Crisis Chronology | Palestinian Territories

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

01/12/2024

UN Court of Justice begins hearing on South Africa charge that Israel has committed genocide in Palestine.

01/12/2024

Israel continues significant bombing and ground fighting in southern Gaza but restricts fighting somewhat in the north as fighting in northern Israel against Hezbollah attacks continues.

01/11/2024

US and UK bomb multiple targets in Yemen, primarily sites involving drones and missiles in retaliation for Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

01/08/2024

On a trip to the Mideast, US Secretary of State says that several Arab nations have expressed interest in helping plan for Gaza in the post war including: Jordran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.

01/07/2024

Israel Defense Minister Gallant submits a report to the war cabinet saying that when the war ends, the “vision for phase three” is that civil administration of Gaza would pass to unnamed “Palestinian players,” while Israel would retain the ability to carry out military activities within the Strip after the war.

01/02/2024

Hamas leader Saleh Arouri killed in missile attack in Beirut. Israel is suspected.

01/01/2024

IDF says it will withdraw several thousand troops from Gaza, citing the blow to the economy from withdrawing thousands of workers. It may also be a response to US urging to restrict the fighting.

12/26/2023

US launches air strikes in Iraq on pro-Iran forces who have targeted US forces. The Iraqi government protests.

12/26/2023

Egypt proposes a ceasefire plan but neither Israel nor Hamas shows any interest or responds.

12/26/2023

India sends warships to the Arabian Sea a day after a drone allegedly from Iran strikes a tanker off the coast of India.

12/25/2023

Israeli airstrike kills senior Iran military commander who oversaw arms shipments to Hezbollah.

12/25/2023

Netanyahu vows to intensify war effort.

12/22/2023

Shelling by Hezbollah into northern Israel. Israel responds with air attacks.

12/22/2023

UN Security Council passes a resolution calling for an indefinite pause to allow humanitarian to be delivered. The United States abstained because the resolution did not support Israel’s right to self-defense.

12/21/2023

Israel has not yet found evidence that the al-Shifa hospital was a Hamas headquarters.

12/20/2023

US announces ten-nation coalition to counter Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. The Houthi attacks have been highly popular in Yemen, helping it to recruit new adherents.

12/14/2023

US urges Israel to change their strategy and tactics to reduce civilian deaths in Gaza.

12/13/2023

Biden critical of Israel policy on Gaza, saying Israel is losing world support. Netanyahu responds that Israel will continue until Hamas is eliminated.

12/12/2023

Israel warns of wider war in Lebanon with Hezbollah, which has intensified its rocket attacks on northern Israel.

12/11/2023

Cruise missile claimed to be launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen strikes Norwegian tanker in the Red Sea.

12/09/2023

IDF increases raids on Palestinians in the West Bank.

12/08/2023

US embassy in Baghdad targeted by rockets, causing minor damage and no casualties.

12/05/2023

IDF enters Khan Younis in southern Gaza, formerly Gaza’s second-largest city. Israel has told the tens of thousands of refugees to evacuate Khan Younis, but there is now here for them to go. Israel says it is making surgical attacks in the city looking for Hamas leaders. Palestinians say IDF is shooting anything that moves. Hamas still firing missiles from northern Gaza into Israel, with little effect.

12/05/2023

IDF enters Khan Younis in southern Gaza, formerly Gaza’s second-largest city. Israel has told the tens of thousands of refugees to evacuate Khan Younis, but there is now here for them to go. Israel says it is making surgical attacks in the city looking for Hamas leaders. Palestinians say IDF is shooting anything that moves. Hamas still firing missiles from northern Gaza into Israel, with little effect.

12/04/2023

Israel continues bombing. Calls on Gazans to leave southern Gaza, though they have nowhere to go.

12/01/2023

Israel resumes bombing Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire.

11/30/2023

Pause is extended another day and hostages and prisoners are exchanged as negotiations on a longer agreement continue.

11/29/2023

Pause continued as more hostages are released by Hamas and more Palestinians prisoners released by Israel. Negotiations over a more extended ceasefire are continuing.

11/27/2023

Final day of initial pause in fighting, but Israel and Hamas agree to extend the pause for two more days.

