread rapidly owing to initialunpreparedness of the British authorities. About half the 5,000 residents of the Jewishquarter of the old city of Jerusalem were forced to flee, and the remnant of the Hebron

Jewish community was evacuated as well.

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The Husseini family killed both Jews and members of Palestinian Arab families opposedto their hegemony. The Yishuv (Jewish community) responded with both defensivemeasures, and with random terror and bombings of Arab civilian targets, perpetrated bythe Irgun (Irgun Tsvai Leumi or "Etsel,"). Etsel was the military underground of the right-wing dissident "revisionist group" headed first by Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky, whoseceded from the Zionist movement, and later by Menachem Begin. The Peel 

commission of 1937 recommended partitioning Palestine into a small Jewish state and alarge Arab one. The commission's recommendations also included voluntary transfer of Arabs and Jews to separate the populations. The Jewish leadership considered the planbut the Palestinian and Arab leadership, including King Saud of Saudi Arabia , rejectedpartition and demanded that the British curtail Jewish immigration. Saud said that if theBritish failed to follow Arab wishes in Palestine, the Arabs would turn against them andside with their enemies. He said that Arabs did not understand the "strange attitude of your British Government, and the still more strange hypnotic influence which the Jews, arace accursed by God according to His Holy Book, and destined to final destruction and eternal damnation hereafter, appear to wield over them and the English peoplegenerally." 

In response to the riots, the British began limiting immigration and the 1939 White Paper 

decreed that 15,000 Jews would be allowed to enter Palestine each year for five years.Thereafter, immigration would be subject to Arab approval. At the same time, the Britishtook drastic and often cruel steps to curtail the riots. Husseini fled to Iraq, where he wasinvolved in an Axis-supported coup against the British and then to Nazi Germany, wherehe subsequently broadcast for the Axis powers, was active in curtailing Jewishimmigration from neutral countries and organized SS death squads in Yugoslavia. (Moreabout he Arab Revolt or Great Uprising).

The Holocaust - During World War II (1939-1945), many Palestinian Arabs and Jews joined the Allied forces. though some Palestinian and Arab leaders were sympathetic tothe Nazi cause. Jews had a special motivation for fighting the Nazis because of Nazipersecution of Jews and growing suspicions that the Nazis were systematicallyexterminating the Jews of Europe. These suspicions were later confirmed, and theextermination of European Jews came to be known as the Holocaust. The threat of extermination also created great pressure for immigration to Palestine, but the gates of Palestine were closed by the British White Paper . In 1941 the British freed JewishHaganah underground leaders in a general amnesty, and they joined the British infighting the Germans.

Illegal Immigration - The Jews of Palestine responded to the White Paper and theHolocaust by organizing illegal immigration to Palestine from occupied Europe, throughthe "Institution for Illegal Immigration" (Hamossad L'aliya Beth). Illegal immigration (AliyaBet) was organized by the Jewish Agency between 1939 and 1942, when a tightenedBritish blockade and stricter controls in occupied Europe made it impractical, and againbetween 1945 and 1948. Rickety boats full of refugees tried to reach Palestine.

Additionally, there were private initiatives, an initiative by the Nazis to deport Jews and aninitiative by the US to save European Jews. Many of the ships sank or were caught bythe British or the Nazis and turned back, or shipped to Mauritius or other destinations for internment. The Patria (also called "Patra") contained immigrants offloaded from threeother ships, for transshipment to the island of Mauritius. To prevent transshipment, theHaganah placed a small explosive charge on the ship on November 25, 1940. Theythought the charge would damage the engines. Instead, the ship sank, and over 250lives were lost. A few weeks later, the SS Bulgaria docked in Haifa with 350 Jewishrefugees and was ordered to return to Bulgaria. The Bulgaria capsized in the Turkishstraits, killing 280. The Struma, a vessel that had left Constanta in Rumania with about769 refugees, got to Istanbul on December 16, 1941. There, it was forced to undergorepairs of its engine and leaking hull. The Turks would not grant the refugees sanctuary.The British would not approve transshipment to Mauritius or entry to Palestine. On

February 24, 1942, the Turks ordered the Struma out of the harbor. It sank with the lossof 428 men, 269 women and 70 children. It had been torpedoed by a Soviet submarine,either because it was mistaken for a Nazi ship, or more likely, because the Soviets had

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agreed to collaborate with the British in barring Jewish immigration. Illegal immigrationcontinued until late in the war, apparently without the participation of the Mossad l'aliyaBet. Despite the many setbacks, tens of thousands of Jews were saved by the illegalimmigration.

The Biltmore Declaration - Reports of Nazi atrocities became increasingly frequent and

vivid. Despite the desperate need to find a haven for refugees, the doors of Palestineremained shut to Jewish immigration. The Zionist leadership met in the Biltmore Hotel inNew York City in 1942 and declared that it supported the establishment of Palestine as aJewish Commonwealth. This was not simply a return to the Balfour declarationrepudiated by the British White Paper , but rather a restatement of Zionist aims that wentbeyond the Balfour declaration, and a determination that the British were in principle, anenemy to be fought, rather than an ally.

Assassination of Lord Moyne - On November 6, members of the Jewish Lehiunderground 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 toPalestine by force. He was also a personal friend of Winston Churchill. The assassinationdid not change British policy, but it turned Winston Churchill against the Zionists. Hakimand Bet Zuri were caught and were hanged by the British in 1945.

The Season ("Sezon") - The Jewish Agency and Zionist Executive believed that Britishand world reaction to the assassination of Lord Moyne could jeopardize cooperation after the war, that had been hinted at by the British, and might endanger the Jewish Yishuv if they came to be perceived as enemies of Britain and the allies. Therefore they embarkedon a campaign against the Lehi and Irgun, known in Hebrew as the "Sezon" ("Season").Members of the underground were to be ostracized. Leaders were caught by theHaganah, interrogated and sometimes tortured, and about a thousand persons wereturned over to the British.

Displaced Persons - After the war, it was discovered that the Germans had murderedabout six million Jews in Europe, in the Holocaust. These people had been trapped inEurope, because virtually no country would give them shelter. The Zionists felt thatBritish restriction of immigration to Palestine had cost hundreds of thousands of lives.The Jews were now desperate to bring the remaining Jews of Europe, about 250,000people being held in displaced persons camps, to Palestine.

United Resistance - In the summer of 1945, the Labor party came to power in GreatBritain. They had promised that they would reverse the British White Paper and wouldsupport a Jewish state in Palestine. However, they presently reneged on their promise,and continued and redoubled efforts to stop Jewish immigration. The Haganahattempted to bring immigrants into Palestine illegally. The rival Zionist undergroundgroups now united, and all of them, in particular the Irgun and Lehi ("Stern gang")

dissident terrorist groups, used force to try to drive the British out of Palestine. Thisincluded bombing of trains, train stations, an officers club and British headquarters in theKing David Hotel, as well as kidnapping and murder of British personnel. In Britain,newspapers and politicians began to demand that the government settle the conflict andstop endangering the lives of British troops.

The US and other countries brought pressure to bear on the British to allow immigration.An Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry recommended allowing 100,000 Jews toimmigrate immediately to Palestine. The Arabs brought pressure on the British to blocksuch immigration. The British found Palestine to be ungovernable and returned themandate to the United Nations, successor to the League of Nations. The report of theAnglo-American Committee provided a detailed summary of the British mandate period and the security situation in Palestine, as well as a report on the effects of the Holocaustand the condition of European Jewry. 

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Partition - The United Nations Special Commission onPalestine (UNSCOP) recommended that Palestine be dividedinto an Arab state and a Jewish state. The commission calledfor Jerusalem to be put under international administration TheUN General Assembly adopted this plan on Nov. 29, 1947 asUN Resolution (GA 181), owing to support of both the US and

the Soviet Union, and in particular, the personal support of USPresident Harry S. Truman. Many factors contributed toTruman's decision to support partition, including domesticpolitics and intense Zionist lobbying, no doubt. Truman wrote inhis diary, however, "I think the proper thing to do, and the thingI have been doing, is to do what I think is right and let them allgo to hell."

The Jews accepted the UN decision, but the Arabs rejected it.The resolution divided the land into two approximately equalportions in a complicated scheme with zig-zag borders (seemap at right and see Partition Map and detailed partition mapof UNSCOP Proposal and final map: UN Palestine Partition

Plan Map - 1947). The intention was an economic unionbetween the two states with open borders. At the time of partition, slightly less than half the land in all of Palestine wasowned by Arabs, slightly less than half was "crown lands"belonging to the state, and about 8% was owned by Jews or the Jewish Agency. There were about 600,000 Jews inPalestine, almost all living in the areas allotted to the Jewishstate or in the internationalized zone of Jerusalem, and about1.2 million Arabs. The allocation of land by Resolution 181 wasintended to produce two areas with Jewish and Arab majoritiesrespectively. Jerusalem and environs were to beinternationalized. The relatively large Jewish population of Jerusalem and the surroundings, about 100,000, were

geographically cut off from the rest of the Jewish state,separated by a relatively large area, the "corridor," allotted tothe Palestinian state. The corridor included the populous Arabtowns of Lod and Ramla and the smaller towns of Qoloniyeh,Emaus, Qastel and others that guarded the road to Jerusalem.(Click for Large Detailed Map)

It soon became evident that the scheme could not work. Mutual antagonism would makeit impossible for either community to tolerate the other. The UN was unwilling and unableto force implementation of the internationalization of Jerusalem. The Arab League, at theinstigation of Haj Amin Al-Husseini, declared a war to rid Palestine of the Jews. In facthowever, the Arab countries each had separate agendas. Abdullah, king of Jordan, had

an informal and secret agreement with Israel, negotiated with Golda Meir, to annex theportions of Palestine allocated to the Palestinian state in the West Bank, and preventformation of a Palestinian state. Syria wanted to annex the northern part of Palestine,including Jewish and Arab areas.

Modern History

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The War of Independence - 1948 War (the 'Nakba') - The War of Independence or 1948 War is divided into the pre-independence period, and the post-independenceperiod. Clashes between Israeli underground groups and Arab irregulars began almostas soon as the UN passed the partition resolution. During this time, Arab countries did

not invade, though the Jordan legion did assist the in the attack against Gush Etzion, asmall block of settlements in the territory allocated to the Palestinian state, south of 

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Jerusalem. (See 1948 Israel War of Independence (1948 Arab-Israeli war) Timeline(Chronology) and Israel War of Independence (First Arab-Israel War)

Pre-Independence - During the period before Israeli independence was declared, twoarmies of Arab irregular volunteers, let by Haj Amin El Husseini in the Jerusalem area,and by Fawzi El Kaukji in the Galilee, placed their fighters in Arab towns and conducted

various aggressive operations against the Jewish towns and village under the eyes of theBritish. Kaukji and his irregulars were allowed into Palestine from Syria by the British,with the agreement that he would not engage in military actions, but he soon broke theagreement and attacked across the Galilee. The Arab irregulars were met by the Zionistunderground army, the Haganah, and by the underground groups of the "dissident"factions, Irgun and Lehi.

In Jerusalem, Arab riots broke out on November 30 and December 1 1947. Palestinianirregulars cut off the supply of food, water and fuel to Jerusalem during a long siege thatbegan in late 1947. Fighting and violence broke out immediately throughout the country,including ambushes of transportation, the Jerusalem blockade, riots such as the Haifarefinery riots, and massacres that took place at Gush Etzion (by Palestinians) and in Deir Yassin (by Jews). Arab Palestinians began leaving their towns and villages to escape thefighting. Notably, most of the Arab population of Haifa left in March and April of 1948,despite pleas by both Jewish and British officials to stay.

The British did little to stop the fighting, but the scale of hostilities was limited by lack of arms and trained soldiers on both sides. Initially, the Palestinians had a clear advantage,and a Haganah intelligence report of March, 1948 indicated that the situation was critical,especially in the Jerusalem area. It is generally agreed that April 1948 marked a turningpoint in the fighting before the invasion by Arab armies, in favor of the initiallyoutnumbered and outgunned Jewish forces. To break the siege of Jerusalem, theHaganah prematurely activated "Plan Dalet" - a plan prepared for general defense thatwas supposed to have been implemented when the British had left. It required use of regular armed forces and army tactics, fighting in the open, rather than as an

underground. It also envisioned the "temporary" evacuation of Arab civilians from townsin certain strategic areas, such as the Jerusalem corridor. This provision has been citedas evidence that the Zionists planned for the exodus and expulsion of Arab civilians inadvance.

The Haganah mounted its first full scale operation, Operation Nahshon, using 1,500troops. It attacked the Arab villages of Qoloniyah and Qastel, occupied by Arab irregular forces after the villagers had fled, on the road to Jerusalem and temporarily broke thesiege, allowing convoys of supplies to reach the city. Qastel fell on April 8, and the keyPalestinian military commander, Abdel Khader Al-Husseini was killed there. Qoloniyehfell on April 11. In the north, Fawzi El-Kaukji's "Salvation Army" was beaten back at thebattle of Mishmar Haemeq on April 12, 1948. These successes helped convince USPresident Truman that the Jews would not be overrun by Arab forces, and he abandoned

the trusteeship proposal that the US had put before the UN earlier. Following attacks byArab irregulars, the Irgun attacked the Arab town of Jaffa, just south of Tel Aviv.Palestinians fled en masse despite the pleas of the British to remain.

The Arab Invasion - The governments of neighboring Arab states were more reluctantthan is generally assumed to enter the war against Israel, despite bellicose declarations.However, fear of popular pressure combined with fear that other Arab states would gainan advantage over them by fighting in Palestine, helped sway Syria, Jordan and Egypt togo to war. While officially they were fighting according to one plan, in fact there was littlecoordination between them.

On May 14, 1948, the Jews proclaimed the independent State of Israel, and the Britishwithdrew from Palestine. In the following days and weeks, neighboring Arab nationsinvaded Palestine and Israel (click here for map). The fighting was conducted in several

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brief periods, punctuated by cease fire agreements ( truces were declared June 11 toJuly 8, 1948 and July 19- October 15, 1948).

In the initial stage, notable successes were scored by the Egyptian and Syrian armies. Inparticular, the Egyptians, backed by tanks, artillery, armor and aircraft, which Israel didnot have, were able to cut off the entire Negev and to occupy parts of the land that had

been allocated to the Jewish state. In his book, "In the Fields of Phillistia," Israeli peaceactivist Uri Avnery recounts how the Egyptian army attempted a massed armored strikeagainst Tel Aviv. Palestinian attempts to set up a real state were blocked by Egypt andJordan. Jordan kept to its agreement not to invade areas allocated to the Jewish state,but Syria and Egypt did not. The strike was turned back by a few recently arrivedMesserchmitt aircraft, bought from Czechoslovakia. The Syrians made some advancesinto the territory that had been allotted to the Palestinian state.

While Jordan did not invade Jewish territory, the Arab Legion blocked convoys tobesieged Jewish Jerusalem from its fortified positions in Latroun. Jerusalem was to havebeen internationalized according to UN General Assembly Resolution 181 and UNGeneral Assembly Resolution 303. The Jordanian positions at Latroun (or Latrun) couldnot be overcome despite several bloody attacks. To get around it, the Israelis ultimatelybuilt a "Burma Road' that was completed in June of 1948 and broke the siege of Jerusalem.

The first cease fire and the Altalena - A cease fire in June gave all sides time toregroup and reorganize. This marked a critical stage in the fighting. The Arab side madea crucial error in accepting the truce. The Israelis took advantage of the cease fire toreorganize and recruit and train soldiers. They were now able to bring in large shiploadsof arms, despite the treaty terms, and to train and organize a real fighting force of 60,000troops, giving them a real advantage in troops and armament for the first time. The truceprobably saved Jerusalem, which had been on the brink of starvation. During the longtruce, the underground armies of the Haganah, Palmah, Irgun and Lehi wereamalgamated into a single national fighting force, the Israel Defense Force (IDF). The

revisionist Irgun movement attempted to bring a shipload of arms into Israel on a shipcalled the Altalena, in order to maintain a separate fighting force. Israeli PM Ben Gurionordered the IDF to sink the Altalena when Irgun leader Menahem Begin refused to giveup its cargo of arms. The Palestinians and Arabs did not use the time well. A largeshipment of arms intended for the Palestinians was blocked by the IDF/Haganah andnever reached Syria. Arab states were reluctant to commit more men to the struggle or tospend more money.

