Collapse of Peace Talks
In July 2000, seven years after the signing of the Oslo accords that initiated the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, President Bill Clinton hosts Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak for peace talks at the presidential retreat at Camp David. In signing the Oslo accords the two sides recognized each other's right to exist and agreed to negotiate a peace process, but they left negotiations on tougher issues for final status talks. At the Camp David talks, the two sides broach issues including Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the right of return for Palestinian refugees, and sovereignty over Jerusalem. Barak proposes that Israel will withdraw from 95 percent of the West Bank, allow some Palestinian refugees to return, and force the evacuation of 40,000 Jewish settlers. Arafat rebuffs the proposal, in part because he believes that the Palestinians should accept no less than 100 percent of the West Bank and Gaza.
Riots spark "second intifada"
Israeli Arabs demonstrate in East Jerusalem in protest of Sharon's visit
to the Al Aqsa mosque compound. The demonstrations turn into violent riots,
sparking what has become known to Palestinians as the "second intifada" or
the "Al Aqsa intifada." (The first Palestinian intifada, or "uprising," took place from approximately 1987 to 1992.) In the following days, street-fighting and riots spread to the occupied territories in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Sharon visits Al Aqsa mosque compound
The head of the right-wing Likud Party (and current prime minister) Ariel Sharon
visits the Al Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third holiest site, located in Old
Jerusalem. The rocky structure upon which the mosque is situated is considered
holy by both Jews and Muslims.
Israel responds to riots with military action
In an attempt to quell the riots, Israel deploys tanks and gunship
helicopters at the sites of violent flashpoints in the Palestinian territories.
Day of Rage
Palestinian leaders declare a "day of rage," with thousands protesting in
the occupied territories and the Old City of Jerusalem. After Friday prayers
at the Al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, a few rock-throwing Palestinian
youths hoist a Palestinian flag on the compound; hundreds more hurl rocks at Israeli police near the Western Wall in Jerusalem and later storm an Israeli police station, setting it afire. In the West Bank and Gaza, thousands of Palestinians protest, and several gun battles break out between Israeli troops and Palestinian militias.
Israel responds with troops
In Jerusalem, armed troops use tear gas and rubber bullets to subdue the rioters and tear down the Palestinian flag they had placed on the holy site. By the end of the day, 10 Palestinians are dead. Hundreds more Israelis and Palestinians are injured.
Israeli soldiers killed
Palestinian mobs beat two Israeli reserve soldiers to death in Ramallah.
Retaliatory air raids
In response to the deaths of the soldiers in Ramallah, Israel fires
missiles from attack helicopters at targets including Palestinian police and security stations in the West Bank and Gaza. No Palestinians are
killed, but at least 43 are reported injured.
Sharm el-Sheik peace summit
In the first international effort to halt the violence, Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, U.S. President Bill
Clinton, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordan's King Abdullah II, U.N.
Secretary General Kofi Annan, and E.U. foreign policy chief Javier Solana
attend a peace summit in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt. At the conclusion of the
summit, Clinton announces that Barak and Arafat have reached a cease-fire
agreement. However, the violence on the ground continues. An international fact
finding commission-- led by former U.S. senator George Mitchell-- is formed to
investigate the cause of the clashes.
Two Israelis are killed by a car bomb in an open market in Jerusalem.
Targeted gunship shooting
Fatah militia leader Hussein Suyef Abeyat is killed when his vehicle is
blown apart by a missile fired from an Israeli gunship near the West Bank
village of Beit Sahur. Two bystanders are also killed.
Attack on school bus
A mortar attack on an Israeli school bus kills two and wounds dozens.
Israel bombards Palestinian
security targets in Gaza.
A car bomb kills two Israelis and wounds dozens during rush hour
in the coastal city of Hadera, Israel.
Fatah members killed
Israeli troops shoot dead four individuals associated with Fatah.
More militants killed
Israel hit squads kill at least four militant Palestinian leaders.
Peace talks in Washington
At separate Israeli-Palestinian talks at an air force base near Washington, D.C., U.S. President Bill Clinton proposes a peace plan that includes conditional
Palestinian sovereignty over the holy sites in Jerusalem as well as 95 percent
of the West Bank. Both sides have reservations about the plan. On
December 28, a second summit between Mubarak, Arafat and Barak is cancelled.