11/26/2023

After brief interruption when Hamas says that Israel is not releasing hostages as agreed (longest in prison first) and allowing agreed amount of aid to enter Gaza, exchange continues. 117 Palestinian prisoners released and 58 Israelis. In addition some Thais who worked on Israeli kibbutz were released by Hamas.

11/24/2023

Israel and Hamas release hostages as agreed.

11/22/2023

Israel says that pause cannot begin until 11/24.

11/21/2023

Agreement reached on pause in fighting and release of 50 hostages, women and children, and release of 150 Palestinians currently held in Israeli jails, also women and children. There is to be no fighting for five days.

11/20/2023

IDF now besieging another hospital known as the Indonesian hospital. Israel says that it has proof of a tunnel underneath the al Shifra hospital and that hostages were taken there.

11/19/2023

Yemen Houthis seize cargo ship in the Red Sea said to be owned by an Israeli.

11/16/2023

Netanyahu announces that they body of a hostage was found near the hospital. Skepticism is mounting that the attack on the hospital was unjustified.

11/16/2023

UN halts aid transport after communications break down in Gaza.

11/15/2023

Israeli military enters Al Shifra hospital. The IDF reports that they found weapons there and evidence of Hamas communication devices on site. However, the military has banned journalists from entering the hospital, so the statements cannot be verified.

11/13/2023

Saudi Arabia leads meeting of Arab nations over the Israel-Hamas war.

11/13/2023

US again attacks Iran-backed military sites in Syria in retaliation for attacks on US personnel.

11/12/2023

Increasing criticism of Israeli attack on Gaza as the IDF continues attacking hospitals, insisting they are atop Hamas leadership headquarters. Israeli snipers have surrounded one, the Al-Shifra hospital and are firing at anyone near it, trapping hundreds inside. The hospitals have closed, having no fuel and little medicine.

11/09/2023

US forces in Iraq attacked in three places by drones and an explosive device.

11/09/2023

Israel commits to daily four-hour pauses in north Gaza and to announce them three hours in advance.

11/08/2023

US bombs military facility in Syria linked to the Iran Revolutionary Guards in retaliation for multiple attacks on American forces in the region.

11/06/2023

Israeli forces sever Gaza in half. More than 10,000 Palestinians are said to been killed.

11/05/2023

Increasing calls for a humanitarian pause or ceasefire. Netanyahu asserts that there will be no pause until the hostages are all released.

11/02/2023

Israeli forces encircle Gaza City. The US, among others, calls for a humanitarian pause. Increased violence in the West Bank.

11/02/2023

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nazrallah says that Hezbollah will not increase the intensity of its attacks on Israel in support of Hamas unless Israel does so against Lebanon but calls for the war to end.

11/01/2023

Some wounded are allowed to enter Egypt as well as some foreign nationals in Gaza.

10/30/2023

UN General Assembly passes a resolution calling for an immediate “humanitarian truce” in Gaza to allow aid to be delivered. An amendment sponsored by Canada that would have condemned the Hamas 10/7 attack failed to pass.

10/30/2023

Fierce fighting in and bombing of Gaza City.

10/30/2023

Netanyahu rejects calls for a ceasefire.

10/29/2023

Gazans break into aid storage facilities, taking supplies.

10/28/2023

Netanyahu says that the “second stage” of the war has begun. Israeli settlers continue to attack Palestinians in the West Bank.

10/27/2023

US says that its forces have attacked two sites in Syria used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Forces and affiliated groups in response to attacks on US personnel in Iraq and Syria.

10/27/2023

Hamas representatives and Iranian foreign minister meet for talks in Russia.

10/27/2023

Israel makes new incursion into Gaza and carries out some of the heaviest bombing of the war. Netanyahu says the ground offensive is coming, without being specific, and that it will be a long and difficult war.

10/26/2023

Israeli troops and tanks make limited incursion into Gaza, but no firm decision has been made as to when and how to mount the main attack. Negotiations about the hostages continue.

10/26/2023

Hamas says that 7000 Gazans have been killed by Israeli bombing. The internet has gone dark.

