This timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict lists events from 1948 to the present. The Israeli–Palestinian conflict emerged from intercommunal violence in Mandatory Palestine between Palestinian Jews and Arabs, often described as the background to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The conflict in its modern phase evolved since the declaration of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948 and consequent intervention of Arab armies on behalf of the Palestinian Arabs.
Background
Israel gained independence on May 14, 1948, while Palestinian attempt to establish a state in the Gaza Strip in September 1948 under Egyptian protectorate failed, being de facto managed by Egyptian military and announced dissolved in 1959.
1948–1949: Arab–Israeli War
1948
1949
1948–1966
Between 1949 and 1953, there were 99 complaints made by Israel about the infiltration of armed groups or individuals and 30 complaints of armed Jordanian units crossing into Israeli territory. Several hundred Israeli civilians were killed by infiltrators, and some were raped and mutilated. Israel launched numerous reprisal raids in response. Between 1949 and 1956, 286 Israeli civilians were killed. During the same period, excluding the Suez War, 258 Israeli soldiers were killed. Between 2,700 and 5,000 Arab infiltrators were killed. It is unclear whether these Arabs were really infiltrators or were simply unauthorized crossers, as many Palestinians were crossing into Israel for economic reasons. The Israeli forces necessarily treated anyone attempting unauthorized entry as a potential infiltrator, given the level of bloodshed.
1951
The State of Israel was confronted by a wave of Palestinian infiltrations. In 1951, 118 Israelis, including 48 civilians, were killed by such infiltrators. According to Israeli army records, an average of 36 infiltrators were killed each month during 1951. Arabs were also being attacked by the Israelis, and the overall situation deteriorated. Israel began Retribution Operations as punishment and prevention measures.
1952
68 Israelis, including 42 civilians, were killed by Palestinian infiltrators. The Israeli army killed a monthly average of 33 people crossing the armistice lines, including 78 in March and 57 in April.
1953
71 Israelis, including 44 civilians, killed by Palestinian infiltrators.
1954
57 Israelis killed, including 33 civilians. Israeli Border Police record between May and December they killed 51 infiltrators.
1955
74 Israelis killed, including 24 civilians. The Israeli army recorded 36 hostile infiltrators as killed.
The First Intifada began with violence, riots, general strikes, and civil disobedience campaigns by Palestinians spread across the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli forces responded with tear gas, plastic bullets, and live ammunition against the demonstrators. After the outbreak of the First Intifada, Shaikh Ahmed Yassin created Hamas from the Gaza wing of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Until that point the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza had enjoyed the support of the Israeli authorities and had refrained from violent attacks. However, Hamas quickly began attacks on Israeli military targets, and subsequently, Israeli civilians. The Israeli army killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the first intifada whilst 164 Israelis were killed. Allegedly almost half of the total Palestinian casualties were caused by internal fighting among Palestinian factions.
1991–present: Peace process
1991
1992
During 1992, 11 Israeli civilians and 14 members of the Israeli armed forces were killed by Palestinians. In the same period, 134 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army. An additional two were killed by Israeli civilians.
1993
During 1993, 154 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army. An additional 13 were killed by Israeli civilians. In the same period 27 Israeli civilians and 18 members of the Israeli armed forces were killed by Palestinians.
1994
During 1994, 106 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli security forces, and an additional 38 killed by Israeli civilians. In the same period 11 Israeli civilians and 12 members of the Israeli armed forces were killed by Palestinians.
1995
During 1995, 42 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli security forces, and an additional two killed by Israeli civilians. In the same period seven Israeli civilians and nine members of the Israeli armed forces were killed by Palestinians.
1996
During 1996, 69 Palestinians and 4 Lebanese militants were killed by the Israeli security forces, and an additional three killed by Israeli civilians. In the same period three Israeli civilians and 19 members of the Israeli armed forces were killed by Palestinians.
1997
During 1997, 18 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli security forces, and an additional four killed by Israeli civilians. In the same period six Israeli civilians were killed by Palestinians.
1998
During 1998, 21 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli security forces, an additional six killed by Israeli civilians. In the same period eight Israeli civilians and three members of the Israeli armed forces were killed by Palestinians.
1999
During 1999, eight Palestinians were killed by the Israeli security forces, and one person killed by Israeli civilians. In the same period one Israeli civilian and two members of the Israeli armed forces were killed by Palestinians.
In 2001, Hamas began firing rockets towards Israeli areas. The weapons used initially were home made with of limited range and destructive capability. These were later replaced with military grade rockets.
After Israel completely withdrew from Gaza in 2005, Hamas and other militants unleashed a barrage of daily rocket attacks into Israel. The city of Sderot, for example, one mile away from Gaza, was hit by over 360 Qassam rockets within a six-month period after Israel's withdrawal. In June 2006, militants from Gaza tunneled into Israel, killing two soldiers and capturing one. Two weeks later, Hezbollah, supported by Iran and Syria, attacked Israel across the internationally recognized Israeli–Lebanese border, killing eight soldiers and kidnapping two, simultaneously launching a barrage of rockets against civilian towns in northern Israel. Israel responded with a military operation that lasted 34 days. After Hamas fired thousands of rockets at Israeli communities and refused to renew a six-month truce, Israel responded with a military operation against Hamas to protect Israeli citizens. The 22-day operation ended on January 18, 2009. In May 2010, Turkish activists with the Free Gaza flotilla tried to break Israel's naval blockade of Hamas-controlled Gaza. In August 2010, Lebanese soldiers shot and killed an Israeli soldier during routine IDF maintenance on the border. Three Lebanese soldiers and one Lebanese journalist were killed in the exchange of gunfire.
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
, launched near the end of the previous year by Israel, continued until January 18. After 22 days of fighting, Israel and Hamas each declared separate unilateral ceasefires. Casualties of the Gaza War are disputed. According to Hamas, they included as many as 1,417 Palestinians including as many as 926 civilians. According to the IDF, 1,166 Palestinians were killed, and 295 were non-combatants. According to the testimonies of three Guardian films, 1,400 Palestinians dead, including more than 300 children.
2010
2011
In 2011, Israel deployed the Iron Domeair defence system to shoot down rockets fired by palestinian militant organizations, such as Hamas, in Gaza.
2012
An annual survey by Shin Bet or Israel Security Agency concluded that in 2012, the number of terrorist attacks in the West Bank had risen from 320 in 2011 to 578 in 2012, but it was accompanied by a decrease in the number of fatalities. During that same year, 282 attacks were carried out in Jerusalem, compared to 191 in 2011. The increase in attacks was due in part to a 68% rise of attacks using molotov cocktails. However, the number of attacks involving firearms and explosives also grew by 42%—37 compared to 26 in 2011.