Resumption of the war - The war with the Egyptians hadbeen static, as they were isolated in the "Falluja" pocketin central Israel. After the cease fire expired, Israel tookthe war with the Egyptians to their territory and enteredthe Sinai peninsula. The IDF was forced to withdraw after 

encounters with British aircraft.

In the center, the IDF cut a swath of land to open the"corridor" between Jerusalem and the rest of Israel.During the "ten days" period of fighting between the twotruces, they invaded the Arab towns of Lod and Ramlathat had been blocking the road to Jerusalem andexpelled most of the Palestinians living there, after killinga large number. They destroyed numerous smallPalestinian villages surrounding Tel-Aviv, so that virtuallyno Palestinians were left in central Israel. (Click here for amap of Palestine before 1948)

The Arab defeat and the birth of the refugee problem -Despite initial setbacks, better organization and

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intelligence successes, as well as timely clandestine armsshipments, enabled the Jews to gain a decisive victory.The Arabs and Palestinians lost their initial advantagewhen they failed to organize and unite. When the fightingended in 1949, Israel held territories beyond the

boundaries set by the UN plan - a total of 78% of the areawest of the Jordan river. The UN made no seriousattempt to enforce the internationalization of Jerusalem,which was now divided between Jordan and Israel, andseparated by barbed wire fences and no man's landareas. Click here to view a map of the UN plan for Jerusalem and Jerusalem as divided under the armisticeagreements. The rest of the area assigned to the Arabstate was occupied by Egypt and Jordan. Egypt held theGaza Strip and Jordan held the West Bank. About726,000 Arabs fled or were driven out of Israel andbecame refugees in neighboring Arab countries. Theconflict created about as many Jewish refugees from

Arab countries, many of whom were stripped of their property, rights and nationality, but Israel has not pursuedclaims on behalf of these refugees (see Jewish refugeesof the Arab-Israel conflict).

The Arab countries refused to sign a permanent peacetreaty with Israel. Consequently, the borders of Israelestablished by the armistice commission never receivedde jure (legal) international recognition. Arabs call thedefeat and exile of the Palestinian Arabs in 1948 theNakba (disaster).

The UN arranged a series of cease-fires between theArabs and the Jews in 1948 and 1949. UN GA Resolution194 called for cessation of hostilities and return of refugees who wish to live in peace. Security CouncilResolution 62 called for implementation of armisticeagreements that would lead to a permanent peace. Theborders of Israel were established along the "green line"of the armistice agreements of 1949. (Click here for amap of the armistice lines (so called "green line") . Theseborders were not recognized by Arab states, whichcontinued to refuse to recognize Israel. Though hostilitiesceased, the refugee problem was not solved.Negotiations broke down because Israel refused to

readmit more than a small number of refugees. TheUSSR, initially in favor of the Zionist state, now aligneditself with the Arab countries. Despite continued USsupport for the existence of Israel, US aid to Israel wasminimal and did not include military aid during the Trumanand Eisenhower administrations. The Israel DefenseForces (IDF) were equipped with surplus arms purchasedthird hand and with French aircraft and light armor. TheArab countries, especially Syria and Egypt, beganreceiving large quantities of Soviet military aid. The ArabLeague instituted an economic boycott against Israel thatwas partly honored by most industrial nations andcontinued in force until the 1990s.

Map of the Israel "GreenLine" Borders

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The Sinai Campaign - Following the overthrow of King Farouk of Egypt by the free officers headed byNaguib and Nasser, Egypt made some movestoward peace with Israel. However, in 1954, anIsraeli spy ring was caught trying to blow up the USInformation agency and other foreign institutions in

Egypt. The goal was to create tension between theUS and Egypt and prevent rapprochement. InIsrael, both Defense Minister Pinhas Lavon andPrime Minister David Ben Gurion disclaimedresponsibility for the action, and blamed eachother. This incident came to be known variously as"the Lavon affair" and "the shameful business."(click here for details). Egypt became suspicious of Israeli intentions, and began negotiating topurchase large quantities of arms. When they wereturned down by the West, the Egyptians turned tothe Eastern bloc countries and concluded a dealwith Czechoslovakia. Egyptian President Gamal

Nasser also closed the straits of Tiran and SuezCanal to Israeli shipping. Israeli strategistsbelieved that Egypt would go to war or force adiplomatic showdown as soon the weapons hadbeen integrated, and began looking for a source of arms as well. Israel concluded an arms deal withFrance. A series of border incursions byPalestinians and by Egyptians from Gaza evokedincreasingly severe Israeli reprisals, triggeringlarger raids. The assessment of Israeli "activists"like Moshe Dayan was that Israel should wagepreventive war before Egypt had fully integrated thenew weapons.

In the summer of 1956, Israel, France and Britaincolluded in a plan to reverse the nationalization of the Suez canal. Israel would invade the Sinai andland paratroopers near the Mitla pass. Britain andFrance would issue an ultimatum, and then landtroops ostensibly to separate the sides. The planwas carried out beginning October 29, 1956. Israelswiftly conquered Sinai. The US was furious atIsrael, Britain and France. UN General AssemblyResolution 997 called for immediate withdrawal.Israeli troops remained in Sinai for many months.Israel subsequently withdrew under pressure fromthe UN and in particular the United States. Israelobtained guarantees that international waterwayswould remain open to Israeli shipping from the US,and a UN force was stationed in Sinai.

Sinai Campaign - Map

The beginning of the Fatah - Yasser Arafat, an Egyptian Palestinian who grew up in theGaza strip and had been a member of the Ikhwan (Muslim Brothers) and the Futuwwahor Futtuwah (officially called "Nazi Scouts" according to Benny Morris, Righteous Victims,1999, page 124, Palestinian armed faction of Grand Mufti Hajj Amin El Husseini) wasrecruited by Egyptian intelligence while studying in Cairo in 1955, and founded theGeneral Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS). In 1957 he moved to Kuwait andtogether with Khalil Al Wazir (Abu Jihad) Farouq Qadumi, Khalid al Hassan, Mahmoud

Abass and others founded the Palestine Liberation Committee, later renamed the Fatah(reverse acronym for Harakat Tahrir Filastin - the Palestine Liberation Movement)modeled on the Algerian FLN.

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On May 23, Nasser closed the straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping. The United Statesfailed to live up to its guarantees of freedom of the waterways to Israel. A torrent of rhetoric issued from Arab capitals and in the UN. At the UN, PLO Chairman AhmedShukhairy announced that "if it will be our privilege to strike the first blow" the PLO wouldexpel from Palestine all Zionists who had arrived after 1917 and eliminate the state of Israel. In a speech to Arab Trade Unionists on May 26, 1967, Nasser justified the

dismissal of the UNEF, and made it clear that Egypt was prepared to fight Israel for Palestinian rights. He also attacked the Jordanians as tools of the imperialists, steppingup the constant pressure on Jordan's King Hussein.

Despite the bellicose rhetoric, analysts such as Avi Shlaim (The Iron Wall ) and othersbelieve that each country was dragged into the conflict by inter-Arab rivalry and did notcontemplate a war. Nasser never intended to attack Israel according to Shlaim. He hadbeen dragged into the conflict by Soviet maneuvers and Syrian fears and his need toclaim leadership of the Arab world according to them. Be that as it may, according toMichael Oren, recently declassified documents reveal that the Egyptians in fact plannedto attack Israel on May 28, 1967. The plan, codenamed operation Dawn, was discoveredby Israel. The Israelis told the Americans. US President Johnson told Soviet Premier Kosygin, and Kosygin wrote to Nasser. Nasser understood that he had lost the element

of surprise and called off the attack. Nonetheless, on May 29, 1967, Nasser was stillspeaking of confrontation with Israel. He told members of the Egyptian NationalAssembly,  "God will surely help and urge us to restore the situation to what it was in1948." 

IDF officers began pressuring the civilian establishment to declare war, because it wasconsidered that an Arab attack might be imminent, and because Israel's ability tomaintain its army fully mobilized is limited, but Prime Minister Eshkol was reluctant totake action, and Foreign Minister Abba Eban opposed unilateral action, which hebelieved would be against the wishes of the United States. Ariel Sharon now admits thathe and others, including Yitzhak Rabin, had discussed the possibility of a sort of coup, inwhich government officials were to be locked in a room, while the army started the war,but the idea never got passed the stage of thinking out loud.

On May 30, Jordan signed a defense pact with Egypt, readying itself for war. Nasser stated: "The armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon are poised on the borders of Israel...to face the challenge, while standing behind us are the armies of Iraq, Algeria,Kuwait, Sudan and the whole Arab nation. This act will astound the world. Today they willknow that the Arabs are arranged for battle, the critical hour has arrived. We havereached the stage of serious action and not declarations."

On June 4, Iraq likewise joined a military alliance with Egypt and committed itself to war.On May 31, the Iraqi President Rahman Aref announced, "This is our opportunity to wipeout the ignominy which has been with us since 1948. Our goal is clear--to wipe Israel off the map."

US and Israeli assessments were that Israel would win any war handily, despite the hugesuperiority in armor, aircraft, and troops favoring the combined forces of the Arabcountries. Prior to 1967, Israel had gotten almost no military aid from the United States.Egypt and Syria were equipped with large quantities of the latest Soviet militaryequipment. Israel's main arms supplier was France. On paper, Israel had almost as manyaircraft as the Egyptians, but the Israeli aircraft were mostly old, and even the Super-Mirages were no match for the Mig-21 fighters acquired by Egypt from the USSR. Onpaper, the IDF had a large number of "tanks" matching or almost matching the arms of the Arab countries. However, while Syrians and Egyptians were equipped with late modelSoviet heavy tanks, many of the Israeli "tanks" were in fact tiny French AMX anti-tankvehicles, and the heavy tanks were refurbished WWII Sherman tanks fitted with dieselengines. Israel had also been allowed to purchase about 250 M-48 Patton tanks from

Germany in 1965. Most of these tanks were being refitted with Diesel engines in 1967,and the US refused an Israeli request for 100 Pattons to replace the ones that were out

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of service. The Israeli and Jewish public, and some in the government, believed thatthere was a mortal threat to Israel. Ten thousand graves were dug in Tel Aviv publicparks in anticipation of the heavy casualties.

The Israeli government probably did not want war, and some at least were fearful of war.Ben Gurion berated Chief of Staff Itzhak Rabin for making aggressive statements that

had, according to him, escalated the conflict and gotten Israel into trouble. Israeli PrimeMinister Levi Eshkol appeared hesitant, and stuttered in a dramatic radio speech to thenation. Under great public pressure from opposition parties, a unity government wasformed. Foreign Minister Abba Eban tried in vain to obtain from the US a guarantee thatthey would reopen the straights of Tiran. At first, President Johnson promised aninternational flotilla, and warned Israel not to attack on its own. However, the US wasunable to initiate any international action, and reversed its position, hinting broadly thatIsrael would have to handle the problem itself.

Israel could not maintain total mobilization indefinitely. When it became apparent thatEgypt would not stand down, Israel attacked the Egyptians beginning on June 5, 1967. Inthe first hours of the war, Israel destroyed over 400 enemy aircraft to achieve total air superiority. Israeli troops quickly conquered the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza. Jordanianartillery began firing at Jerusalem on the first day of the war, despite a warning by IsraeliPM Levi Eshkol to stay out of the war, and then the Jordan Legion advanced and tookover the headquarters of the UN (Governor's house - Armon Hanatziv ) in Jerusalem.After warning King Hussein repeatedly to cease fire and withdraw, Israel conquered theWest Bank and Jerusalem. During the first days of the war, Syrian artillery based in theGolan Heights pounded civilian targets in northern Israel. After dealing with Egypt, Israeldecided to conquer the Golan heights, despite opposition and doubts of some in thegovernment, including Moshe Dayan, who had been appointed defense minister. (seemap of territories occupied in 1967) and despite the fact that the UN had already calledfor a cease fire. Israel agreed to a cease fire on June 10, 1967 after conquering theGolan Heights. UN Resolution 242 called for negotiations of a permanent peace betweenthe parties, and for Israeli withdrawal from lands occupied in 1967. More details here: Sixday war  1967 Six Day War Timeline (chronology)

The aftermath of the war - The 1967 6-Day war changedthe perceived balance of power in the Middle East andcreated a new reality. Israel had acquired extensiveterritories - the Sinai desert, the Golan heights and theWest Bank, that were several times larger than the 1948borders. ( Click here to view a map of Israeli borders after the 6 day war ). Nasser had been able to attribute theEgyptian defeat in 1956 to British and French support of the Israelis. Though he tried to blame the 1967 defeat onsupport supposedly given by the US Sixth fleet, this wasclearly untrue.

According to analysts such as Fouad Ajami, the disastrousdefeat of the Arabs spelled the end of the Pan-Arabapproach advocated by Gamal Abdul Nasser andcontributed to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. It shouldbe remembered however, that Nasser and the pan-Arabists always viewed themselves as heads of theIslamic world as well as the Arab world.

While Israel had acquired territories and a military victory,it also marked a new day for Palestinian aspirations. Thedefeat brought about a million Palestinian Arabs under Israeli rule. After the war, the fate of the Palestinians came

to play a large role in the Arab-Israeli struggle. The Fatahorganization (The Movement for Liberation of Palestine)

Map of Israel-Arab Cease FireLines 1967

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increasing number of settlements were established as it became evident that Arab stateswould not negotiate with Israel. A decisive turning point was the Khartoum Arab summit,in August and September of 1967, which seemed to shut the door on the possibility of negotiations with Israel or recognition of Israel in any form. The Khartoum resolutionsmay not have been an insurmountable barrier to peace. In 1970, King Hussein of Jordansupposedly offered to make peace in return for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank

and return of the holy places, but the offer was politely turned down.

A second landmark was the "Zionism is Racism" resolution passed by the United Nationsin 1975, which gave credibility in Israel to claims of Israeli extremists that opposition tosettlements was opposition to Israel, and that Israel was essentially alone in a hostileworld and could expect no justice. The resolution was repealed in 1991, but similar sentiments surfaced at a UN conference in Durban in 2001. Likewise in November 1975,US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Harold H Saunders, told a US House Committee that the US now recognized the importance of the Palestinian national issue in theconflict, and hinted broadly that the US would be willing to facilitate a solution that tookaccount of Palestinian rights, if the PLO would recognize the relevant UN resolutions,including Israel's right to exist, and would be amenable to a reasonable compromise.This policy was to bear fruit eventually in the Oslo Peace Process, after PLO Chairman

Arafat announced PLO acceptance of UN Resolution 242 in 1988.

Meanwhile however, settlement expansion became official Israeli policy after theopposition revisionist Likud party came to power in 1977, and continued during the Osloaccords. As of 2003, about 220,000 Israelis had settled in areas of the West Bank andGaza, and an additional 200,000 were settled in areas of Jerusalem and environsconquered in 1967. About 15,000 Jews were settled in the Golan heights taken fromSyria. (Click for Map of Israeli West Bank Settlements-2002)

The War of Attrition - After the 6-Day war, Egyptian president Nasser launched the war of attrition on the Suez canal, breaking the cease fire. In Israel, Prime Minister LeviEshkol had died and was replaced by the hawkish Golda Meir. The sides fought to a

standstill in increasingly bloody exchanges that included participation by Soviet pilots onthe Egyptian side. Under US pressure, a second cease fire was signed in August 1970,with both sides declaring officially their acceptance of UN Resolution 242. Nasser diedshortly thereafter, and was replaced by Anwar Sadat. Sadat tried repeatedly to interestIsrael in partial peace deals in return for partial Israeli withdrawal, and the US and UNtried to mediate peace through the offices of Gunnar Jarring. Nothing came of thesepeace efforts, partly owing to the stubborn attitude of Israeli PM Golda Meir, who insistedthat Israeli troops would not budge until there was a peace agreement in place. Sadatcontinued to alternate peace plans with threats of war, but he was not taken seriously inIsrael. Israeli army intelligence as well as the government were convinced that Israel hadabsolute military superiority and that Egypt would not dare to attack until it had rebuilt itsarmy. Therefore, the best course seemed to be to wait until the Arab countries metIsrael's terms.