10/25/2023

Fuel running out in Gaza. Israel says that Hamas in withholding fuel that it has stockpiled in the tunnels and elsewhere. UN aid work is also being curtailed by a lack of fuel.

10/24/2023

US vetoes a UN Security Council resolution that condemned Hamas’s attack on Israel and called for humanitarian access to Palestinians, and release of the hostages. The US vetoes the resolution because it did not mention Israel’s right to self-defense.

10/24/2023

US warns Iran against attacking US troops in the Middle East. This is in the context of the Israel-Hamas conflict. There have been multiple attacks by Iranian allies on US positions.

10/24/2023

Shortages in Gaza now severe, and the lack of fuel is forcing hospitals to shut down all but basic services.

10/23/2023

US and allies pressuring Israel to delay the ground attack on Gaza in order to save some Palestinians, allow more time to negotiate hostage releases, and prevent the war from expanding further.

10/23/2023

Hamas releases two more hostages, two elderly Israeli women.

10/23/2023

There are growing calls for Netanyahu to resign. He is blamed for not acting on intelligence in advance of the Hamas attack, for undercutting Fatah in the West Bank to the advantage of Hamas, and of allowing Qatar to funnel substantial aid to Hamas.

10/23/2023

Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank attack Palestinians in the area, killing some and destroying property.

10/22/2023

Israel bombs airports in Damascus and Aleppo to prevent them from being used to widen the war with Hamas.

10/22/2023

Israel relocates some citizens living near the border with Lebanon, as fears of a wider war increase. US orders some diplomatic personnel to leave Iraq.

10/21/2023

Leaders from multiple countries, mostly Arab but also from Europe, Russia, China and the US, meet in Cairo to discuss the Israeli-Hamas war.

10/21/2023

Hamas agrees to release two hostages, an American mother and daughter, to the Red Cross and ultimately the United States, in a deal brokered by Qatar.

10/20/2023

Increased attacks by Iranian proxies in the Middle East target US installations. This indicates an intention to foment a wider conflict that would be in line with Hamas’s intentions.

10/20/2023

Rafah border is opened to allow humanitarian aid trucks to pass. No Palestinians or other people are allowed to cross in either direction.

10/19/2023

With Israeli airstrikes continuing, nearly 4000 Gazans have been killed. Human rights experts are calling Israeli actions “crimes against humanity.”

10/18/2023

In the aftermath of the hospital bombing, PLA’s Abbas, Jordan and Lebanon cancel scheduled meeting with US President Biden, a blow to hopes for a regional approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

10/18/2023

Hezbollah increases its rocket attacks on Israel from Lebanon, raising fears of a wider regional war.

10/18/2023

President Biden in Israel. He announces an agreement on aid to Gaza, and a humanitarian corridor to open on the Egyptian border of Gaza.

10/18/2023

US vetoes a UN Security Council resolution condemning all violence in the Israel-Hamas war and calling for a humanitarian pause in the war, saying it is too early to craft a response and criticizing the resolution for not affirming Israel’s right to self-defense.

10/17/2023

Bombing of hospital in Gaza kills hundreds. There is outrage and initial suspicion falls on Israel, although afterwards, evidence tends to point to Islamic Jihad missile that malfunctioned.

10/17/2023

US President Biden announces that an agreement has been made with Egypt to allow 20 trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza at the Rafah Crossing. However, the area has been bombed and will need to be repaired, which will take a few days. Fuel is not included in the aid.

10/16/2023

US announces that there is an agreement to allow foreigners in Gaza to leave through the Rafah Gate to Egypt and that a humanitarian corridor will be set up into southern Gaza. It also announces that President Biden will visit Israel within the week.

10/16/2023

Hamas offers to free hostages from foreign countries when the conditions are right. Not clear what this means precisely.

10/13/2023

Israel orders civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate. They can only go to southern Gaza if they are able to travel at all. Israel has dropped more than 6000 bombs on Gaza in the last several days.

10/12/2023

Israel says that there will be no fuel, food, or electricity in Gaza until the hostages are released. Hamas has been in contact with other Arab countries about creating a humanitarian corridor from Egypt into Gaza to allow for medical and food aid.