Taba Peace Talks
In Taba, Egypt, marathon talks are held in the hope of achieving a peace
accord. They are also unsuccessful.
A suicide bomber kills three people and himself in a rush hour explosion
in Netanya. Hamas claims responsibility.
Sharon takes office
Hard-line Likud leader Ariel Sharon becomes prime minister.
Arafat moves to resume peace talks
Arafat sends a letter to new Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, asking to
restart peace talks.
Blockades in West Bank stepped up
As part of Sharon's strategy to isolate violent areas of the occupied
territories, the Israeli army imposes a total blockade on the West Bank city of
Ramallah, surrounding the city with tanks and imposing road blocks between the
city and neighboring areas.
Three bombs in 24 hours
Four Israelis are killed and dozens injured in three bomb blasts, two in
Jerusalem and one in the West Bank.
Also, a Palestinian gunman shoots dead a 10-month-old Israeli girl.
Israel begins helicopter gunship raids on Gaza and the West Bank. At least
two are killed and dozens wounded in strikes aimed at Force 17 bases in Gaza
and Ramallah. Arafat's home is also hit.
Islamic Jihad members killed
On April 2, Mohammed Abdel Al, a military activist in Islamic Jihad, is
killed when Israeli helicopters fire rockets on his car in Gaza. Three days
later, Iyyad Hardan, the military leader of Islamic Jihad in Jenin, is blown up
while standing in a public telephone booth.
Two were killed and some 40 wounded by a suicide bomber at a bus stop in
Kfar Saba, northeast of Tel Aviv.
Mitchell Commission report
The Mitchell Commission, convened in the aftermath of the failed Sharm
el-Sheikh Peace Summit issued its report, recommending a six-week
cooling-off period followed by "confidence-building measures," a freeze on
developing Jewish settlements and, ultimately, a return to political
At least five Israelis are killed when a suicide bomber blows himself up
at the entrance to a shopping center in Netanya. The attack is claimed by
In response to the Netanya bombing, Israel strikes a police station in
Nablus with missiles from U.S.-supplied F-16 jets, killing eleven Palestinian police
officers. It is the first use of the warplanes since the Six Day War in
The next day, helicopter gunships fire missiles at Palestinian security
positions in the West Bank towns of Jenin and Tulkarem, injuring at least 30
Twenty Israelis are killed and scores more injured outside a
beach front Tel Aviv nightclub in a suicide bombing claimed by Hamas. The next
day, Arafat promises a cease-fire.
No Military Action
Despite right-wing criticism, Sharon decides against military reprisals for
the Tel Aviv bombing, in an attempt to stick to the truce announced by Arafat.
Tenet brokers cease-fire
A cease-fire plan is brokered by the director of the Central Intelligence
Agency, George Tenet, Israeli and Palestinian authorities, but fails to
take hold on the ground.
Two Israelis are killed in a suicide bombing in the northern Israeli town of Binyamina. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility.
Israeli helicopters shoot at Hamas office
Two leading Hamas officials in the West Bank and four other activists are
killed, along with two children, when Israeli helicopters fire on the Hamas
office in Nablus.
At least 15 people are killed and more than 100 injured in a suicide
bomb attack claimed by Hamas on a pizzeria in central west Jerusalem.
PA office seized; More F-16s
In retaliation for the Jerusalem bombing, Israel seizes and shuts down the
East Jerusalem office of the Palestinian Authority, and F-16s flatten a
Palestinian police station in Ramallah.
Tanks enter Jenin
Israel sends tanks into the West Bank city of Jenin, leveling the police
Targeted killings continue
Israeli troops kill a Palestinian militia leader, Emad Abu Sneineh. The
next week, Palestinian militant Bilal al-Ghul is killed by a rocket strike on
Three Israeli soldiers killed
Three Israeli soldiers are killed when guerrilla soldiers breach
security at a Gaza Strip Israeli army post. The Democratic Front for the
Liberation of Palestine claims responsibility.
Israeli F-16s and F-17s destroy security installations in Gaza and the
PFLP leader assassinated
Israeli troops kill the secretary-general of the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine by firing missiles through the window of his office in
a suburb of Ramallah.