The October War (Yom Kippur War) - In October 1973, Egypt and Syria launchedanother war against Israel, after the Israeli government headed by Golda Meir rebuffedEgyptian President Anwar Sadat's offers to negotiate a settlement. The Egyptianscrossed the Suez Canal on the afternoon of October 6, Yom Kippur, the holiest day in theJewish religious calendar. The Israeli government had ignored repeated intelligencewarnings. They were convinced that Israeli arms were a sufficient deterrent to anyaggressor. Sadat had twice announced his intention to go to war, but nothing hadhappened. When the intelligence reports were finally believed, on the morning of theattack, PM Meir and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan decided not to mobilize reserves.

The Israelis were caught by surprise in more ways than one. Egyptians poured hugenumbers of troops across the canal unopposed and began setting up a beachhead. The

Israel Army had neglected basic maintenance tasks and drill. As troops mustered, itbecame apparent that equipment was missing and tanks were out of commission. The

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line of outposts built as watch posts along the Suez canal - the Bar Lev line, was usedinstead as a line of fortifications intended to hold off the Egyptians as long as possible. Atiny number of soldiers faced the Egyptian onslaught and were wiped out after stubbornresistance. The Soviets had sold the Egyptians new technology - better surface to air missiles (SAM) and hand held Sager anti-tank weapons. Israel had counted on air power to tip the balance on the battlefield, and had neglected artillery. But the air-force was

initially neutralized because of the effectiveness of SAM missiles, until Israel coulddestroy the radar stations controlling them. Futile counterattacks continued in Sinai for several days as Israeli divisions coped with traffic jams that prevented concentration of forces, and with effective Egyptian resistance.

Meanwhile, less than 200 Israeli tanks were left guarding the Golan heights against far superior numbers. Syrians made serious and at first unopposed inroads in the Golan asEgyptians crossed the Suez canal and retook a strip of the Sinai peninsula. After suffering heavily losses, Israel reconquered the Golan. Click for map of Syrian Front 

In Sinai, Israel troops crossed the canal. General Ariel Sharon, disobeying the orders of cautious superiors, tried to run ahead of logistics and support to develop the bridgeheadon the Egyptian side of the Suez canal. This small force was reinforced after bridgeswere put across the canal, and the Israelis cut off the entire Egyptian third army. (Clickfor map of Egyptian front ) Cease-fires ended most of the fighting within a month.About 2,700 Israeli soldiers and 8,500 Arab soldiers died in the war As a result of thewar, the Golda Meir was forced to resign as Prime Minister of Israel, making way for Yitzhak Rabin, who had been Israeli ambassador to the US and previously Chief of staff of the IDF. Click for details of the Yom Kippur War 

Oil Embargo - In the aftermath of the Yom Kippur war, Arab states led by Saudi Arabiadeclared an oil embargo, targeting the United States and the Netherlands in particular for their support for Israel. Oil production was reduced by 340 million barrels from October toDecember of 1973. Prices soared from $3 to over $11 a barrel, due to panic stockpilingas well as actual shortages. Oil sold to European countries eventually made its way to

the United States and the Netherlands in any case, but there were nonetheless long linesfor gasoline and overnight price increases. The embargo continued until March of 1974.The embargo heightened the perception that Arab countries could exercise politicalleverage by controlling the oil supply. It probably helped motivate European diplomaticmoves that were conciliatory to the Arabs, and played a part in the invitation of Yasser Arafat to address the UN General Assembly, granting of a permanent observer status atthe UN to the PLO and passage of the Zionism is Racism resolution in 1975.

Peace With Egypt - Subsequent shuttle diplomacy by US Secretary of State HenryKissinger resulted in partial Israeli withdrawals from the Sinai peninsula, under much lessfavorable terms than could have been obtained before the war. Right-wing oppositionleader Menahem Begin was adamant in his opposition to any withdrawals. However, in1978, Egypt led by Anwar Sadat, and Israel, now led by Menahem Begin, signed the

Camp David framework agreements, leading to a Peace treaty in 1979. Israel withdrewfrom the Sinai Peninsula in 1982.

The PLO in Lebanon and the Lebanese Civil War - Lebanon became increasinglyunstable as Maronite Christians found their once--dominant position threatened bydemographic changes which gave Muslims an increasingly large majority. Tensionsbetween different religious groups were exacerbated by clan rivalry. Lebanon also has arelatively large population of Palestinian refugees, who incurred the animosity of nativeLebanese, especially the Christians. A revolt by the PLO against the Jordaniangovernment led to the expulsion of the PLO from Jordan in 1970. PLO fighters streamedinto Lebanon, incited tension between Muslims and Christians and turned Lebanon into abase for attacks on Israel. In 1975, an attack by Christian Phalangist militias on a buscarrying Palestinians ignited the civil war. the Christian Phalangists and Muslim militias

massacred at least 600 Muslims and Christians at checkpoints, beginning the 1975-1976civil war. Full-scale civil war broke out, with the Palestinians joining the Muslim forces,

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controlling an increasingly lawless West Beirut. Lebanese political and social lifedescended into chaos, characterized by a grim routine of car bombs, assassinations andharassment and killing of civilians at roadblocks set up by warring militias.

On January 20, 1976, PLO fighters, possibly reinforced by a Syrian PLO contingent thathad entered Lebanon in 1975, destroyed the Christian towns of Jiyeh and Damour,

massacring about 500 people. In March, Major Saad Haddad formed the SouthernLebanese Army (SLA), a militia intended to protect Christian residents of southernLebanon, which was allied with Israel In June, 1976, with the Maronites on the verge of defeat, President Elias Sarkis called for Syrian intervention. With the agreement of theAmericans and the Israelis, the Syrians entered Lebanon ostensibly to protect theChristians and the fragile Lebanese multi-ethnic multi-religious constitution, but also tofurther long-standing Baathist ambitions to make Lebanon as part of Greater Syria. OnAugust 13, 1976, under the protection and with the probable active participation of theSyrian army, the Christian Phalangist militia attacked the Tel al-Za'atar refugee camp andkilled as many as 3,000 civilians.

After an attack on a bus on the Haifa-Tel-Aviv road, in which about thirty people werekilled, Israel invaded Lebanon in March 1978. It occupied most of the area south of theLitani River in Operation Litani. In response, UN Security Council resolution 425 calledfor the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces and the creation of an UN Interim Force inLebanon (UNIFIL), charged with maintaining peace.

Israeli forces turned over positions inside Lebanon along the border to the SLA. The SLAand Israel set up a 12-mile wide security zone to protect Israeli territory from attacksacross the border, and to protect local residents from the PLO, which had beenoccupying their villages and using them as bases for shelling Israel. This southern areabecame an "open border" area separated by the "good fence," allowing Lebaneseresidents to find work in Israel. Attacks and counter attacks along the northern border of Israel continued. In July of 1981 a cease-fire between Israel and the PLO was brokeredby the US. It was generally honored by both sides. Nonetheless, the PLO continued to

gather strength and dig in in southern Lebanon.

The 1982 War in Lebanon (Peace for the Galilee) - On June 3 1982, terrorists of theAbu Nidal faction, not controlled by the PLO, shot Israeli Ambassador Shlomo Argov inthe head in London. In response, Israel invaded Lebanon in force. Most analysts believethat the shooting of Argov served only as an excuse for an operation planned by defenseMinister Ariel Sharon with the tacit approval of the US administration. The Iranian Islamistregime sent its Pasdaran revolutionary guards, who had previously organized thetakeover of the US embassy in Teheran, into Lebanon, and began organizing aresistance movement, The Hizb Allah (party of Allah) or Hizbolla.

The Israel invasion resulted in expulsion of the PLO from Lebanon to Tunis in August.The war aroused furor in Israel as the army exceeded the official war aims. On

September 14, 1982, the Lebanese President-elect, Bashir Gemayel, an Israeli ally, waskilled by a large bomb that was apparently planted by Syrian intelligence. Ostensibly tomaintain order, the Israeli government decided to move into West Beirut. They allowed or sent their Lebanese Phalangist Christian allies into the Sabra and Shatilla Palestinianrefugee camps. The Phalangists committed a massacre in Sabra and Shatilla, killingabout 700 people and exciting the wrath of the international community as well as theIsraeli public. An Israeli commission of inquiry led by judge Kahan indirectly implicatedIsraeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon and several others in the massacres, noting thatthey could have foreseen the possibility of the violence and acted to prevent it. TheKahan report resulted in the resignation of Sharon as defense minister. Israelsubsequently extricated itself slowly from Lebanon. As Israel withdrew, Lebanon becameincreasingly lawless. Beirut life came to be characterized by gunfire, kidnappings andbombings. Attempts by the US to restore order failed owing to large scale suicide

bombings of a marine barracks and the US embassy. The US withdrew and Lebanon,especially Beirut, deteriorated into chaos. Order was restored only after Lebanon became

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essentially a satellite of Syria. Israel continued to maintain a presence in south Lebanonuntil 2000, when the last Israeli troops were withdrawn by PM Ehud Barak.

The Pollard Affair - In November 1985, Jonathan Pollard, a Jewish-American employeeof the US Naval Anti-Terrorist Alert Center was arrested for spying for Israel. He pleadedguilty in a plea bargain deal, but the US government apparently reneged on the deal and

Pollard was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987, an exceptional sentence relative tosimilar cases. The affair was a severe embarrassment to US-Israeli relations and raisedthe specter of "double loyalty" accusations for American Jews. At the same time, Pollardbecame a cause celebre of the Zionist right, who pointed out that he had been used andabandoned by the Israeli government, which did little to secure his freedom.

The First Intifada  - While the fortunes of the PLO waned, Palestinians in the occupiedterritories took their fate into their own hands. Beginning in 1987, a revolt called theIntifadeh began in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The revolt was initiated by localresidents and involved mostly low-level violence such as rock throwing, winningsympathy for the struggle of the Palestinians against the Israeli occupiers. By 1991 theIntifadeh had all but ended, but massive Israeli repression in this period laid the seeds for future violence (see First Intifada).

This is the second page of the MidEastWeb History of the Israeli Palestinian conflict,covering the detailed history since the Oslo Accords. The early history of Palestine andIsrael, from ancient times until the the Oslo accord is given here: History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Part I. It is important to read the first part to understand how theconflict evolved and what claims each side has on the land. The Israeli-Arab or Israeli-Palestinian conflict did not begin after the Oslo accords or in 1967 or 1948. The Arabpopulation did not all arrive in Palestine after Zionist settlement, as some right-wing

Zionists imagine. The Muslim and Arab habitation of the land goes back over a thousandyears and has a long and varied history. The claim of the Jews, on the other hand, is not just based on ancient rights, but on continuous settlement in the land since ancient timesas well as on the immense effort and investment of the Zionist movement in developingthe land since the late nineteenth century. The problems posed by the Palestinianrefugees, the real threat of terror and conflicting and well grounded claims to Jerusalem,and the rights of each side cannot be dismissed as partisans of each side try to do.Demonization of one side or the other will not help you understand the conflict nor will itlead to a solution. Nor can all the claims be ignored. In retrospect, the Oslo agreements(Oslo Declaration of Principles and The Oslo Interim Agreement) were attempts to do just that: to postpone the difficult issues for some later time. We are now living in thatlater time and paying the price of that postponement..

History, and different perceptions of history, are perhaps the most important factors in theArab-Israeli conflict. Accounts of history, interpreting history in different ways, are used to justify claims and to negate claims, to vilify the enemy and to glorify "our own" side.Dozens of accounts have been written. Most of the accounts on the Web are intended toconvince rather than to inform.

This very brief account is intended as a balanced overview and introduction toPalestinian and Israeli history, and the history of the conflict. It is unlikely that anyone haswritten or will write an "objective" and definitive summary that would be accepted byeveryone, but it is hoped that this document will provide a fair introduction.

It would be wrong to try to use this history to determine "who is right," though many

"histories" have certainly been written by partisans of either side, with precisely thatpurpose in mind. Those who are interested in advocacy, in collecting "points" for their 

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side, cannot find the truth except by accident. If they find it, and it is inconvenient, theywill bury it again. This account intends to inform, and nothing more. Two separatedocuments explain how I think we should gather facts and learn about the conflict, andthe importance of words in making Middle East history, as well as in understanding it. Atimeline provides details of many events not discussed in this history, and sourcedocuments provide additional background. Serious students will also refer to the

bibliography for more information and different viewpoints, and will always seek outprimary source documents to verify whatever claims are made about those documents or about quotes from those documents.

Click here for a brief overview of issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Click here for a perspective on the changing nature of the Israeli - Palestinian/Zionist -Arab/ Jewish-Muslim conflict.

Part 2

Earlier History: History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Part I

The Oslo Peace Process

Following the Gulf war, US pressure, the ongoing break up of the USSR and favorableinternational opinion made it possible to convene negotiations toward settlement of thePalestinian problem. In 1993 and 1995, Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo Declarationof Principles and The Oslo Interim Agreement. which created the Palestinian NationalAuthority (PNA), a supposedly temporary entity that would have the power to negotiatewith Israel and to govern areas of the West Bank and Gaza evacuated by Israel. Israeland Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994.

The peace process with the Palestinians led to the withdrawal of Israeli troops from theGaza Strip and most cities and towns of the West Bank by early 1996. In January 1996,Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian-controlled parts of the West Bankelected a legislature controlled by the Fatah faction, with Yasser Arafat as Chairman(titled "Rais" - "President" by the Palestinians) to administer these areas. As the Israeliswithdrew, Palestinians took control of these areas. About 97% of the Palestinians inthese areas were nominally under Palestinian rule, but the area controlled by thePalestine National Authority amounted to about 8% of the land. Israel embarked on anaccelerated settlement program, building thousands of housing units in the West Bank,and doubling the number of settlers there by 2004.

Though the PLO had agreed to forego violence in the Oslo declaration of principles,

attacks on settlers continued. Ominously, even before the Oslo declaration of Principles,on April 16, 1993, a Hamas suicide bomber exploded a car bomb at Mehola in the WestBank, killing himself and one Israeli. On February 25, 1994, a disgruntled right-wingsettler, Baruch Goldstein, opened fire on worshippers in the Cave of the Patriarchs(Mosque of Abraham) in Hebron, killing 30 people before being killed himself. Inretaliation, the Hamas carried out several suicide attacks in Israel beginning in April of 1994. The peace process became increasingly unpopular in Israel. On November 5,1995, Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a young right-wing fanatic, YigalAmir, at a peace rally. He was replaced by Shimon Peres, who oversaw the signing of the Oslo Interim agreement. A rash of Hamas suicide bombings in the spring of 1996 andinept campaign strategy caused Peres to lose the election held in May of 1996 to Likudparty head Benjamin Netanyahu, who was an opponent of the Oslo process. Netanyahudecided to complete a controversial underground tourist attraction in Jerusalem by

opening a gate between two tunnels. Arab sources spread the false rumor that the gateendangered the foundations of the Al-Aqsa mosque. This caused several days of riotingand numerous casualties.