10/11/2023

Israel shells southern Lebanon in response to Hezbollah rocket attacks from there.

10/11/2023

Israel says it has mobilized 300,000 reservists. Power plants in Gaza likely to run out of fuel this day or within another day. Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant promises a ground invasion of Gaza. Hamas is said to have more than 200 hostages, Israelis and people from other countries.

10/11/2023

Netanyahu forms emergency unity government with Benny Gantz, leader of the Israel Resilience Party, which holds six seats in the Knesset. It will last only until the war with Hamas is over. Yair Lapid, who had also called for a unity government, was not included because he demanded that the far-right parties be excluded. Netanyahu’s approval has suffered due to the policy and intelligence failures preceding the Hamas war.

10/11/2023

Photos of children being beheaded by Hamas during the attack engenders widespread condemnation.

10/10/2023

Israel orders siege of Gaza while levelling parts of the territory in the stated effort to destroy Hamas strongholds, which it says are in apartment buildings that it is destroying.

10/09/2023

Hamas continues shelling of Israel.

10/09/2023

Israel says that battles with Hamas in southern Israeli towns have ended.

10/09/2023

Israel announces interdiction of food, fuel, and electricity to Gaza. Continuing bombing of Gaza, including refugee camps, said to have killed more than 500. Israel says it hit 1000 targets in Gaza and will continue even at the cost of Israeli captives in Gaza.

10/09/2023

European Neighborhood Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi says the EU will suspend more than $700 million in development aid to Palestinians then retracts the statement after protests by member states.

10/08/2023

Hezbollah in Lebanon fires rockets at Israel in support of Gaza. Israel returns the fire.

10/08/2023

Israel formally declares war on Gaza. Bombing of Gaza continues and Netanyahu warns that all Hamas strongholds will be razed.

10/08/2023

Attempted incursion into Israel from Lebanon by Gaza-based Islamic Jihad thwarted. The group also says they are holding thirty Israeli captives.

10/07/2023

Hamas attacks Israel

Hamas attacks Israel by land, sea, and air in retaliation for past atrocities notably the attack on the Al-Aqsa mosque in 4/23. More than 5000 thousand missiles are fired at Israeli targets and there is an invasion across several border points with Israel by approximately 1500. At least 100 Israelis are killed and a substantial number are taken prisoner. There is widespread killing of civilians unrelated to any military objective. There is discussion that this attack, supported and equipped by Iran, is intended to rebalance Iran’s regional position, caused in part by the reported normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Iran may also have been behind a recent terrorist bombing in Ankara, Turkey, which caused Turkey to bomb PKK sites in Syria. The attack also took place on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. There is concern in Israeli intelligence at the failure to detect any sign of the preparation for the attack, which must have been substantial.

10/07/2023

Israel bombs Gaza widely, killing at least 200. Netanyahu says Israel is “at war” with Gaza.

07/05/2023

Incursion ends with eleven Palestinians killed and one Israeli soldier.

07/03/2023

Israel begins two-day incursion in Jenin refugee camp in an “extensive counterterrorism effort.” It involves helicopter gunships, more than 150 armored vehicles and 1000 special forces.

06/20/2023

UN criticizes Israel’s use of heavy military equipment, including helicopter gunships, in recent raid on Jenin.

06/20/2023

Palestinians kill four Israeli West Bank settlers. Subsequently, Israeli West Bank settlers riot through Palestinian towns, killing one.

06/19/2023

Israel attacks Jenin refugee camp to arrest two suspects. At least seven Palestinians are killed including children.

06/13/2023

Abbas begins four-day state visit to China. It is his fifth visit, and he is expected to meet with Xi.

05/11/2023

Reciprocal attacks continue.

05/09/2023

Israel attacks kill three leaders of Islamic jihad in Gaza as violence between the two countries continues. Gazan forces will no doubt respond with more attacks.

05/02/2023

Palestinian hunger striker in Israeli custody dies, sparking new conflict. A ceasefire is agreed to quickly.

04/06/2023

Israeli police raid Al-Aqsa mosque again and fire missiles at Gaza in response to Gazan missile attacks.

