Seven years of the Oslo Process failed to achieve the creation of a Palestinian state. Israel still occupied the West Bank and Gaza. Israeli settlements were being built in the Occupied Territories. Following a visit to the Temple Mount by right-wing opposition leader Ariel Sharon in September 2000, fighting erupted between Muslims and Israeli police.
2000-2005: The Second Intifada
September 2000
- Beginning of the Second Intifada - a period of intensified
Palestinian-Israeli violence.
January 21-27,
2001
- The Taba Summit negotiations between Prime Minister Ehud Barak and
Yasser Arafat comes close to achieving a solution. The talks were
halted by the politics of the Israeli elections and the changeover in
leadership in the US.
February 2001
- Likud candidate Ariel Sharon is elected Prime Minister of Israel.
Sharon refuses to negotiate with the Palestinians on the principles
of either the Taba Summit or the Oslo Accords.
March 2002
- Arab League Summit in Beirut. Arab Peace Initiative calls for Israel
to withdraw its forces from all the Occupied Territories, including
the Golan Heights, to recognize "an independent Palestinian
state with East Jerusalem as its capital" in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip, as well as a "just solution" for the
Palestinian refugees. In exchange the Arab states affirmed that they
would recognize the state of Israel, consider the Arab-Israeli
conflict over and establish "normal relations" with Israel.
March 2002
- 15 suicide attacks against Israeli targets; overall during March
2002, 138 Israelis and 238 Palestinians were killed.
March 27, 2002
- Suicide attack on Park Hotel in Netanya kills 30.
March 29, 2002
to May 10, 2002-
Sparked by the suicide attack in Netanya, Israelis launch "Operation
Defensive Shield", an offensive into Palestinian territory on
March 29.
- The operation resulted in the deaths of 30 Israeli soldiers and 497 Palestinians.
- Over $361 million worth of damage was done to Palestinian infrastructure and institutions, $158 million of which came from the aerial bombardment and destruction of houses in Nablus and Jenin.
June
2002 - Israelis begin construction of the West Bank Wall. Upon
completion, the barrier's total length will be approximately 700
kilometres. A 2004 advisory opinion by the International Court of
Justice called "the construction of the wall, and its associated
régime...contrary to international law".
2003 - Truce
between Palestinians and Israelis leads to the Aqaba summit
of May 2003 in which Israel
endorsed the "Roadmap for Peace" put forth by the United
States, European Union, and Russia.
March
19, 2003 - Arafat appoints Mahmoud Abbas as Prime Minister
June
6, 2004 - Gaza disengagement originally proposed by Ariel Sharon
at the end of 2003 is adopted by the Israeli government.
November
2004 - Yasser Araft dies.
January
2005 - Mahmoud Abbas is elected President of the Palestinian
National Authority.
August
2005 - Israeli diesngagement from Gaza is effected, including the
relocation of all Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.
2006 - 2012: The Israel-Gaza Conflict
January 25,
2006 - Hamas wins a majority on
the Palestinian Legislative Council.
- The United States and some European countries cut off funds to the Hamas and the Palestinian Authority insisting that the Hamas must recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept previous peace pacts.
- Israel refused to negotiate with Hamas, since Hamas did not renounce its beliefs that Israel has no right to exist and that the entire State of Israel is an illegal occupation
Summer 2006
- Israel-Gaza conflict begins.
March 2007-
Hamas and Fatah formed a
Palestinian authority national unity government headed by Ismail
Haniya.
June, 2007 -
Hamas took control of the Gaza
Strip in the course of the Battle of Gaza; Fatah maintains control of
the West Bank. Israel and Egypt begin the air, land, and sea
blockade of Gaza.
June 2008
- Israel-Hamas agree to a six-month truce
December 19,
2008 - Israel-Hamas Truce
expires.