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Despite Netanyahu's opposition to the Oslo process, in January of 1997 Israel and thePNA signed an interim agreement on Hebron. The IDF withdrew from most of Hebron,leaving an enclave of about 500 settlers living in the middle of an Arab city, protected bythe IDF. Negotiations at the Wye River Plantation in October of 1998 producedagreements on further withdrawal of Israeli troops and renewed Palestinian commitmentsto prevent terror and incitement. However, most of the provisions of the agreement were

not carried out by the Palestinians, and the Israelis did not withdraw as stipulated in theWye agreements while Netanyahu was in office. In May of 1999 Benjamin Netanyahuwas voted out of office, and Labor party head Ehud Barak became Prime Minister. Barakcontinued settlement expansion programs, but he vowed to pursue peace negotiationsactively. Barak first tried to renew negotiations with Syria, but Syrian President HafezAssad rejected an offer related through US President Clinton, which would have givenSyria most of the Golan heights except for access to the sea of Galilee.

Barak turned his attention to the Palestinians. Israel made the troop withdrawalsmandated by the Wye agreements, and negotiators began working toward a finalsettlement. Barak offered to turn over Abu Dis, a suburb of Jerusalem, to be used as thePalestinian capital. However, this offer was withdrawn in the wake of violence that brokeout in mid-May of 2000.

Recent Events

The Second Intifada (Al-Aqsa Intifada)

See also: Second Intifada Timeline Second Intifada Timeline: Second Intifada 2005 toPresentNegotiations for a final settlement at Camp David in theUSA, in July, 2000 ended in deadlock. Palestiniansinsisted that refugees should have the right to return toIsrael, which would produce an Arab majority in Israel.Israel insisted on annexing key portions of the Palestinianareas and on leaving most settlements intact, and offered

only a limited form of Palestinian statehood. Palestiniansclaim that the only offers made at Camp David includedcantons or "Bantustans" that would make up thePalestinian State. This apparently characterizes initialIsraeli proposals. However, in his book, The MissingPeace, 2004, Dennis Ross presents a map, shown atright, that supposedly reflects the US compromiseproposal at Camp David, to include about 91% of theterritory of the West Bank. Both sides agreed on Israeliwithdrawal from Gaza.

Palestinian violence erupted on September 28, 2000,triggered by a visit of Ariel Sharon to the Temple mount in

Jerusalem. This location, called the Haram as Sharif inArabic, is also the site of the Al-Aqsa mosque, holy toMuslims. False rumors spread that Sharon had enteredthe mosque, helping to fan the unrest. The US called asummit conference in Sharm-El Sheikh in October, inorder to bring about an end to the violence. Both sidesvowed to put an end to the bloodshed and return tonegotiations. At the conference, it was also agreed to setup a US led investigative committee that would report onthe causes of the violence and make recommendations tothe UN. This eventually resulted in the Mitchell Report.Shortly thereafter, however, Arab leaders and Yasser Arafat met in an extraordinary Arab League Summit in

Cairo, and issued a belligerent communique praising theIntifada and calling for an international investigative

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commission rather than the one agreed upon in Sharm ElSheikh. About two weeks later a suicide bombing inJerusalem put an end to the truce.

Time was running out for negotiations, as Israeli PM

Ehud Barak faced elections and US President Clinton hadcompleted his term of office. Negotiations in Washingtonin December of 2000 failed to produce an agreement.President Clinton provided Bridging proposals andrequested that the sides agree to the them by December 27. The outcome has been deliberately obscured bymany, but Dennis Ross, chief US negotiator, wasunequivocal in his memoir (Dennis Ross, The Missing Peace, 2004, pp 753-755).According to Ross's summary, (and as published in theBridging proposals) Clinton's proposal gave the Palestiniansabout 97% of the territory of the West Bank and sovereigntyover their airspace. Refugees could not return to Israelwithout Israeli consent. An international force would remain inthe Jordan valley for six years, replacing the IDF. Arabneighborhoods of Jerusalem and the Haram as Sharif (temple mount) would be incorporated into Palestine. SaudiArabian ambassador Prince Bandar Ibn Sultan said, "If Arafatdoes not accept what is available now, it won't be a tragedy,it will be a crime." (Ross, The Missing Peace, 2004, p.748).

The Israeli government met on December 27 and acceptedthe proposals with reservations, which according to Ross,were "within the parameters." The Palestinians equivocated.The deadline passed, and no definitive Palestinian reply was

forthcoming. According to Ross, on December 29, he toldAbu Ala (Ahmed Qurei):

Mark my words, they [the US] will disengage from the issueand they will do so at a time when you won't have Barak, or Amnon or Shlomo, but at time when you will have Sharonas Prime Minister. He will be elected for sure if there is nodeal, and you 97% will become 40-45 percent; your capitalin East Jerusalem will be gone; the IDF out of the JordanValley will be gone; unlimited right of return for refugees toyour own state will be gone.

Abu Ala replied:

"I am afraid it may take another fifty years to settle thisissue."

(Dennis Ross, The Missing Peace, 2004, p. 755)

The map at right was presented by Ross in The Missing Peace. It illustrates the approximate boundaries of thePalestine state under the Clinton bridging proposals, omittingland to be ceded by Israel to Palestine.

Click for larger map 

At a memorial dinner held in November 2005 in memory of Yitzhak Rabin, President

Clinton said that Chairman Yasser Arafat had made a "colossal historical blunder" in

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refusing the terms, causing the breakdown of the peace process. (Haaretz, Nov. 14,2005).

Palestinian negotiators present a different version. On November 13, 2005, thePalestinian Authority International Press Center related these remarks of PalestinianMinister of Information, Nabil Sha'at, on the anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat:

He also set out that Israel has never endeavored to reach a final solution during thesecond Camp David negotiations, putting to rest the rumor which tells that Israelproposed for the Palestinians a state with 97% of the West Bank and 10% of theJordan Valley.

He went ahead as saying, "all what was circulated that Israel proffered to thePalestinian side great concessions is incorrect," asserting that Israel rejected to giveback Jerusalem to the Palestinian, and above all it kept adamant to annex thesettlements blocs to the city of Jerusalem.

Minister Sha'at made clear that this point led the negotiations of Camp David II to a

gridlock.

What was suggested by Ehud Barak, the former Israeli prime minister, was only to giveArafat a presidential headquarters in the Old City of Jerusalem, but the late presidentrebuffed this suggestion roundly, he added.

However, Palestinians have never disputed the published version of President Clinton'sbridging proposals in which it is quite clear that the Palestinians would have sovereigntyover Arab East Jerusalem, including the Haram as Sharif (temple mount).

In last minute negotiations at Taba on January 21-27 2001, under European andEgyptian patronage, the sides failed to reach a settlement despite further Israeliconcessions. Though both sides agreed to a joint communiqué saying they had never been so close to agreement, substantive disagreements remained about the refugeeissues and final settlement maps. Israeli PM Barak broke off negotiations on January 28,2001, suspending them until after the elections. Barak had hoped to reach a deal hecould present to the Israeli public, and was angry and disappointed. Negotiations wereterminated because Barak, who had furthered the peace process, was voted out of officeat the beginning of February and replaced by a right wing government headed by ArielSharon.

No official maps were actually presented by or to the sides during the negotiations.Following the failure of the negotiations, the Palestinians continued to claim that Israelhad offered only "Bantustans" in the West Bank. The Israeli government did not publishany maps. Dennis Ross, who headed the US negotiating team, summarized the

proposals presented by the USA in the maps presented above. The Gush Shalom groupand the Foundation for Middle East Peace also published a map of an offer made by theBarak government at Taba (Click here for details of the different maps). One of the major outstanding questions was the refugee problem. U.S. President Clinton had believedthere were only differences of wording between the Israeli and Palestinian approaches.Clinton's Bridging proposals called for allowing refugees to return from abroad to thePalestinian state. They could return to Israel only with the agreement of Israel. However,at Taba, the Palestinian proposal called for eventual return of all the refugees to Israel.This proposal was unacceptable to Israel as it would create an Arab majority in Israel andput an end to Jewish exercise of the right to self-determination.

Violence continued into 2001 and 2002, despite attempts by the Mitchell commission andothers to restore calm. The terror attack on the World Trade Center in the US on

September 11, 2001, had direct repercussions for the Israel-Palestine conflict. On theone hand, Arab and Islamic countries tried to leverage on the need for their cooperation

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in the war against terror to win concessions for the Palestinians. On the other, manyAmericans began to view terrorist actions in a new light, as organizations such as Hamasand Hizbulla came to be linked with the Al-Qaeda group of Osama Bin-Laden. Particularly damaging for the Palestinians were the demonstrations held in favor of BinLaden, and evidence linking a boatload of illegal arms intercepted by Israel, the Karine A,with Iranian support for the PNA. The boat was intercepted on January 3, 2002, on the

day that US envoy Anthony Zinni arrived to attempt to arrive at a settlement. Against thisbackground, the US and EU seemed to give Israel wider latitude for action against thePalestinians. Israel made increasing incursions into Palestinian areas, and confined PNAChairman Arafat to his compound in Ramalah. but the Palestinians stepped up attackson soldiers as well as suicide bombings.

The Saudi Peace Proposal and the Palestinian State Resolution - Saudi CrownPrince Abdullah made a dramatic proposal to end the long Arab war against Israel inreturn for Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territories, withdrawal in the Golan andappropriate arrangements regarding Jerusalem and the refugees. This proposal,modified to be more specific about refugee issues, was adopted by a meeting of the ArabLeague, and eventually became incorporated in the quartet roadmap plan. On March, 12,2002 the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1397, calling on the sides to stop the

violence once again, mentioning the peace plan of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, and for the first time since 1947 calling for creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Operation Defensive Shield

Meanwhile however, terror and suicide attacks and Israeli reprisals continued. Yasser Arafat declared a cessation of violence several times, but this did not seem to affect thefrequency or severity of suicide bombings and ambushes. The Israelis, for their part,continued with their policy of assassinating wanted men in the Palestinian areas. Duringthe last week in March, as General Zinni was again coming to the Middle East, thePalestinians launched a successful suicide attack almost every day, in addition to manyunsuccessful ones. A blast at the Park Hotel in Nethanya killed 27 people as they were

celebrating Passover. Israel launched a massive raid, operation Defensive Shield,intended to root out terror infrastructure, including reoccupation of Ramallah, Nablus,Jenin, Tulkarm and other towns. Israel claimed that only about 50 were killed in the Jeninrefugee camp, mostly members of the Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs suicide brigades.Palestinians charged that the Israelis had committed a massacre in the Jenin refugeecamp, killing over 500 people. These charges were repeated by most news sources inEurope, though they were later retracted. Human rights groups who entered the Jeninrefugee camp after the Israeli invasion reported that there was a great deal of damageand that the IDF had probably committed war crimes by preventing medical aid, but thatonly about 56 people had been killed, more than half of whom were terrorists, confirmingthe Israeli version of events.

Suicide attacks abated, but did not stop. During the course of the fighting, Israel captured

numerous documents providing evidence that Yasser Arafat had personally approved theorganization of terror cells, and that the PNA treasury had approved payments for suicide-bomber explosive belts. The Israelis captured or killed numerous personssuspected of involvement in terrorist activities. The IDF also destroyed records, building,roads and other innocent civilian infrastructure of banks, NGOs and other organizationsclearly not involved in terror. Later in the fighting, the IDF managed to locate MarwanBarghouti, head of the Fatah Tanzeem, and to capture him. Israel claimed it hasevidence of complicity by Barghouti in numerous terrorist acts, and it eventually put himon trial, condemning him to five life sentences for complicity in murder. Critics argued thatit would be impossible to put an end to terror by military activity in the absence of progress toward a peaceful solution. However, following Defensive Wall, the number andfrequency of successful terror attacks began to decline, as the Israeli security forcesmade better and better use of intelligence gathered during the operation to detect and

stop attacks. The number of attempted attacks did not decrease noticeably however.

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Toward the end of Defensive Shield, US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who neededquiet in Israel and Palestine to leave the US a free hand to organize an alliance againstIraq, arrived to try to end the violence. Powell's mission did not accomplish anything. Hewas unable to get the Israelis to withdraw completely from the areas they hadreoccupied, nor could he get the Palestinians to agree to a cease fire. Demonstrationsand public outrage in Arab countries, fueled by charges of a massacre, prompted UN

action. UN resolution 1402 directed that Israel withdraw from the territories immediately.By the time Powell had left, Israel had withdrawn from some towns, but Yasser Arafatwas still imprisoned in Ramallah, and the Israelis were besieging the Church of theNativity in Bethlehem, where armed Palestinians had sought refuge from the IDF. TheUN Security Council adopted Resolution 1403, expressing dismay that resolution 1402had not been implemented. On April 19, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1405, calling for an an impartial investigative team to be send to determine the truth of Palestinian allegations. Israel objected to the composition of the team. Israel at firstagreed to the investigation, but later backtracked and blocked it, claiming that thecomposition and procedures of the investigation would be unfair to Israel, and that theUN had reneged on initial agreements about the investigation. Opposition to theinvestigation was fueled by Israeli memories of the recent Durban conference as well asby the infamous Zionism is Racism resolution of the UN, which was recalled repeatedly in

public debate.

Israeli PM Ariel Sharon visited the US in May of 2002, under pressure from the USadministration to advance a peace program that could be acceptable to Palestinians andthe Arab states. The two discussed plans for a regional summit to be held later in 2002,and the Israelis presented documents that they claim prove the involvement of Yasser Arafat and the PNA in terrorist activities. News of a suicide bombing committed by theHamas came while Bush and Sharon were meeting, causing the Israeli PM to cut the visitshort and return to Israel.

The sieges of Muqata and Church of Nativity were also resolved in May 2002. Militantsin the Church of Nativity were exiled to Cyprus and Europe. Some of the wanted men inthe Muqata compound in Ramallah were jailed in Jericho, but others apparently remainedin the Muqata. The head of the PFLP allegedly coordinated a suicide attack from his cellin Jericho. At the end of May, under pressure for democratic reform, Yasser Arafatsigned into law the Basic Law or constitution of the Palestinian transitional state. The lawstates that Palestinian law will be based on the principles of Islamic law (Sha'ariyeh).

In June, following another wave of Palestinian suicide attacks, Israeli forces essentiallyreoccupied all of the West Bank. The Israeli government was quick to claim that the re-occupation would not continue indefinitely, but later indicated otherwise. President Bushmade a long awaited speech on Middle East policy calling for a Palestinian state, butinsisting on democratic reform of the Palestine National Authority.

In August and September 2002, several attempts at Palestinian cease fire initiatives were

foiled by refusal of extremist groups to participate and by Israeli acts such as the killing of Salah Shehadeh, head of the military wing of the Hamas in a missile attack on Gaza thatcost the lives of 13 civilians. Shehadeh was replaced by Mohamed Deif. August andSeptember witnessed a six week respite from major suicide and terror attacks, facilitatingan Israeli-Palestinian plan to return full Palestinian authority in Gaza and Bethlehem first.However, this fizzled after several violent attacks in Gaza. At the beginning of September, Israeli security forces foiled several suicide attack attempts and detected atruck laden with 1300 pounds of explosives and gas tanks, that was to be used byPalestinians in a suicide attack.

The PLC convened in September to approve the new cabinet chosen in line with reformefforts. PLC cabinet members refused to ratify the cabinet until Yasser Arafat would allowa Prime Minister to share power. Instead, Arafat agreed to elections in January, 2003,

despite Israeli occupation. Arafat's popularity was at a nadir. The elections never tookplace.