04/05/2023

Israeli police raid Al-Aqsa mosque, arresting hundreds of Palestinians during Ramadan. Israeli police said in a statement that its forces entered al-Aqsa after “hundreds of rioters and mosque desecrators (had) barricaded themselves” inside. “When the police entered, stones were thrown at them, and fireworks were fired from inside the mosque by a large group of agitators,” according to the statement.

03/22/2023

Jordan parliament votes to expel Israeli ambassador over remarks by religious conservative Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who recently denied the existence of Palestinian culture.

03/19/2023

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators meet to try to find a way to reduce tensions.

03/08/2023

General strike in the West Bank in response to Israeli killings.

03/07/2023

Israeli raid in Jenin in the West Bank kills six Palestinians.

02/26/2023

Backed by the Israeli army, Israeli settlers in villages south of Nablus carry out about 300 attacks on Palestinians, burning homes and cars. One person is killed, hundreds injured. The attacks are in revenge for the killing of two Israelis in the area.

01/27/2023

Palestinian kills seven Israelis near a synagogue in East Jerusalem.

01/26/2023

Israel launches air attacks on Gaza after a raid in Jenin to pursue suspected Islamic Jihad militants.

01/03/2023

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visits Temple Mount, which Palestinians see as an intentional provocation. Ben Gvir had to delay the visit with Netanyahu, but went ahead despite that.

12/22/2022

Chile says it will open embassy in Palestinian territories.

12/03/2022

Continuing violence in the West Bank.

11/16/2022

Attacks and reprisals continue in the fighting between Israel and Palestinian Territories, especially in the Ariel settlement.

11/16/2022

Israel deploys remote-controlled, AI-directed guns directed at Palestinian camp and a center of protest in the West Bank.

10/26/2022

Israeli army continues crackdown in Nablus, in the Palestinian Authority, focusing on new militant group, Lion’s Gate, that has been responsible for attacks recently.

10/13/2022

Several days of new fighting between Israeli forces and militants in Gaza.

10/13/2022

Fatah, Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (Talal Naji) sign a reconciliation agreement in Algeria. It doesn’t set up a process for a unity government, but does so for a national council and future elections. It recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole representative of the Palestinian people.

08/07/2022

Israel and Islamic Jihad group agree to a ceasefire. At least two commanders have been killed and at least twenty other people arrested.

08/04/2022

Israeli airstrikes kill nine in Gaza, including a senior jihadist commander.

04/26/2022

Palestinian killed during Israeli raid in the West Bank.

04/25/2022

Leaders of Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE meet to discuss tension in Jerusalem and call on Israel and the Palestinian Authority to stop measures that undermine the two-state solution and return to serious negotiations.

04/18/2022

Israel launches air attack on Hamas munitions site. No one is killed and Hamas retaliates, but it is an increase in the level of violence between Hamas and Israel that has grown over recent weeks.

04/14/2022

A series of attacks in Israel by Palestinians and responses in Palestinian territories roil the area.

02/09/2022

Palestinian Central Council (PCC) announced the appointments to the Palestine Liberation Organization. Critics say that Abbas has attempted to cement his control of the organization and determine his successor by appropriating responsibilities that belong to the much larger Palestinian National Council. They say the Central Council does not have the right to executive and legislative leaders of the of the PCC. The controversial Hussein al-Sheikh is appointed to the executive committee and will likely replace late chief negotiator Saeb Erekat as the committee’s secretary-general. He has been criticized for maintaining the security agreement with Israel.

01/25/2022

Fatah government cracking down on opposition in the West Bank. Some observers suggest that Fatah’s declining popularity is making it fearful of opposition groups gaining ground.

12/11/2021

First phase of voting for municipal elections in the West Bank. The second phase, in much more populated areas, will be 3/22/22. Hamas is boycotting the vote, calling for national elections.

12/02/2021

Palestinian Authority having difficulty paying its employees.

11/17/2021

Qatar and Egypt agree to supply Gaza with fuel and building materials.

10/11/2021

International agencies report that 97% of Gaza’s water is polluted and gradually poisoning residents.