The Gaza
War: December 27, 2008 - January 18, 2009
December 27,
2008 - Gaza War begins. Israel
attacks Gaza with an intense bombardment of police, military and
civilian structures in Gaza. Hamas intensifies its rocket attacks.
January 3,
2009 - Israeli ground offensive
into Gaza begins.
January 18,
2009 - Israel and Hamas declare
cease fires. Israeli troops withdraw on January 21.
Impact of the Gaza War
- The conflict resulted in 1,417 Palestinian (65% civilian) and 13 Israeli deaths (4 from friendly fire).
- Early estimates by independent contractors in Gaza say that Gaza lost nearly $2 billion in assets. The Israeli Defense Forces destroyed or severely damaged as many as 4000 homes, 600–700 factories, small industries, workshops and business enterprises, 24 mosques, 31 security compounds, and 10 water or sewage lines.
- The World Health Organization said that 34 health facilities (8 hospitals and 26 primary health care clinics) were damaged
- The UN reported that over 50 United Nations facilities sustained damage.
- A satellite-based damage assessment of the Gaza Strip by the United Nations revealed 2,692 destroyed and severely damaged buildings, 220 impact craters on roads and bridges, 714 impact craters on open ground or cultivated land, 187 greenhouses completely destroyed or severely damaged and 2,232 hectares (22.32 km²) of demolished zones targeted by IDF bulldozers, tanks and phosphorus shelling.
- In September 2009, a UN special mission, headed by the South African Justice Richard Goldstone, produced a report accusing both Palestinian militants and the IDF of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, and recommended bringing those responsible to justice.
- The United Nations Human Rights Council ordered Israel to conduct various repairs of the damages. On September 21, 2012, the United Nations Human Rights Council concluded that 75% of civilian homes destroyed in the attack were not rebuilt.
November
25, 2009 - Israel imposed a 10-month construction freeze on all
of its settlements in the West Bank. Israeli settlements in the
Occupied Territories are almost universally considered illegitimate
and in violation of international law.
September
2, 2010 - United States launched direct negotiations between
Israel and the Palestinian Authority in Washington. When the Israeli
partial moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank
expired and was not renewed, the Palestinians left the negotiations.
September
2011 the Palestinian Authority led a diplomatic campaign aimed at
getting recognition of the State of Palestine within the 1967
borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. On September 23
President Mahmoud Abbas submitted a request to recognize the State of
Palestine as the 194th UN member to the Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon. The Security Council has yet to vote on it.
October
2011 - Israel and Hamas prisoner exchange. The captured Israeli
soldier Gilad Shalit would be released in exchange for 1,027
Palestinian and Arab-Israeli prisoners.
Gaza
Incursion of 2012
Nov
14, 2012 - Preceded by a period of mutual Israeli–Palestinian
responsive attacks, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operation was
officially launched against the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip with the
assassination of Ahmed Jabari, chief of the Gaza military wing of
Hamas.
Nov 21, 2012
- A ceasefire mediated by Egypt was announced.
Impact of the Gaza Incursion of 2012
- 4 Israeli civilians and 2 soldiers were killed by Palestinian rockets.
- 174 Palestinians in total died, 107 of them civilians (6 civilians may have been killed by Palestinian armed groups firing rockets from Gaza)
- The IDF destroyed 124 (and partially damaged 2050) homes in Gaza and damaged or destroyed 52 places of worship, 25 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), 97 schools, 15 health institutions, 14 journalist premises, 8 police stations, 16 government buildings, and 11 political sites. Fifteen factories and 192 trade shops were damaged or destroyed. Twelve water wells as well as agricultural lands were destroyed.
November
29, 2012 - The Palestinian Authority applied for admission as a
United Nations non-member state. Hamas also backed the motion. The
draft resolution was passed on November 29, 2012 by a vote of 138 to
9, with 41 abstentions.
References
Wikipedia articles on the topics related to Israeli-Palestinian conflict are the major source for these posts. The articles on Palestine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were particularly helpful.
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