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The period of relative calm came to an end with suicide bombings in Umm El Fahm andin a Tel-Aviv bus. The Israeli government proceeded with an attack on Gaza includingentry into Gaza city and besieged Yasser Arafat and an estimated 200 others in theMuqata compound in Ramala. Israel demanded that Palestinians give up wanted personswho had taken refuge in the Muqata including Palestinian preventive security bossTawfiq Tirawi. Arafat remained defiant. Israel destroyed all buildings in the compound

except the main one, promising not to harm Arafat. After a rumor was spread that Israelwas about to blow up the Muqata, widespread demonstrations took place in the WestBank and Gaza, resulting in four deaths. The USA exerted pressure on Israel to stopdestroying buildings in the Muqata and to withdraw. Despite a UN resolution, Israelcontinued the siege. Arafat's popularity with Palestinians soared. Eventually, the siegewas lifted, but Arafat remained confined to Ramalla and isolated. A second siege wasreinstituted in the fall. (Click here for commentary on the Muqata Siege)

In April of 2002, the US government initiated a series of consultations with a group of diplomats that became known as the "Quartet." The quartet evolved a roadmap for asettlement, including Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories and establishment of aPalestinian state.

In October of 2002, the Labor party withdrew from the Israel unity government. PM ArielSharon initiated immediate elections, to be held January 28. Ariel Sharon's Likud Partywon a sweeping mandate to continue hard line policies against the Palestinians. TheIsrael Labor party refused to form a unity government. Israel continued to occupy most of the West Bank.

During this period, the US continued to mass forces for an invasion of Iraq, and the USand quartet partners continued to advance the quartet road map for middle east peace.The quartet partners and especially the US pressured the Palestinians to commit to athoroughgoing reform of their government that would eliminate corruption and support for terror. It was proposed that Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen) would assume the post of Prime Minister , overshadowing and displacing the still-popular Yasser Arafat.

The Iraq War, the Roadmap and Palestinian Reform

On March 20, 2003, US, British and Australian forces invaded Iraq. The Palestinians hadsupported Saddam Hussein and his regime had provided payments for families of suicidebombers, as well as sheltering Palestinian militants. US forces entered Baghdad on April9, and President Bush declared the war over on May 1. The war produced an upheaval inthe Middle East and especially affected the Palestinians. Arabs were astounded by theswiftness of Iraq's collapse. Arab governments including the Palestinians hurried to makeconciliatory gestures and talk of democracy, at the same time criticizing the USoccupation of Iraq, which generated a great deal of resentment. Mahmud Abbas waselected Palestinian PM on April 29, however the violence did not abate. Israelis madebloody raids in Gaza and elsewhere on the day of his election. A few hours later, Fateh

and Hamas perpetrated a suicide attack at a Tel Aviv night club, and the next day Israelbegan extensive raids in the territories. In violation of the roadmap, Yasser Arafat puthimself in charge of organizing a new unified security force. As it had promised thePalestinians, the US released an updated road map on April 30 immediately after theelection of Abu Mazen. (Click here for commentary on the roadmap). 

At a festive summit held on June 4 in Aqaba, Israeli PM Sharon and Palestinian PMMahmoud Abbas (Abu-Mazen) pledged to fulfill the conditions of the road map and shookhands in the presence of US President George Bush. Abu Mazen called for an end toviolence. Click here for more commentary on the roadmap.

Islamist extremist Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders vowed to continue violence. Soon

after the summit, four Israeli soldiers in Gaza were killed in a joint operation that includednot only the Islamist extremists but also the Fatah movement of Abu Mazen. Israel begandismantling about ten of the 100 illegal outposts, but dismantled only uninhabited ones.

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On June 10, Israel tried to assassinate Hamas leader Ahmed Rantissi, kindling furyamong Palestinians and eliciting criticism from the US. On June 11, a Hamas suicidebombing killed 16 Israelis in a bus on the main street of Jerusalem. On August 20, asuicide bombing killed 21 people on a bus in Jerusalem. The following day, Israelassassinated Hamas leader Ismail Abu Shanab, possibly in retaliation. Israel alsoannounced that the lives of all Hamas leaders were forfeit, and made several

assassination attempts, some unsuccessful against Hamas leaders, including the agedand crippled "spiritual leader" of the Hamas. As the Hudna (truce) unraveled, there werethreats and rumors of attempts on the life of PNA PM Mahmud Abbas by Palestinianextremists. In the following days, Israel moved into the West bank for a security clean upintended to last several days. Abbas and his Gaza Security Chief Mohamed Dahlanbegan to move against Palestinian terrorists as required by the roadmap, whereuponYasser Arafat moved to replace Dahlan with Gibril Rajoub and to put security and theinterior ministry in the hands of his supporters. Abbas announced that he would not actagainst terrorists on September 4, but this did not save his political career. Abbasresigned on September 6, and Ahmed Qureia ("Abu Ala"), an Arafat supporter, wasappointed PM in his stead. Qureia vowed a tough line against Israel. On September 8,EU leaders moved to ban the political wing of the Hamas and prevent monetarycontributions to it.

On the evening of September 10, 2003, twin suicide bombings in Jerusalem and outsidethe Tzrifin Army base near Rishon Le Zion claimed a total of 15 lives. A period of quietwas broken by a suicide bombing in a Haifa restaurant on October 4, attributed to IslamicJihad. Palestinian PM designate Ahmed Qurei and the PA condemned the bombing, butrefused to commit to taking action against terror groups. In retaliation, Israel invadedGaza as well as Jenin, and on October 5 they struck at a base in Syria that Israel claimedwas training Palestinian terror groups. This was the first Israeli attack on Syrian territorysince the Yom Kippur (Ramadan) war in 1973. A long period of relative abatement inPalestinian attacks ensued, but Israel continued attacks on Palestinian targets withconsiderable loss of civilian life. Suicide attacks continued from time to time, done byeither the Hamas and Islamic Jihad Islamist factions or by the Fatah Al Aqsa brigades, afaction of Yasser Arafat's Fatah group over which the PNA has apparently lost control.

Suicide bombings were carried out December 25 2003, January 14, 2004, January 29,2004, and February 22, by the "moderate" Fatah Al Aqsa brigades as well as by theHamas and by the Popular Front for the liberation of Palestine.

Geneva Accord - Israeli opposition political leaders and Palestinian leaders announcedan agreement in principle on conditions for a final settlement. The agreement, which hascome to be known as the Geneva Accord, proposed historic concessions by both sides.Israel would give up sovereignty in Arab portions of Jerusalem, while the Palestinianswould explicitly renounce the right of Palestinian refugees to return to Israel. Though ithas no formal standing at present, the agreement has gotten widespread publicity,including support from US Secretary of State Colin Powell, and warm words from PNAChairman Yasser Arafat. The Israeli government has denounced the agreement and the

people involved in it, and tried to block advertisements for the agreement in the publicmedia. Likewise, Palestinian extremists and their allies have denounced the agreement.

The Security Barrier (also called "Security Fence" "Apartheid Wall") - A major issueof the 2003 Israel election campaign had been the erection of a security barrier (fence,wall) advocated by dovish Israel Labor party. The barrier was to be erected along theGreen line and would help to prevent suicide attacks in Israel. A similar barrier in Gazahad reduced infiltration to zero. The right, including Ariel Sharon's Likud party, opposedthe barrier, because it would create a de-facto border as they thought, dividingJerusalem, and putting most of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank outside theprotection of the security arrangements. Sharon and the Likud won the election by alandslide majority, sending the Labor party and the leftist Meretz party into total disarray.

During 2003, PM Ariel Sharon adopted and adapted the barrier concept, changing theroute to include major Israeli settlements and including a projected eastern portion that

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would envelope the Palestinians in two enclaves. As the barrier went up, it becameevident that it would trap many Palestinians who would be cut off from their fields andplaces of work, some on the Israeli side of the 1948 armistice Green Line, and some onthe Palestinian side. In populated areas where it is most visible, the barrier is in fact aforbidding cement wall, though it is a fence over most of its extent. Palestinian groupsand Israeli peace groups began an intense protest campaign. On December 8, 2003, the

UN General Assembly met in Emergency session and adopted resolution ES-10/14,which asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague for an advisory opinionon the legality of the barrier. The ICJ began its hearings on February 24. Israel boycottedthe hearings, but submitted a brief saying that the court should not rule on the matter.About 30 other countries including the United States and several EU countries, submittedbriefs saying that the court should not rule on the matter because it was a politicalquestion rather than a legal one, and likewise did not attend the hearings. Most of thesecountries also criticized the barrier as illegal or a hindrance to peace negotiations. Zionistand Israeli groups organized demonstrations at the Hague, and Palestinians organizedcounter demonstrations. The Israelis brought a bombed out bus and stressed that thewall prevents suicide attacks. The Palestinians used the hearings as a platform for de-legitimizing the occupation. ( Click here for maps and details about the securitybarrier/fence/wall)

On July 9, the International Court of Justice delivered its advisory opinion on the Israelisecurity barrier. The court ruled that the barrier violates human rights and that Israel mustdismantle it. Israel announced that it would not abide by the court decision, but it did planchanges in the route of the barrier to satisfy requirements of the Israeli High Court.

Israeli Corruption Scandal - Ever since Ariel Sharon's election in 2003, a pall of suspicion had fallen over him and other Likud party members owing to allegations of bribery and underworld influence. In January 2003, David Appel, a close associate of Israeli PM Ariel Sharon, was indicted for bribery charges. The charge sheet alleged thathe had bribed Sharon, Sharon's son and Deputy PM Ehud Ohlmert. The obviousquestion was whether or not Sharon would be indicted (see commentary for details).

Controversial Prisoner Exchange - After many months of negotiations through aGerman intermediary, Israel and the Lebanese Hizbollah movement agreed to anexchange of prisoners on very one-sided terms on January 29, 2004. Israel freed over four hundred live Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners and returned a large number of bodies in return for the bodies of three Israeli soldiers kidnapped by the Hizbullah andkilled, and one civilian, reserve army officer Elhanan Tannenbaum, a shady"businessman" who lied about the way in which he was kidnapped, and gave theHizbullah a free commercial on El-Manara Television. (see commentary for details).

Assassination of Sheikh Yassin - Israel had been targeting Hamas leader SheikhAhmed Yassin for assassination for many months. Following a suicide attack in the portof Ashdod, the IDF stepped up operations against Islamists in Gaza, and announced

again that all Hamas leaders were targets for assassination. On March 22, Israeliintelligence ascertained that Ahmed Yassin, founder and leader of the Hamas Islamistmovement, had gone to prayers without his wife and children, and the green light wasgiven to assassinate him. The assassination of the crippled old man, who wasnonetheless responsible for instigating the deaths of hundreds of people, and for sabotaging the peace process, drew protests from most of the world, and vows of revenge from Hamas. The assassination probably had little strategic value, and wascarried out to bolster the failing popularity of Israeli PM Ariel Sharon. (see commentary and sources for details).

Disengagement Plan and Letter of Assurance from George Bush

A proposal of the Israel Labor Party, led by Amram Mitzna, during the 2003 electioncampaign, was that if negotiations with the Palestinians fail, Israel should withdrawunilaterally from the Gaza strip and perhaps from parts of the West Bank, and try to live

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its life behind the security barrier. Ariel Sharon and the Likud damned this proposal asdefeatism, but toward the end of 2003, Sharon himself announced that he was drawingup a unilateral withdrawal plan, to be carried out "in 6 months" (a date later postponed).The plan for withdrawing from all of Gaza met with intense opposition from fellow Likudparty members and from settlers. Reports in late February indicated that Israel was stillconfiscating land to build security barriers for Gaza settlements, even though Sharon had

supposedly earmarked the settlements for evacuation. In April, 2004, Israeli PM ArielSharon traveled to the US and on April 14 he met with US President George Bush, to getAmerican backing and assurances for Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan. Bushprovided a letter stating  that the the US accepts the disengagement plan and that theroadmap remains the only peace plan backed by the United States. In addition, to helpSharon gain popularity for the plan in Israel, Bush stated that the US believes Palestinianrefugees should be settled in the new Palestinian state, rather than Israel, that in hisview, Israel should not have to withdraw to the borders of the 1949 armistice, and that theUS acquiesces in the Israeli security fence. Sharon reiterated Israeli commitment to theroadmap and pledged that the security barrier was a temporary expedient and not a finalborder. Bush's letter carried little weight in future negotiations, and reiterated standstaken by former President Clinton on refugees and borders. Nonetheless, it created anuproar throughout the Muslim world. The disengagement plan was defeated in a Likud

party referendum on May 2, 2004, whereupon Sharon proposed a modified version of theplan. Also in May, Israel conducted extensive military operations in Gaza in OperationRainbow, killing over 40 persons, leaving thousands homeless, and arousinginternational ire. In late October, the Israeli parliament (Knesset) passed the first readingof the disengagement law, ultimately causing the right-wing National Religious Party toleave the government, and reducing the government to a minority of 55 seats.

Assassination of Abdel Azis Rantisi - On April 17, 2004, the IAF killed newly electedHamas leader Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantissi. Dr. Mahmoud Zahar was apparently elected in hisplace, but no official announcement was made for fear of Israeli retaliation. Zahar isreportedly the last of the seven founders of the Hamas still alive. The others were allassassinated by Israel.

Government of Ahmed Qurei - On November 12, 2003, after a long period of negotiations, Palestinian PM Ahmed Qurei formed a permanent government and movesbegan to institute a cease fire and renew negotiations with the Israelis. However, verylittle came of these moves. On November 19, the UN Security Council passed resolution1515, endorsing the quartet road map for peace and calling upon the sides to fulfill their obligations to the road map plan. However, the Israeli incursions continued, and for their part, the Palestinians seemed unwilling or unable to control terrorist groups. Prospectivemeetings between Ahmed Qurei and Israeli PM Ariel Sharon were announced, rumored,vaunted and then evaporated. For a time, Qurei announced that he would not meet withSharon until Israel stopped building its security barrier (see below). However, whenSharon announced his unilateral disengagement plan and it appeared to be in earnest,Qurei became concerned that the withdrawal without any negotiations would be a victory

for the Hamas and Islamic Jihad, political rivals of the PLO who run the PNA, and whoare grooming themselves to inherit leadership of the Palestinians. Qurei then announcedthat he would be ready to meet with Sharon, and that a meeting would definitely takeplace by the end of February. However, negotiations to set the agenda of this meetingwere postponed for various reasons, including suicide bombings and Israeliassassinations.

Chaos in Gaza -Meanwhile, it became evident that Qurei was not really able to govern,despite some successes in improving financial transparency as demanded by the EU andUSA. By the beginning of 2004 there were several reports of chaos, disunity andlawlessness in the Palestinian territories. At the end of February, ex-security-chief Mohamed Dahlan indicated that the Palestinian Authority could not rein-in the dissidentFatah Al-Aqsa brigades that had been responsible for several suicide bombings.

Attempts to unify the security forces, blocked by Arafat, ended in dissension and bitter recriminations. On February 26, Chairman Arafat promised to hold long-postponed

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elections, but many Palestinians did not believe he would keep his promise. In Nablus,lawlessness reigned and the Mayor resigned.

On the weekend of July 18, 2004 violence broke out in Gaza between factions of theFatah. One group kidnapped police chief Ghazzi Jibbali and several French nationals,and later released them, on condition that Jibbali will stand trial. Yasser Arafat

reorganized security, appointing his nephew, Musa Arafat, to be in charge of Palestiniansecurity forces. Opposition forces reacted by storming Musa Arafat's headquarters.Subsequently, PM Ahmed Qurei announced his resignation, which was not accepted byArafat, but Qurei insisted he would resign anyway. Arafat announced that he iswithdrawing the appointment of Musa Arafat, but then announced that Musa will remainin charge of security in Gaza. Subsequent agitation for reform elicited more declarationsfrom Arafat, but when these were not implemented, Palestinian legislators announcedthat they would adjourn in protest.