09/03/2021

Egypt's Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, King Abdullah II of Jordan and the Palestinian Authority's Mahmoud Abbas meet in Cairo to discuss the peace process and the two-state solution to the conflict with Israel.

09/02/2021

The Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank is becoming increasingly violent and dangerous. Occupants are frustrated with the Israeli presence and the failure of West Bank leadership to ameliorate problems. Jenin was one of the topics discussed by Gantz and Abbas.

08/29/2021

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz meets with Mahmoud Abbas to discuss security issues. There have been recent exchanges between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in Gaza.

08/01/2021

Ismail Haniya reelected leader of Hamas.

06/30/2021

Protests against ineffective government, sparked by the death of a critic of the Abbas government in custody on 6/24.

06/16/2021

Israel launches airstrikes on Gaza after Palestinians send incendiary balloons into southern Israel.

05/22/2021

Ceasefire holding.

05/20/2021

Israel and Gaza agree to a ceasefire, brokered by Egypt.

05/19/2021

US Pres Biden tells Netanyahu to significantly de-escalate the in Gaza today.

05/17/2021

Despite increasing calls for a ceasefire, Israel vows to continue to attack Gaza by air until its military capabilities are handicapped.

05/13/2021

Israeli attacks on Gaza continue, bombing both Palestinian military and civilian targets. Gaza rocket attacks on Israel continue.

05/12/2021

Israel masses ground forces on the Gaza border.

05/11/2021

Hamas fires rockets at Jerusalem, most of which are intercepted, in response to the attacks at the al-Aqsa mosque. Israeli fighter jets bomb areas of Gaza.

05/10/2021

Israeli security forces again attack Palestinians at the al-Aqsa mosque, wounding more than 300. Twenty Israelis were injured.

05/07/2021

Israeli police attack Muslims at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. They were celebrating the final night of Ramadan, and also protesting the eviction of Palestinians from the Sheik Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem as Israelis take over more of the East Bank. Tensions between Palestinians and Israelis have been increasing for months.

04/30/2021

Fatah postpones elections, citing Israel’s failure to decide whether to allow Palestinians to vote in East Jerusalem in May election. Fatah protests, and most observers believe that Fatah believed it would lose at the polls.

04/02/2021

Saudi foreign minister says that normalizing relations with Israel would be good for the region, but that it would depend on peace negotiations establishing a Palestinian state.

01/15/2021

Abbas announces new elections later this year to heal tensions between Hamas and Fatah.

11/17/2020

The Palestinian Authority resumes diplomatic relations with Israel after Israel provides affirmation that it will abide by previous agreements.

09/25/2020

Hamas and Fatah agree to hold elections within six months.

09/24/2020

Bahrain's King Hamad says the agreement with Israel should encourage resolution of the Palestinian problem and a two-state solution.

09/15/2020

Following recognition of Israel by the UAE and Bahrain, Hamas and Fatah attempt to form a unified political front. Threat from Iran and a US diplomatic push has moved Arab states toward détente with Israel.

07/01/2020

Original target date for Israel to take over parts of the West Bank passes without any action by Israel.

06/15/2020

Hamas leader Salah al-Bardawil calls for Palestinian unity to oppose annexation of parts of the West Bank.

06/02/2020

Israeli settlers object to Netanyahu’s plan to annex parts of the west Bank, saying it will create isolated islands of settlements that are more vulnerable to attack by Palestinians.

05/20/2020

Government ends all agreements with Israel and the US due to Israeli expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

05/05/2020

Palestinian Authority extends stay-at-home order due to COVID-19 pandemic to the end of May.

03/22/2020

Palestinian Territories confirms its first case of COVID-19.

02/24/2020

Netanyahu threatens Gaza leadership with war if attacks continue. Leaders call for a cease-fire.

02/11/2020

Saudi prince condemns US-Israel peace plan.

02/01/2020

Government cuts diplomatic relations with the US and Israel, including security agreement.

01/31/2020

Arab League rejects US-Israeli peace plan.

01/30/2020

Quiet response to US-Israeli plan leaves Palestinians with little leverage for future discussions. They say they will go to the UN to block the plan and may withdraw from the Oslo agreement, including its requirement for security coordination.