Two suicide bombs
Three people are killed and more than 30 wounded when a suicide bomber
blows himself up at a train station at Nahariya in northern Israel. Another
suicide bomber attacks an intersection at Beit Lid killing himself and wounding three people.
More incursions into the West Bank
On Sept. 12, the Israeli army sends tanks and bulldozers into Jericho
and pushes again into Jenin. On Sept. 16, tanks enter Ramallah.
Agreement to work toward truce
Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres meet at Gaza International Airport and
agree to work to build a lasting truce and resume security cooperation.
Two Israelis shot dead
Palestinian gunmen infiltrate a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip and
shoot dead two Israelis, wounding 15 others. Hamas claims responsibility.
Israel destroys seven Palestinian police posts near the Jewish settlement in Gaza that
had been attacked the night before.
Israeli minister shot dead
Right-wing Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi is shot dead
in a hotel in east Jerusalem. The PFLP claims responsibility.
Major military assault
In the most extensive military operation in the occupied
territories at the time, Israel deploys forces into and around six Palestinian cities,
Gunmen kill four
Two Palestinian gunmen kill four women in the northern Israeli city of
Hadera before police shoot them dead.
Suicide bombs kill 25
A suicide bomb in Jerusalem kills 10; the next day another in Haifa kills
Helicopter gunships and jets hit Palestinian Authority targets near
Arafat's headquarters in Gaza City, in retaliation for the killing of 25 people
by suicide bombers over the preceding weekend.
Israelis gunned down
Ten Israelis are killed by Palestinian gunmen on a bus in the West Bank
near a Jewish settlement close to Nablus.
Israel responds with gunships
In retaliation for the
Dec. 12 bus attack, helicopter gunships fire at numerous Palestinian
buildings in the West Bank and Gaza, including a Palestinian police station in
Arafat calls for end to violence
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat calls for an end to attacks on Israel
in one of his strongest statements in 15 months of violence.
Hamas says it will stop attacks
The political wing of Hamas announces it will stop its suicide bombings and mortar attacks on the condition that Israel halt political
assassinations and the killing of civilians. The next day, the armed wing of
Hamas, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, agrees to halt anti-Israeli attacks.
Israel intercepts arms shipment
Israel intercepts a Palestinian freighter loaded with 50 tons of arms,
including anti-tank missiles. Israel claims Iran supplied the arms to
the Palestinian Authority. Arafat denies any connection to the weapons.
Al Aqsa gunman kills six civilians
In the first major attack on civilians in Israel since Arafat
declared a cease-fire on Dec. 16, a Palestinian gunman from the Al Aqsa Brigades shoots dead six Israelis and
injures at least 24 others at a bat mitzvah party in Hadera before being
First woman suicide bomber
Wafa Idris becomes the first Palestinian woman suicide bomber when she
blows herself up in busy shopping street in West Jerusalem. One Israeli is
killed and dozens wounded. The attack is claimed by the
Palestinian rocket attack
In an unprecedented attack, Palestinian fire homemade Qassam-2 rockets
from the Gaza Strip into the Negev desert.
Air strikes; major incursion into Gaza
Calling the Feb. 10 rocket attack "a new level of threat," Israel
bombs security compounds in Gaza City and launches an extensive military
incursion into the Gaza Strip in a search for the manufacturing and launch sites of the rockets.
Palestinians blow up tank; kill elite Israeli commander
Palestinian mines blow up an Israeli tank, killing three of the crew. This
marks the first time that one of the highly
sophisticated Israeli tanks is destroyed or badly damaged. The same day, the head of a elite Israeli commando unit is killed.
F-16s strike Jabalya
In reprisal for the death of the commando and destruction of the tank,
Israeli jets attack a Palestinian police compound at Jabalya refugee camp in
Attack on army checkpoint
In one of the deadliest attacks on Israeli troops in the 17-month intifada, Palestinian gunmen storm an army
checkpoint near Ramallah in a commando-style raid and kill six Israeli soldiers.
launches an assault on Palestinian Authority buildings, including Arafat's
Ramallah headquarters and the Palestinian Authority compound in Gaza City.