Security situation in 2004 - During the spring and summer of 2004 there were nosuccessful major terror attacks within Israel, despite numerous attempts. Israelis andPalestinians attributed the relative quiet to the partially constructed separation barrier andbetter Israeli intelligence. Israel continued to arrest and kill Palestinians belonging toterrorist organizations, and to occupy Palestinian cities in the West Bank. On August 31,2004, Hamas perpetrated a double suicide attack in Beersheba, in revenge for thekillings of their leaders. The attackers came from the area south of Hebron in the WestBank, where no fence had been built. The attack accelerated construction of the barrier,and Israel took bloody revenge by bombing a Hamas training camp in Gaza. In October of 2004 Israel conducted operation Days of Repentance to overcome Palestinian rocketfire on Israeli towns. The operation killed many civilians and left many others homeless.

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Syrian Israeli Peace Talks

Syrian-Israeli Peace Talks - Following theMadrid peace conference, Syria and Israelinitiated peace talks, and by May of 1995 they hadsupposedly completed a fairly detailed peaceagreement that would involve Israeli withdrawalfrom the Golan Heights, which Israel hadoccupied in 1967 and later annexed. The Syriansin return would recognize Israel, allow normaltrade and allow an Israeli early warning station onSyrian territory. The Israeli promise to retreat fromthe entire Golan was given indirectly by PMYitzhak Rabin to US Secretary of State WarrenChristopher, as a "deposit" to be presented to the

Syrians if they agreed to all other Israeli terms.This deposit was also termed the "pocket," sinceallegedly, Rabin told Christopher to "keep this inyour pocket" until all other conditions are met.During the negotiations, Christopher violated theunderstanding with Rabin and told Assad about"the pocket." During the period whennegotiations were continuing, Rabin oftenrepeated the slogan. "The depth of of thewithdrawal will be equivalent to the depth of thepeace," indicating that in return for real peace,Israel would be willing to withdraw to the armisticelines. However, negotiations with the Rabin

administration were not pursued, and Rabin wasassassinated on November 5, 1995. Negotiationswere renewed by PM Ehud Barak in January of 2000. These negotiations broke down finally onMarch 27, 2000. Syria insisted on beginningnegotiations from the point at which they had leftoff, including the "deposit" of PM Rabin. Rabinhad in fact promised the June 4 lines in the"deposit," but Barak was unwilling to meet thosedemands. Nonetheless, under US pressure,Barak agreed to honor the pledge to retreat to theline of June 4, 1967 with minor modifications. USPresident Clinton presented Assad with an Israeli

proposal to withdraw to June 4 lines based onmutually agreed borders, according to the map atright. The proposal was in accord with previousagreements made with the Syrians. Nonetheless,Assad refused. On June 10, 2000, Hafez Assaddied, and was replaced by his son Bashar. TheSyrian-Israeli peace track faded into thebackground.

Syria, which had opposed Iraq in 1991 andcooperated with the US, cooperated with SaddamHussein in the 2003 Iraq war. After the war, Syriahosted Iraqi exiles and apparently shelteredinsurgent groups. The US became increasinglyunhappy with Syria's real or alleged role in the

This map shows the actual Israeli offer conveyed to President Assad in March

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Iraq insurgency, and administration officials beganpressuring Syria to stop insurgents from crossingfrom Syria into Iraq, and to stop supportingterrorist groups including the Hizbollah in Lebanonand the Hamas, which has offices in DamascusOn December 12, 2003, President Bush signedinto law the Syria Accountability and Lebanese

Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003. These calledfor sanctions against Syria if they did not stopsupporting terror, and or Syrian withdrawal from

of 2000 by President Clinton andrefused out of hand. The offer wasbased on the borders of June 4, 1967with very minor deviations. FromDennis Ross, The Missing Peace,Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004, Map

10.

Renewed Peace feelers from Syria - Following the passage of the Syria AccountabilityAct in the United States, Syria announced that it was ready to renew negotiations withIsrael over a peace treaty, without preconditions, but stated that the negotiations shouldcontinue where they had been interrupted. Syria renewed the call at various timesthrough November of 2004. In some versions, the proposal was for negotiations "withoutconditions" while in other cases the Syrians called for negotiations "without conditionsbased on the deposit" (the promise of Yitzhak Rabin to withdraw to the cease fire lines of 1949). Israel's response to these overtures has been cool, since no pressure emanatedfrom the US regarding renewal of negotiations, and President Assad's governmentcontinued to shelter the Hizbullah and Palestinian "resistance" groups. (See commentaryHere and Here). Though President Katzav called for pursuing the Syrian peace initiative,PM Ariel Sharon and the foreign ministry insisted that before talks begin, Syria must stopsupport for terrorist organizations. Israel assassinated Hamas leader Izz El-Deen Al-Sheikh Khalil in Syria on September 26, 2004, and apparently attempted to assassinateanother Hamas leader in Damascus in December.

Death of Yasser Arafat 

Palestinian Authority Chairman and long-time leader Yasser Arafat died November 11,2004 leaving an uncertain future. Some signs indicated that the death of Arafat hadopened up new possibilities for peace, as well as for reform and democracy in thePalestinian authority.

Preparations for Palestinian elections began in an orderly way, with Mahmoud Abbas theleading candidate. Fatah el-Aqsa brigades leader Marwan Barghouthi, jailed by Israel for his involvement in multiple terror attacks, announced his candidacy as an independent,but later withdrew under pressure from the Fatah in mid-December. During his campaign,Abbas promised repeatedly to continue to fight for a Palestinian state with its capital inJerusalem, and for right of return of Palestinian refugees. However, he also told theLondon newspaper  As Sharq al Awsat that the violent Intifada was a mistake, and thatPalestinians must pursue their goals by diplomatic means. Incitement against Israel inPalestinian media was toned down on the directive of Abbas. There were no successfulviolent attacks against civilians within Israel during this period, but mortars were fired onIsraeli settlements in Gaza and terrorists blew up an Israeli army border post at theGaza-Egypt border. Israel continued to arrest and assassinate Palestinian terroristleaders, to occupy Palestinian West Bank cities, to raid targets in Gaza in reaction toPalestinian actions, to destroy homes and olive groves and to harass Palestinians at

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checkpoints. Several Palestinian children were killed during these raids. The Israeli armywas criticized in Israel and abroad for carelessness with civilian lives and possible war crimes.

Relations with Egypt - Following the death of Arafat, Israeli-Egyptian relationsimproved, and Egyptian President Mubarak had warm words for Israeli PM Ariel Sharon.

In the beginning of December, Egypt released an Israeli, Azzam Azzam, who had been in jail for eight years on espionage charges that he denied. At the same time, Israelreleased six Egyptian students who were accused of plotting to kill Israeli soldiers, andlater Israel freed a number of Palestinian prisoners as a "gesture to Egypt," though Israeliand Egyptian actions were supposedly unrelated. In mid-December, Egypt, Israel and theUS signed a Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) treaty that would give Egypt tradeadvantages in the USA for cooperative ventures with Israeli participation. EgyptianForeign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleimanvisited Jerusalem. Despite the improved relations, the Egyptians did not return their ambassador, who had been recalled following the outbreak of violence in 2000.

Abbas Succeeds Arafat

On January 9 2005, Mahmoud Abbas was elected President of the Palestine NationalAuthority, receiving about 61 percent of the vote. Mustafa Barghouthi, his closest rival,received about 20% of the vote. Over 60% of eligible voters participated, despitedifficulties owing to the Israeli occupation and a boycott of the elections by the Islamistgroups (See commentary here). US President George Bush invited Abbas toWashington, after several years during which Palestinian leaders had not been welcomein the White House, and Israeli PM Ariel Sharon announced that he would call Abbas andplan a meeting.

Unity government in Israel - Owing to disaffection of the Israeli right with thedisengagement plan of PM Ariel Sharon, the National Religious Party left thegovernment, and dissenting members of Sharon's Likud party tried to block formation of 

a unity government with the Labor party. The center Shinui party was forced out of thegovernment, and instead a coalition was formed with the Israel Labor party and the smallUnited Torah Judaism party. This government was approved by a narrow margin (58 to56) with several Likud members abstaining.

Sharm El Sheikh Conference - Following his election, Palestinian President MahmoudAbbas called on Palestinian factions to end the violence and negotiated a truceagreement. Palestinian police were deployed throughout Gaza with explicit orders toprevent terror attacks. The sides agreed to meet at a summit conference hosted by Egyptin Sharm El Sheikh on February 8, 2005. At the conference, attended by Jordan's KingAbdullah and Egyptian President Mubarak as well as the Israeli and Palestinian leaders,both sides announced an end to the violence. Israel would be releasing over 900Palestinian prisoners and gradually withdrawing from Palestinian cities according tonewspaper reports. Egypt and Jordan announced that they were returning their ambassadors to Israel. The Intifadah was deemed to be officially over. (seecommentary.) However, following the pattern of previous conferences of this type, thepeace was soon shattered by a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv on February 25, apparentlyperpetrated by an Islamic Jihad group controlled from Damascus. Israel announced itwas freezing the planned handover of Palestinian towns to PNA security. Mahmud Abbascondemned the bombing and the PNA made some arrests. (see commentary)

See also Timeline: Second Intifada 2005 to Present

Disengagement Decision - Shortly after the Sharm El Sheikh conference, the IsraeliKnesset, followed by the Israeli cabinet on February 20, approved the disengagement

plan , which called for unilateral evacuation of 21 settlements in Gaza and 4 in the WestBank by the summer of 2005. The disengagement was to be coordinated with the

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Palestinian Authority. Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Prime Minister, promised to helpensure quiet during the evacuation. Click for Map

London Conference - on March 1, 2005, a conference hosted by Great Britain was heldin London. The purpose of the conference was to organize financial support for thePalestinian government and to assist in organization of Palestinian security. Israel did not

attend the conference, and bilateral issues were not touched upon directly. However,Palestinian President Abbas said that ending the occupation and achieving peace was apriority goal for the Palestinians.

Cairo Conference and Tahidiyeh - In mid March, Palestinian militant groups met inCairo and agreed to a tahidiyeh (lull in the fighting) - less than a full truce or hudna. TheHamas and Islamic Jihad groups began moving to rejoin the PLO and the Hamasannounced its intention to participate in the May elections of the Palestine LegislativeCouncil. Israel withdrew from Jericho, and a week later, from Tulqarm. Israel held upwithdrawal from a third Palestinian city later in the month, because it claimed thePalestinian Authority was not disarming terrorists as it should have been under theroadmap. Israel continued to catch militants planning attacks or smuggling arms duringthis period, but Palestinian Authority forces also spotted and stopped terrorist activities.At the end of March, rebellious militants of the Al-Aqsa brigades, discontent with changesin the Palestinian Authority, fired on Abbas's headquarters in Ramallah. Though at firstauthorities announced a hard line against the extremists, Abbas later reconsidered anddecided to try and smooth over the differences. Tawfik Tirawi, head of PalestinianIntelligence in the West Bank, resigned because, he wrote, little was being done toimplement the rule of law.

Arab Summit and Peace Proposal - An Arab summit in Algiers ignored most of thepressing issues in the Arab world, and turned down a fresh peace initiative by KingAbdullah of Jordan. Instead, it reiterated its support for the version of the Saudi PeacePlan passed in 2002 in Beirut that had been rejected by Israel. Israel indicated that theproposals are now outdated due to changes in the reality of the Middle East.

Illegal Outposts - In March 2005, the Israeli government accepted a report on Illegaloutposts prepared at the request of the government by Talia Sasson.  The reportinvestigated the status of a large number of illegal outposts, built without proper permitsand government authorization in the West Bank since March of 2001. It describedsystematic lawlessness and diversion of funds used to finance the outposts. There areabout 20 or 30 such outposts that were supposed to have been evacuated under theroadmap peace plan . Repeated government decisions and attempts to evacuate theseoutposts have not availed. The government appointed a committee to study the report,but no action was taken.

Settlement Controversy - Palestinians were upset by the advancing Israeli securitybarrier, which isolates Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem, and by announced Israeli

plans to build several thousand new housing units in the E1 area, near the settlement of Ma'aleh Edumim, east of Jerusalem. Under the Geneva Accord, Ma'aleh Edumim wouldbe included in Israel, but the roadmap peace plan forbids construction in settlements. Inhis letter to Ariel Sharon in reply to Sharon's formal statement of the disengagementplan, President Bush had stated that the borders of the final settlement would take intoaccount changes due to large Israeli population concentration in the occupied territories.The Israeli announcement may have been designed to test this statement, and to bolster Sharon's flagging popularity among right-wing supporters. US Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice and Ambassador Dan Kurtzer first condemned the Israeliannouncement. This reaction elicited a hail of ridicule from right-wing critics of Sharonand from former PM Ehud Barak, who claimed it was proof that the U.S. promise wasworthless. Rice and Kurtzer then reversed themselves and denied that there were anydifferences of opinion with Israel over the settlement plans.

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Motion in no direction - During April and May, both Ariel Sharon and Mahmud Abbasvisited with the President of the United States. Symbolically, this visit was very important,because it signaled that the US was ending the isolation of the Palestinian Authority thatit had begun when Arafat failed to take action against terrorists. President Bush promisedthe Palestinians $50 million in direct aid in addition to larger sums already allocated for aid through NGOs, and stated that the borders of the 1949 armistice were the basis for 

any agreement. This last statement caused some controversy in Israel for some reason,but turned out to consistent with the wording of the letter Bush had given Ariel Sharon inApril, 2004. Despite the fanfare, neither the meeting with Sharon nor the meeting withAbbas produced any visible change in Israeli unwillingness to make concessions to thePalestinians or in Palestinian unwillingness to take decisive steps to end terror byoutlawing terrorist groups, disarming the terrorists, actively combating attacks, arrestingwanted men and collecting illegal arms. The Israelis released about 400 prisoners as agood will gesture to Abbas. This number included, for the first time, prisoners "with bloodon their hands," who had been involved in attacks that resulted in bloodshed. However,the Palestinians belittled this gesture as meaningless, since most of the prisoners werenear the end of their sentence, and a large number of prisoners remain in Israeli jails.The Palestinians pointed out that none of the prisoners held from before 1994 had beenreleased, so the prisoner release did not fulfill the conditions agreed upon in Sharm El

Sheikh.

Attempted and successful Palestinian attacks, and particularly mortar and missile attackson Gaza settlements and Negev towns continued. Palestinian President Abbas traveledto Gaza and secured a half-hearted commitment from extremist factions to honor the"Tahidiyeh" as long as Israel did, but repeated Palestinian attacks and Israeli reprisalsand arrests of wanted men continued. Israeli forces caught a 15 year old boy suicidebomber at a checkpoint in the West Bank and later caught a young woman en route tocarry out a suicide bombing attack on an Israeli hospital, sent by the Fatah El-Aqsabrigades. According to Palestinian statistics, Israel killed about 40 Palestinians in theperiod, wounded 411 and arrested nearly a thousand civilians, many for illegally stayingin Israel. Most of the dead were wanted men or were in the course of carrying out anattack. In late June, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived, met with the sides and

announced that the sides had agreed to destroy the houses of Gaza settlers after Israeliwithdrawal.

On June 21, 2005, Sharon and Abbas met in a long-awaited summit, but nothing at allappeared to result from the meeting, other than an announcement by Ariel Sharon thathe had attained Palestinian consent to coordination of the Gaza pullout. Israel wouldmake no concessions on security unless the Palestinians acted against terrorists, and thePalestinians would not act decisively against terrorists. No communique was issued andthe Palestinian leadership announced its profound disappointment. Palestiniansannounced that a large number of wanted terrorists had agreed to join the Palestinianpolice, while the Israelis announced they had convinced US AID to donate $500 million inmedical equipment to Palestinian hospitals. For its part, the US ended its ban on

diplomatic visits to Gaza that had begun 18 months previously, when AID officials werekilled in a terrorist attack, resuming visits of US diplomatic personnel.

As violence flared following the summit, Israel launched air attacks against rocketlaunchers in Gaza, killed several Islamic Jihad terrorists and also announced it wasresuming its policy of targeted killings of Islamic Jihad terrorists.