01/28/2020

US presents peace plan for Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Written without consultation of the Palestinians, it largely favors Israel and recognizes some aspects that are considered violation of international law. Netanyahu, meeting with Pres Trump, says he will accept and institute the plan if it is accepted. Benny Gantz, speaking separately, says the same. The Palestinians quickly condemn it.

11/14/2019

After Islamic Jihad announces a cease-fire, Israel says it has halted military action.

11/14/2019

Truce breaks down.

11/11/2019

New flare-up of violence between Gaza and Israel. Rockets from Gaza hit Israel and Israel conducts airstrikes on Gaza.

09/09/2019

Netanyahu says he will annex a large part of the West Bank oand the Jordan Valley if reelected. The Arab reaction is relatively muted because this is considered a campaign ploy, and because the Palestinian cause has faded in priority recently.

07/26/2019

Abbas says that the Palestinian Authority will halt executing agreements with Israel. Israel recently destroyed dozens of Palestinian homes in the West Bank. Israel and the Authority are negotiating about payment of taxes. Israel deducts money from the taxes it collects from Palestinians, justifying it by saying that it pays for housing of Palestinian prisoners. As a result, the PA refused to take any of the tax money Israel offered.

06/06/2019

Government suspends pay raises for ministers after anonymous online group reports the raises amidst the economic problems of the Palestinian Authority.

06/06/2019

Government suspends pay raises for ministers after anonymous online group reports the raises amidst the economic problems of the Palestinian Authority.

05/06/2019

Israel and Gaza agree on a cease-fire.

05/04/2019

Six hundred rockets fired from Gaza toward Israel. Israel responds with airstrikes. Israel also says it has stopped a cyber attack by Hamas and destroyed the Hamas cyberspace headquarters. This is perhaps the first time a country has retaliated in the physical world for an attack in the digital world. In 2015, the US killed an Islamic State cyberattack leader with a drone strike.

05/01/2019

Exchange of fire between Israel and Gaza.

04/14/2019

Mohammed Shtayyeh is sworn in as prime minister of the new Palestinian government. Hamas named pm on 3/10. Hamas protest it as a blow to the unity government.

03/26/2019

Hamas announces ceasefire with Israel.

03/26/2019

Renewed fighting between Gaza and Israel.

03/25/2019

More exchanges of rocket attacks between Israel and Gaza.

03/14/2019

After rockets fired at Tel Aviv from Gaza, Israel retaliates with air strikes.

03/10/2019

Abbas appoints senior Fatah official Mohammed Shtayyeh to be prime minister.

03/04/2019

US combines Palestinian mission in Israel with it embassy.

01/29/2019

PM Rami al-Hamdallah and his government resign in a blow to the rconciliation with Hamas. The two sides disagreed over power-sharing and policy to Israel.

01/29/2019

PM Rami al-Hamdallah and his government resign in a blow to the reconciliation with Hamas. The two sides disagreed over power-sharing and policy to Israel.

12/14/2018

Israelis arrest dozens of Palestinians in Gaza raids.

12/13/2018

Two Israelis are killed in drive-by shootings by Palestinians.

12/12/2018

Israeli raids kill three Palestinians suspected of attacks against Israelis.

11/14/2018

Ceasefire holds in Gaza. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigns in protest over the agreement with Hamas, which may force early elections.

11/13/2018

A ceasefire agreement has been reached.

11/12/2018

Palestinians launch hundreds of rockets into Israel, though there is little effect.

11/11/2018

Covert Israeli operation kills several “extremists,” including a Hamas commander, in Palestine.

10/29/2018

The Palestinian Central Council, a group within the PLO, calls for Palestine to suspend recognition of Israel until Israel accepts the 1967 borders of Palestine.

10/27/2018

Israel accuses Iran of ordering recent missile strikes on Israel from Palestinian Territories.

10/25/2018

Israeli newspaper reports that an Egypt-brokered agreement may defuse violence between Israel and Hamas. Israel agrees to allow some materials into Gaza and to extend fishing rights.

10/17/2018

Renewed fighting between Israel and Gaza Strip.

08/31/2018

Germany says it will increase aid to the UN agency that supports Palestinians.