Sixteen Palestinians are killed.
Invasion of Balata and Jenin refugee camps
Israeli troops invade two Palestinian refugee camps near the West Bank
towns of Nablus and Jenin. Twelve Palestinians and one Israeli soldier are
killed. Fighting continues through the next day, with more than 20
Palestinian casualties in total.
Suicide bomb; sniper attack
A suicide bomber blows himself up in an religious neighborhood of
Jerusalem. Nine are killed and dozens injured. The Al Aqsa Brigades claim
The next day, a lone Palestinian sniper attacks an Israeli checkpoint in the
West Bank, killing 10 Israelis. Al Aqsa Brigades again claims responsibility.
Further incursions into Palestinian territory
Israel continues advancing into Palestinian-controlled territory, killing
several Palestinians as they storm refugee camps near Tulkarem in the northern
West Bank in search of suspected militants. Later, Israeli helicopters fire
rockets into Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza Strip. Forty Palestinians are killed.
Suicide bomb; shooting spree
A Palestinian suicide bomber blows himself up in a crowded Jerusalem
cafe a short distance from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's residence,
killing 11 and wounding some 50.
Hours earlier, Palestinian gunmen had gone on a shooting spree in the coastal
town of Netanya, killing three and wounding dozens.
A suicide bomber in a Jerusalem cafe kills 11 and wounds more than 50.
Massive military assault
In the largest military offensive since the invasion of Lebanon two decades
earlier, Israeli tanks and troops storm refugee camps in Gaza and invade Ramallah,
occupying the city. At least 30 Palestinians are killed, along with several
Tanks pull out
Under pressure from the U.S., Israeli tanks begin pulling out of Ramallah. The next
day, Israelis pulls troops out of all West Bank towns except for Bethlehem.
A suicide bomber killed seven Israelis in a bus in Umm el-Fahm in central
Israel. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility.
A suicide bomber blows himself up in a Jerusalem shopping center, killing at
least two Israelis and wounding dozens of others. The Al Aqsa Brigades
Arab League Summit
At a summit meeting in Beirut, Lebanon, delegates from many Arab states
endorse a plan for peace in the region proposed by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince
Abdullah. The plan calls for Arab nations to accept Israel as their neighbor
if Israel withdraws from the all the occupied territories, accepts the creation
of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem
as its capital, and allows for the return of Palestinian refugees.
Arafat is notably missing from the conference, having refused to attend
out of fear that Israel would not allow him to return to the West Bank. Also
missing were Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, Jordan's King Abdullah II, and 10
other members of the Arab League.
A suicide bomber blows himself up in the lobby of the Park Hotel in Netanya
as guests gather to celebrate the first night of Passover. The blast kills
at least 19 and wounds around 100 others. The radical Islamic group Hamas takes
responsibility, and a spokesman from the group is quoted in Israeli media as
saying that the attack was timed to undermine the Beirut meeting of the Arab
A female suicide bomber kills two people and herself and wounds at least
20 others when she sets off explosives in a West Jerusalem supermarket. The Al
Aqsa Brigades claim responsibility.
Israel storms Arafat headquarters in Ramallah and moves into other West Bank towns
Israeli sends tanks and bulldozers to attack Arafat's Ramallah compound. As of
April 4, 2002, Arafat remains isolated in the compound, having vowed that he
would die as a martyr rather than surrender. The assault on Ramallah is the beginning of a crackdown on Palestinian territories in the West Bank. By April 4, Israeli tanks enter Hebron, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem, Qalqilya, Ramallah, and Bethlehem, as well as a number of Palestinian-controlled villages in the West Bank. Ariel Sharon says that the goal of the Israeli operation is to root out terrorists in the areas under control of the Palestinian Authority.
A suicide bomber blows himself up in a crowded café in Tel Aviv's
entertainment district, killing himself and wounding dozens.
A suicide bomber sets off an explosion in a crowded restaurant in Haifa, killing at least 16 people and wounding dozens. Izzedine al-Qassam, the armed wing of the Hamas militant group, claims
"Israel is at War"
Ariel Sharon says Israel is at war and calls Yasser Arafat "the enemy of Israel
and the entire free world."