In Palestine, demonstrations and even armed attacks continued against the leadership.The popularity of the Hamas, now a contender in legislative elections, continued to rise,perhaps abetted by rumored and actual meetings between EU officials and Hamasrepresentatives and repeated calls in the US for recognition of the Hamas. Both theBritish and PM President Abbas called on Hamas to end violence and join the politicalprocess, but Hamas initially refused, while accepting a short term truce. President Abbas

announced that legislative elections would be delayed for several months in order to

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Sderot and were now also fired on Ashqelon just north of Gaza. Israel responded with air strikes to create a buffer zone

On January 4, 2006, Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke, leaving the leadership of Israel and the new Kadima party in the hands of Ehud Olmert Olmert appeared to takesome vigorous action against settler lawlessness, denouncing the destruction of olive

trees, calling for evacuation of illegal outposts, and at the end of January, IDF and policeforces staged a confrontation with settlers who had infiltrated part of the Arab Suq inHebron and destroyed property there. The settlers evicted the Arabs, claiming that theland was owned by a Jewish Yeshiva and that they were the lawful inheritors. However,the IDF had not given them permission to occupy the properties. After a dramaticconfrontation however, the government appeared to back down, compromising onpeaceable removal of the settlers in return for a promise that they could soon return tothe properties "lawfully."

Hamas Victory - In elections held January, 26, 2006, the radical Hamas movement wonan upset victory over the Fateh. Hamas won about 74 of the 133 seats in the PalestineLegislative Assembly. The movements that had led the Palestinians for about 40 years,the Fateh and the PLO seemed to be on their way to the opposition. Under thePalestinian constitution, Mahmoud Abbas remains President with broad powers.European and American leaders pledged not to negotiate with Hamas and not to provideaid to the Palestinians until Hamas agreed to disarm and recognize Israel. Hamasspokesmen sent mixed signals, but vowed never to recognize Israel and never to give uptheir claim to all of Palestine, though a majority of Palestinians apparently want them tofollow the path of peace. The Hamas-led government was sworn in on March 29, 2006.The Fatah refused to join the coalition because Hamas would not recognize the PLO asthe representatives of the Palestinian people, and would not agree to honor pastagreements of the Palestinian Authority and the PLO, including the Oslo agreements thatrecognize the existence of Israel and which form the basis of legitimacy of the PalestinianAuthority.

Israeli Elections - In elections held March 28, 2006, the Kadima party led by EhudOlmert gained 29 seats, more than any other party, while the right-wing Likud, formerlythe governing party, got only 12 seats, signaling the end of the domination of Israelipolitics by settler ideology

Hamas in power - The international community suspended aid to the Hamas-led PNAgovernment, causing an acute financial crisis. Iran and Russia freed funds for use of theHamas, and Hamas politicians smuggled cash into Gaza under the eyes of Europeanmonitors in Rafah, in order to pay salaries of Palestinian security forces and workers.International donors eventually agreed on a mechanism for disbursing funds throughPalestinian NGOs and for paying salaries directly to employees, and on June 24, EUdonors announced a 105 million Euro aid package that would be distributed by thismethod. By the end of June however, Palestinians had apparently received only some

partial salary payments from the cash smuggled by the Hamas.

Hamas formed a new security militia headed by Jamil Abu Samhadana, leader of thePalestinian Popular Resistance Committees. This security force was declared illegal byPresident Mahmoud Abbas, who organized yet another Fatah-based militia. Fightingbetween Hamas and Fatah broke out, including killings and kidnappings of officials onboth sides. Life in Gaza became increasingly chaotic, as Palestinian rights organizationsdocumented a steady stream of internecine political violence, criminal violence andrandom killings. Samhadana was killed in an Israeli air-raid in early June, apparently ashe was reviewing a rehearsal for a terrorist attack.

Palestinians continued an almost daily rain of Qassam rockets on Israeli towns within thegreen line, in particular, the little town of Sderot. At the same time, Israel continuedarrests and targeted killings of terrorist leaders whom it claimed were planning attacks,and in return the Islamic Jihad and Hamas vowed revenge.

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About 1000 Qassam rockets fell up to June 2006. The Qassam rockets grew in size andrange, and the attacks had killed at least 9 to 11 people in all, including 5 residents of Sderot. Israel responded with artillery fire into empty fields and other psychologicalwarfare, and then took to attacking the launching sites. At approximately the time of onesuch attack, several members of a Palestinian family were killed on a beach in Gaza,though Israel denied that their attack was responsible. Subsequent Israeli attacks missed

their targets and killed civilians. On June 25th, just as PNA announced the conclusion of an agreement on a truce with Israel, Hamas attacked an Israeli army border outpost atKerem Shalom, killing two soldiers and capturing a third. Hamas offered to trade thesoldier for Palestinian prisoners. Israel refused to negotiate and began a siege of Gazaand later invaded in operation "Summer Rains" in an attempt to force Palestinians toreturn the soldier alive and stop the rain of Qassam rockets. (updated to July 8)

Palestinian Prisoners' Document- Palestinians of various factions approved adocument May 11 calling for national unity. The document called for right of return of therefugees and continued violent resistance against Israel, the latter in violation of provisions of the Roadmap for Middle East Peace. It also called for establishment of aPalestinian state in the boundaries of the West Bank and Gaza Strip prior to the 1967war, and for negotiations with Israel to be conducted by PNA President and PLO

chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Many believed that the document implied recognition of Israel. A crisis was precipitated when Abbas demanded that Hamas accede to thedocument or accede to results of a referendum to approve the document. Hamas andFatah gunmen carried out various acts of violence. A revised version of the PalestinianPrisoners Document was approved Hamas made it clear that it would not recognizeIsrael. The revised document also limited the historic PLO acceptance of UN Resolution242 (guaranteeing the right of all states to exist in peace) by excluding any provisionsthat might violate Palestinian "rights."

Hezbollah attack and Israeli response - Operation Just Reward - On the morning of July 12, Hezbollah terrorists crossed the blue line border from Lebanon to Israel andattacked an Israeli army patrol, killing 3 and capturing 2 soldiers. An additional soldier died the following day and several were killed when a tank hit a mine, while pursuing thecaptors. At the same time, Hezbollah began a series of rocket and mortar attacks onnorthern Israel. This incident may have been timed to coincide with the meeting of the G-8, which was to examine the issue of the Iranian nuclear development program. It alsooccurred against the background of the earlier fighting in Gaza.

Subsequently, Israel carried out massive but selective bombing and artillery shelling of Lebanon, hitting rocket stores, Hezbollah headquarters in the Dahya quarter of Beirut(see Beirut Map) and al-Manara television in Beirut, and killing an estimated 900 personsin total, many of them civilians. Hezbollah responded by launching thousands of rocketson Haifa, Tiberias, Safed and other towns deep in northern Israel, killing about 40civilians (See Map of Hezbollah Rocket Attacks ). About 120 soldiers were killed in thefighting. A Hezbollah Iranian supplied C-802 missile hit an Israeli missile cruiser off the

coast of Beirut, killing 4. Hezbollah rockets also sank a Cambodian ship and damaged anEgyptian one. The G-8 democratic industrial powers, meeting in St Petersburg, issued astatement calling for an end to violence, return of the soldiers and compliance with UNSecurity Council Resolution 1559 UN Security Council Resolution 1680, which call for disarming militias. (See statement of the G-8 on the Lebanon-Israel Crisis).

fter Israeli air-attacks proved ineffective at stopping Hezbollah rocket attacks or producing a satisfactory cease-fire resolution, Israel launched a limited ground invasionof Lebanon, making halting and indecisive moved coupled with aggressive rhetoric byIsraeli public figures. Efforts continued to broker a cease fire that would be satisfactory toboth sides. Key Israeli demands were implementation of UN Security Council Resolution1559 and 1680 - that is, disarming the Hezbollah, and moving the Lebanese army up toborder, to take control of south Lebanon from the Hezbollah, as well as return of the

kidnapped soldiers. Israel and the US also wanted a strong international force that wouldoversee disarmament of the Hezbollah. Key Lebanese demands were embodied in a

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seven point plan that included deployment of the Lebanese army in southern Lebanon,but did not include disarmament of Hezbollah. Lebanese also insisted on return of Lebanese prisoners held by Israel, and immediate Israeli withdrawal from Lebaneseterritory. Lebanon also demanded the Sheba farms territory from Israel. In 2000, the UNhad ruled that Sheba farms, in the Golan Heights, is part of Syria. Syria, for its part, hadrefused to demarcate its border with Lebanon formally but said it supported the Lebanese

demand.

The desultory Israeli offensive was stepped up on August 11 when efforts to broker acease-fire appeared to be at an impasse, and Israeli troops began advancing in forcetoward the Litani river, 30 KM north of the Israel-Lebanon border. At the same timehowever, the UN Security Council met and approved Resolution 1701, calling for cessation of hostilities, and deployment of the Lebanese army in Southern Lebanon, butwith ambiguous wording about the various issues. Both sides stopped the fighting onAugust 14, 2006. The poor conduct of the war raised a storm of criticism in Israel, andthe Israeli attack roused widespread resentment in the Arab world.

International human rights groups and the UN condemned Israel for the alleged war crime of using cluster bombs in Southern Lebanon. Cluster bombs have not beenoutlawed by international conventions and have been used in previous conflicts. Theyalso alleged that Israel had deliberately targeted civilians. However, an Israeli NGOreport issued in December found that Hezbollah had hidden among civilian populationand that nearly 700 of the casualties were Hezbollah fighters. Some human rightsgroups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, also later condemnedthe Hezbollah for indiscriminate rocket fire. However, the UN Human Rights Council,which issued a total of eight condemnations of Israel in 2006, failed to condemn theHezbollah or Hamas for egregious violations.

The two Israeli soldiers captured by the Hezbollah. remained in captivity and inDecember it was revealed that they had been wounded when captured and that their medical condition was uncertain. The border remained quiet, though Hezbollah was

being rearmed by Syria at a heavy pace. On November 21, assassins gunned down anti-Syrian politician Pierre Gemayel. On the first of December, after the Seniora governmentapproved a motion calling for an international tribunal to try the murderers of Rafiq Hariri,Hezbollah ministers walked out of the Lebanese government, and large crowds of Hezbollah supporters were organized to besiege the Prime Minister's office and bringdown the Lebanese government. The demonstrators were said variously to demand onethird representation for pro-Hezbollah ministers, or reform of the constitution in order toprovide equitable representation for Shi'ites or a unity government.

Gaza Violence - During and after the Israeli offensive in Lebanon, IDF operationscontinued unabated in Gaza as Palestinians continued to rain down Qassam rockets onthe Western Negev and the Hamas insisted solemnly that it was keeping a truce. TheHamas government continued to be supplied with money from Iran and Arab states,

brought into Gaza under the not too watchful eyes of European monitors in Rafaj(Rafiah), while some 30 tons of arms were estimated to have been smuggled into Gazathrough tunnels built from the Egyptian side of the border. Egypt did little to stop theseactivities.

During October and November, Palestinians shot a relentless rain of Qassam missileson the Western Negev and in particular the town of Sderot, killing three Israelis. IDFoperations in Rafah uncovered extensive tunnels used for smuggling, but IDF operationsin the north of Gaza, intended to stop the firing of Qassam missiles, were terminatedunder increasing international pressure, as Israelis had killed over 50 Palestinians,including several civilians. The operations in the north were intended to stop the firing of Qassam missiles, but had no effect. During one raid, terrorists had hidden in a mosque,and escaped with the help of women who volunteered to be used as human shields. IDF

killed several of these women. On November 8, following the Israeli withdrawal, anespecially heavy barrage of Qassam fire prompted an Israeli shelling response. The

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shells missed their target, hitting a residential neighborhood and killing about 20Palestinian civilians. Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians for the return of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit remained stalled as Palestinians demanded the release of over a thousand prisoners.

Truce - On November 26, the Palestinians and Israelis announced a surprise truce that

was to apply only to the Gaza strip. Despite continuation of Qassam fire by thePalestinians for several days thereafter, Israel held to the truce. On the day following thetruce announcement, November 27, Israeli PM Ehud Olmert announced a new Israelidiplomatic initiative offering peace to the Palestinians and other other neighbors alongthe lines of the Arab Peace Initiative. This was the first time that an Israeli leader hadreferred to the initiative in a positive way. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas welcomedthe speech, while Hamas leaders and Israeli extremists condemned it. From the UnitedStates, the Iraq Study Group report, which recommended active US involvement in theIsraeli-Palestinian peace process, also gave rise to talk of peace negotiations.

The truce was violated repeatedly in Gaza by barrages of Qassam rockets fired at Israelitowns. The dissident Islamic Jihad claimed that it would not adhere to the truce unless itwas extended to the West Bank. However, it was revealed that the Hezbolla were payingthousands of dollars for each Qassam rocket fired.

The Syrian government, attempting to recover the Golan and to break out of the isolationimposed on it because of its role in violence in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian conflict,offered to negotiate peace with Israel "without conditions." However, Israeli PrimeMinister Ehud Olmert, citing continuing Syrian support for terror groups, rejected theoffer.

Abbas - Olmert Summit - On December 23, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert finallymet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and announced some concessions tomake life easier for the Palestinians including release of tax funds frozen by Israel andremoval of a number of checkpoints. A plan to release prisoners for the Eid al Adha

holiday was abandoned however. Following the meeting, Israel agreed to a large transfer of weapons to the Fatah group loyal to President Abbas from Egypt. Israeli ForeignMinister Tzippi Livni hinted at a new peace initiative in press interviews. These moveswere seen as attempts to support President Abbas in his rivalry with the Hamas-ledgovernment of Ismail Hanniyeh.

Palestinian Unity Government and Anarchy - Following the release of the PalestinianPrisoners letter, negotiations continued to form a Palestinian unity government that could,it was hoped, recognize the existence of Israel, cease violent activity, get recognitionfrom the West and allow Western governments to resume funding of the Palestinianauthority. President Mahmoud Abbas repeatedly set two week "deadlines" that werepostponed and forgotten, but the negotiations failed. On December 16, Mahmoud Abbasannounced that he was dissolving the government and calling for new elections, unless

Hamas agreed to a unity government. but he did not set a date for the elections. Thisproposal led to renewed violence between Palestinian factions, with Hamas charging thatFatah had tried to assassinate Palestinian PM Hanniyeh. An attempted truce failed, andGaza schools were closed in the rising anarchy. However, on February 8, 2007, under the aegis of the Saudi monarchy, the sides concluded an agreement to form a unitygovernment. The agreement did not explicitly declare Palestinian recognition of Israel or meet demands of the quartet to disarm militant groups. A trilateral summit betweenPresident Mahmud Abbas, Israeli P.M. Ehud Olmert and US Secretary of StateCondoleeza Rice on February 19 failed to produce any change in Abbas's stance or anyconcessions to the Palestinians.

Temple Mount/Al Aqsa Construction sparks riots - Israel began rebuilding a fallenrampway to the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem along a new route. The ramp hadcollapsed in 2004. The new route would run about 80 meters from the mosque. Thoughthe Muslim Waqf agreed to the construction originally, Sheikh Raed Salah of the Israeli

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Islamist movement claimed that the construction was damaging the mosque andthreatened to begin another Intifadah. Israel denied that the construction was harmingthe mosques. Following protests from the Arab and Muslim world, Israel suspended workon the bridge, but continued archeological salvage operations. It installed Web cams toshow the operations and invited the Turkish government to inspect the site. Both theTurks and a UNESCO team declared that the Israeli had done work had done no

damage, but the UNESCO team requested that Israel stop the work until it could beunder international supervision. In July, the Israeli authorities announced that the projectwas being abandoned.

Disintegration of the Palestinian authority. Isolated incidents of mayhem againstcivilians and fights between Hamas and Fatah supporters continued and escalated inGaza in 2006 and the first part of 2007, accompanied by daily firing of Qassam rocketson Sderot. The anarchy included murder of Palestinians and kidnapping of Palestiniansand foreigners. BBC reporter Alan Johnston was kidnapped by a group making variousdemands, and the Palestinian government claimed it was powerless to free him, but onJuly 4 Hamas did free him, in an operation that was called "stage-managed" by Fatahspokesman Yasser Abed-Rabo.