08/25/2018

US cuts aid to Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza.

08/16/2018

Israeli news reports that agreement with Gaza would include a one-year ceasefire. Also, Qatar would join Egypt in paying salaries for Gazan workers and for electricity in the Gaza Strip.

08/16/2018

Israeli news reports that agreement with Gaza would include a one-year ceasefire. Also, Qatar would join Egypt in paying salaries for Gazan workers and for electricity in the Gaza Strip.

08/13/2018

Israel reported to be pursuing peace pact with Hamas in Gaza, in order to concentrate on the greater threat it sees from Iran.

08/10/2018

Continuing protests following the March of Return (which officially ended 5/15), and Israel continues to retaliate against attacks.

08/09/2018

Palestine says that the previous administration in Colombia recognized Palestine as an independent state on 8/3. Israel objects and the Duque administration says it will review the decision.

07/28/2018

King Salman reported to have reassured Abbas and other Arab allies that Saudi Arabia will not endorse any peace plan that does not address Jerusalem or the right of return, such as the plan being developed by Trump advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner with Israel.

07/24/2018

Israel allows some shipments of fuel, medicine, and food to Gaza.

07/17/2018

Israel suspends fuel deliveries to Gaza. However, Mohammed al-Emadi, a Qatari official administering a grant from Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani says that Israel and Hamas are quietly working together to keep fighting at a low level while Gaza projects progress.

07/15/2018

Ceasefire appears to be holding.

07/14/2018

In response to rocket fire from Gaza, Israel launches its largest attack since 2014, shelling military positions in Gaza.

06/13/2018

UN General Assembly condemns Israel for violence in Gaza protests.

06/07/2018

Three Palestinians are killed by Israelis as new protests erupt.

05/30/2018

Hamas declares a ceasefire after exchange of attacks by Gazans and retaliation by Israel. Israel accepts, saying that it will only respond to further attacks.

01/16/2018

Palestinians leaders call for the PLO to renounce its recognition of Israel, first made in 1993.

01/03/2018

Islamic State faction in Sinai declares war on Hamas due to Hamas’ crackdown on Islamist group in Gaza and its failure to prevent US embassy move to Jerusalem.

01/03/2018

Islamic State faction in Sinai declares war on Hamas due to Hamas’ crackdown on Islamist group in Gaza and its failure to prevent US embassy move to Jerusalem.

01/02/2018

Israeli parliament passes law raising number of votes needed to cede territory in Jerusalem to another country.

12/31/2017

Israeli Likud Party passes non-binding resolution urging parliament to annex Jewish settlement territories in the West Bank. They are currently under military jurisdiction; civilian control might allow for more new settlements.

12/21/2017

UN votes 128 to 9 to oppose US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

12/18/2017

Security Council votes 14 -1 to reject Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem, with the US negative vote vetoing the resolution.

12/07/2017

Some violence at Palestinian protests against US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital during “Day of Rage” demonstration.

12/06/2017

US recognizes Jerusalem as capital of Israel

US recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will move its embassy there. There is almost universal condemnation of the announcement outside of Israel. Though symbolic to some extent, there is a general feeling that it will be a severe hindrance to peace negotiations.

12/06/2017

US recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, breaking decades of practice, and plans to move its embassy there. The action is almost universally condemned outside of Israel. There are protest demonstrations in the Palestinian territories immediately. Pres. Trump reaffirms that the final status of Jerusalem in regard to the Palestinian and Israeli claims to the city can only be decided by the two parties involved. However, others argue that the symbolic affirmation of Israel's current rights in the city, along with its settlement constructions in East Jerusalem, gives weight to Israel's positions on an eventual peace agreement.

11/24/2017

US allows the Palestinian mission in Washington, D.C. to remain open.

11/17/2017

US threatens to close Palestinian office in Washington if it doesn’t move forward on peace. There is a law that the Palestinian mission close if the Palestinians act against Israel in the International Criminal Court.

11/01/2017

Hamas gives control of borders with Egypt and Israel to the Palestinian Authority.

10/30/2017

Israel bombs tunnel in Gaza that was directed at Israel.