In June of 2007, serious fighting erupted after a Fatah activist supposedly launched arocket-propelled grenade into the house of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, theleader of the Hamas in Gaza. Hamas forces retaliated by attacking the much morenumerous Fatah activists and Fatah-affiliated Palestinian police and auxiliary forces inGaza. Though Hamas forces were estimated at less than 3,000, and the Fatah forcessupposedly numbered about 40,000, Hamas systematically pushed Fatah from virtuallyevery one of their strongholds. Hamas fighters were brutal and merciless. People werethrown from the roofs of buildings. Hamas invaded hospitals and murdered patients anddoctors. They executed Fatah people in front of their families. In the fighting, Hamascaptured large quantities of arms that had been given to the Fatah forces by theEgyptians, on behalf of the Egyptians. Mahmoud Dahlan and other senior Fatahcommanders were not in Gaza when the fighting started. Fatah fighters complained thatthat nobody had given the order to fight back. Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas,headquartered in the West Bank, hesitated, but faced with a revolt by Fatah personnel inthe West Bank, he gave the order to counter attack. Nonetheless the collapse of theFatah in Gaza continued. On June 14, Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the Gaza-based unitygovernment and announced that would be forming a new government of independenttechnocrats. The Hamas officials in Gaza continued to claim that they are the legitimategovernment. Fatah fighters fled to Egypt and to Israel by land and by sea. Fatah fighterswho are wanted by Israeli authorities surrendered to the Israelis rather than face theHamas. Israeli newspapers received a flood of faxes from Gaza, begging Israel to re-takethe Gaza strip and stop the carnage. In the West Bank, Fatah militants and police beganarresting Hamas officials and Hamas militants and terrorists. The United States and theEuropean Union expressed support for Mahmoud Abbas. The foreign ministers of theArab states expressed support for Abbas, but at the same time called for reconstitution of 

the unity government. Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, headquartered in Damascus,stated that the Hamas had no intention of threatening the Palestinian presidency, but thatthe actions of the Hamas were necessary to restore order and remove bad elements.Hamas propaganda insisted that the Fatah leaders, especially Mahmoud Dahlan, weretraitors in league with the Americans and the Israelis. A Hamas spokesperson cited theviolence as imposition of "Islamic justice." It is probable that the violence could not havebeen initiated without the approval of Khaled Meshal, and is likely that he gave theorders. Meshal in turn is under the control of the Syrians who host him, and of theIranians, who subsidize the Hamas very heavily and are allies of Syria. (see GazaImplodes: The anti-Altalena of the Hamas and Gaza: What is happening, why it isimportant).

Hamas' popularity in Gaza declined sharply as living conditions worsened due to the

Israeli and international blockade and extremists began suppressing marks of Westernculture. The owner of a Christian bookshop was murdered. In November, a Fatah-organized demonstration on the occasion of the commemoration of the anniversary of 

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Yasser Arafat's death was suppressed violently by Hamas security forces, killing 7 andwounding 55. Hamas blamed the violence on Fatah. Hamas continued importing largequantities of explosives and arms smuggled in from Gaza through tunnels. Egyptiansecurity forces uncovered 60 tunnels in a day after Israel protested at Egyptian laxity inmonitoring the border. Hamas and other militants fired an average of one Qassam rocketevery three hours on the Western Negev, while Israel conducted small scale retaliatory

raids and missile strikes on rocket launching teams in Gaza, as well as night time raids tofind wanted terrorists in the West Bank.

Annapolis Conference - Building on the Arab summit renewal of the Arab PeaceInitiative and the situation created by the Hamas takeover in Gaza, and motivated bythe call of the Iraq Study Group Report for progress in Israeli-Palestinian peacenegotiations, the United States organized a peace summit in Annapolis Md. November 26-28, which many forecast would be a failure. Nonetheless, Arab states including Syriaattended as well as UN, GCC and EU representatives, Russians, South Africans andothers. Israel released over 400 prisoners, and provided the Palestinian authority withhalf-tracks and rifles. Palestinian Authority police were allowed to deploy in Nablus to haltcrime there. Israel PM Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas met several times but couldnot agree on a joint statement that would be read at the conference. A statement was

agreed upon at the last moment, with heavy pressure applied by the Americans.

The conference provided recognition of Mahmoud Abbas as acknowledged leader of thePalestinians. Israel and the Palestinians agreed to renew negotiations for a permanentstatus agreement, with the hope of completing them before the end of 2008, and bothsides vowed to implement the roadmap in parallel, with the US to monitor progress. Nomention was made of the problem posed by Hamas control of Gaza. See AnnapolisSummit: History or bluff?. 

A tour of the Middle East by US President George Bush in January of 2008 apparentlyfailed to achieve support for US Middle East policy goals, which included support for Israeli-Palestinian peace based on negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian

Authority controlled by the Fatah. Egypt and Saudi Arabia continued to push for Fatah-Hamas reunification, which would effectively end the peace negotiations. However,Israelis and Palestinians pledged to negotiate seriously regarding "core issues" such asJerusalem and Palestinian refugees. The Israeli government issued contradictorydeclarations regarding status of a building freeze in West Bank settlements and areas of East Jerusalem annexed in the Six Day war.

The most obvious obstacle to peace continued to be the Hamas controlled regime inGaza. Islamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committee terrorists continued to launchQassam rockets and mortar fire at the Israeli town of Sderot and other western Negevtargets, and also launched at least one Grad rocket on Ashdod. Israel continued to shootat rocket launching teams and leaders of the various groups in Gaza responsible for rocket fire, killing some civilians when Israeli missile fire went awry. Hamas eventually

 joined in the rocket fire as the situation escalated. Palestinian snipers shot and killed anEcuadorian volunteer, Carlos Chavez, in Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha. Israel curtailed travelfrom Gaza and entry of goods, and decided to cut fuel supplies to Gaza. These stepsbrought charges that Israel was inflicting collective punishment. On January 20, followingthe Israeli fuel cuts, the Gaza power plant, supplying abut 20% of Gaza's electricity, wasshut down by Hamas, precipitating condemnation of Israel and and international outcry. Itis not clear whether the plant actually ran out of fuel. Three days later, after months of preparation during which the steel reinforcement of the border barrier was destroyed,Hamas blasted holes in the Gaza/Rafah barrier, allowing hundreds of thousands of Gazans to enter Egypt freely. Along with people who came to buy goods, apparently acertain number of armed Hamas operatives managed to infiltrate Sinai. After somehesitation, the Egyptians closed the border breach partially by January 28. In the comingdays, it developed that the border was not closed however, and Hamas activists

reopened parts of the barrier sealed by the Egyptians. Egyptian security forces arrested

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over a dozen Palestinians who had infiltrated to Sinai in order to carry out terror attacksagainst Israeli targets in Sinai.

The Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas proposed that it would take over the border crossings, that had been abandoned by the European Union when Hamas came topower. The Hamas insisted on their right to patrol the border crossing, and declared that

there would be no return to the former situation, which allowed Europeans and Israelis tocontrol the import of arms, money and militants trained in Iran and elsewhere throughthe Rafah border. Initially, they opposed a return of the EU monitors, but they softenedtheir stand after several days.

The border was resealed by Egyptians and negotiations continued regarding a solutionthat would allow passage through Rafah, but no solution was found.

Moughnieh Killing - On February 13, senior Hezbollah terror mastermind ImadMoughnieh was killed by a bomb in his car in Damascus. Israel and other states had longcited Moughnieh as responsible for planning and coordinating Hezbollah terror operations, beginning with attacks on the US marines and US embassy in Beirut in the

80s, and the attack on the Jewish center and Israel embassy in Buenos Aires, andrepeated kidnappings of Israeli soldiers, including the operation that triggered the 2006Second Lebanon War. Syria arrested several Palestinians. The Hezbollah blamed Israelfor the attack. Iran, which had long denied any complicity on Moughnieh's terror operations, now mourned him openly and blamed Israel. Israel anticipated reprisaloperations.

Israeli Strike in Gaza - On February 27, 2008, an Israeli missile strike killed 5 Hamasterrorists who it later claimed were plotting to carry out a large scale terror attack. On thefollowing day, Hamas responded with a barrage of 30 rockets, some of which landed asfar as Ashqelon, and one of which killed a student at Sapir college in the Western Negev.The rockets included Iranian manufactured Grad rockets, which are a version of theKatyusha. A large scale Israeli raid began February 29 and continued for several days,

killing over 100 Palestinians. Israel claimed that only ten Gaza civilians were killed, whilethe Hamas claimed that the raid killed mostly civilians. Ahead of a visit to the region byU.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the United States called for an end to theviolence. The Israeli attack was ended March 3, though the IDF had planned to continueit. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suspended direct negotiations with Israel, butthese were resumed on March 5. The Hamas declared victory. Though rumors of a"truce" and truce negotiations were floated persistently in March, Palestinian rocketscontinued to fall on the Western Negev, and Israel continued to kill Palestinians. Israeliraids in the West Bank almost stopped, despite a terror attack March 6 on YeshivatMerkaz Harav in Jerusalem, in which a Palestinian gunman from the East Jerusalemneighborhood of Jabel Mukaber killed eight religious seminary students. Hamas claimedthe attack but later denied it was involved.

Following urgings by Secretary of State Rice, Israeli-Palestinian negotiations resumed.According to Abbas, the sides were discussing core issues such as the future of Jerusalem, but no details were made public. Israel announced contracts to build housingfor settlers in the Har Choma neighborhood of East Jerusalem and other areas in theWest Bank, angering Palestinians. This announcement was followed by severalcontradictory announcements by Israeli government officials regarding settlementexpansion policies. In April, Israel removed a number of checkpoints in the West Bankand allowed Palestinian forces to enter Jenin.

Truce - Extensive indirect negotiations brokered by Egypt led to a a truce ("lull") betweenIsrael and the Hamas went into effect June 19. The lull applies only to Gaza and not tothe West Bank. Israel is is forbidden to attack within Gaza, Hamas and others are torefrain from rocket and terror attacks on Israel. Israel claimed the truce covers armssmuggling, but this was denied by the Hamas. Despite several instances of rocket andmortar fire by the Palestinians, the truce appears held at least initially. Hamas arrested

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an Al Aqsa brigades spokesman after that group claimed "credit" for an attack. Israeldiscreetly toned down its incursions and arrests in the West Bank after Israeli attacksthere provoked retaliation in Gaza. Negotiations for the release of kidnapped Israelisoldier Gilad Shalit continued after the truce went into effect. Despite occasionalQassam rocket fire and mortars, the truce held, but Israeli hopes for release of kidnappedGilad Shalit did not materialize.

On June 29, the Israel cabinet approved a deal to swap convicted terrorist Samir Kuntar and numerous Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners for what are apparently the bodies of Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, whose kidnapping sparked the Second LebanonWar. 

In Israel, Israel Labor party chair Ehud Barak announced that his party would leave theIsraeli coalition government unless Kadima Party party chairman Ehud Olmert wasreplaced, following persistent allegations of corruption. On September 17, 2008, ForeignMinister Tzipi Livni won the Kadima primaries. As she announced on October 26 that shewas unable to form a coalition, new elections were set for February 10, 2009.

On the evening of November 4, IDF launched a major incursion into Gaza to destroy atunnel that it said Palestinians were digging from Gaza into Israel. Six Hamas gunmenwere killed. In the following days, the Hamas and others responded by launching about35 larger (grad) rockets into Sderot and Ashqelon, and IDF responded with an incursionin Khan Yunis.

On November 9, a meeting of the quartet was held in Sharm el Sheikh to reaffirm supportfor Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in the framework of the Annapolis process and theroadmap. Both sides expressed support for the process. Hamas cancelled itsattendance at a Palestinian reconciliation meeting that was to have been held in Egyptthis week.

Hamas and affiliated organizations continued to launch rockets into Israel and

announced that they would not be renewing the "lull" (tahidia) agreement on December 19. The lull had been negotiated June 19, 2008. Hamas unilaterally announced that itwould run for six months only. Reports claimed that while Hamas leadership in Gazawanted to renew the truce, Khaled Mashaal, the exiled Hamas leader controlled by Syriaand Iran, refused to assent. Israel appealed to the Egyptians and to the UN asking for anend to the rocket fire. On December 24 Hamas bombarded Israel with some 60 rocketsand mortar shells. On December 27, Israel began Operation Oferet Yetzuka. (OperationCast Lead) (named for the Hanukka driedl [top] of cast lead in a Hebrew children's songby Haim Nachman Bialik). In a single Saturday morning, in the space of a few hours, IAFflew about 100 sorties, destroying arms caches, arms factories, smuggling tunnels,missile launching sites, and Hamas command and control centers in Gaza. About 225Palestinians were killed. This toll grew to about 300 in a few days. UN estimates claimedthat about 51 of the dead were civilians. Hamas sources claimed that 155 of the dead in

the original attack were civilians. Many of the casualties were cadets in a graduationceremony of the Hamas "police." Israel claimed that Hamas deliberately used humanshields, and Hamas television programs indicated that they were proud to use civilians asshields. Hamas responded to continuing air attacks with Grad rocket attacks that reachedas far as Beersheba and Yavneh - about 45 km. Hamas attacks had killed 3 Israelis bythe end of the year, and the Palestinian death toll had risen to about 400. Hamas refusedto stop firing the rockets and Israel prepared for a ground operation in Gaza. The UNSecurity council issued a statement December 28 calling for both sides to stop theviolence, but US objections prevented a binding cease fire resolution. The major fightingended on January 18, when Israel declared a unilateral cease fire. Hamas likewisedeclared a cease fire. About 1,300 Palestinians were killed and 13 Israeli citizens. Israelclaimed most of the Palestinian casualties were combatants, while the Palestiniansclaimed they were mostly civilians. Human rights groups cited a large number of fatalities

among children, but Israel claimed that many of the "children" in these reports wereactually adult Hamas fighters. However, Israel did not release any public casualty lists.

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The results of the operation were not decisive. Israel achieved a military victory atrelatively little cost to itself, but the problems of Hamas rule in Gaza, the kidnappedsoldier Gilad Shalit and the constant flow of weapons smuggled in via tunnels were notsolved, at least initially. Rocket launchings and retaliations continued until after Israelielections on February 10, 2009.

Israeli voters gave a majority to right wing parties. Benjamin Netanyahu formed agovernment that included his own Likud party, the Israel Labor party, the right wingYisrael Beiteynu Party and religious parties. The Kadima Party refused to join, evidentlybecause the Likud would not agree to back a two state solution to the Israeli Palestinianconflict. In the ensuing months, US pressure on Israel to accept such a solutionincreased. On June 4, 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama gave a historic speech to theMuslim and Arab world, calling on Palestinians to renounce violence, calling on Arabs torecognize Israel's right to exist, reiterating US support for a two state solution and callingfor an end to settlement construction (see Address by President Obama in Cairo, June 4,2009). Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu responded on June 14, giving Israeli support for a two state solution, and pledging that Israel would not build new settlements or confiscate land for settlements, but would continue to build housing units for what hetermed, "natural growth." (see Address by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at

the Begin-Sadat Center, June 14, 2009 )

In August of 2009, the Fatah movement held their first congress in twenty years, issuingthe Fatah Foreign Policy Program that calls for a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but insists on right of return for Palestinian refugees and endorses"resistance," but only "in accordance with the legitimate norms and laws," apparentlyruling out violence. This is a departure from previous Fatah positions which called for destruction of Israel. The Palestinian Authority issued a plan for establishing a stateunilaterally by 2011, endorsed by the European Union and claiming all of the West Bank,Gaza and East Jerusalem (see Palestine: Ending the Occupation, Establishing theState).