1881:

Start of the first great aliya, or mass immigration of Jews to the Holy Land. There had always been a Jewish population - much smaller than the Palestinian one - and over the centuries there had been sporadic immigration of Jews from the diaspora.

But 1881 marked the first organised movement back to Eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel. The first olim (literally, the ascenders) came from Russia and Yemen. The movement greatly accelerated during and after vicious pogroms against the Jews of Russia and Romania.

In 1881, the Jewish population of what is now Israel numbered around 24,000. In the following 20 years, it is estimated that 30-40,000 Jewish immigrants arrived. During the period, the land was ruled by the Ottoman Turks, who called it Palestine and regarded it as part of southern Syria. It was administratively divided into three parts. [1]

1896:

Publication of Der Judenstaat, The Jewish State, by Theodor Herzl, the founding father of the Zionist movement. The book was received with derision by leading European Jews, but struck an immediate chord with those who were regularly persecuted and vilified. [1]

1897:

First Zionist congress, in Basle. Jewish delegates from across Europe accept the notion of a national homeland, though they are less clear about where it should be and how it can be achieved. The seeds are sown for the World Zionist Organisation. [1]

1916:

The Sykes-Picot agreement. In the midst of the first world war, with millions dying on the western front, the imperially-minded French and British governments reach an understanding on how the Middle East should be carved, post war, into zones of influence. [1]

1917:

The Balfour declaration. A masterpiece of political obfuscation, in which the British foreign minister Arthur Balfour, writing to Lord Rothschild of the World Zionist Organisation, promises all things to all men: "His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country." [1]

1920:

Under the terms of the Versailles peace conference, Britain is mandated to govern what is now Israel, the occupied territories and Jordan.

Herbert Samuel, a former Liberal cabinet minister and prominent British Jew, becomes first High Commissioner. The mandate requires Britain to implement the Balfour declaration, and stipulates that the civil power should "facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall encourage close settlement by Jews on the land".

The Jewish population of the Holy Land had shrunk to some 60,000 during the last years of Turkish rule. The postwar years saw renewed immigration, with some 35,000 people arriving from Europe and America in the years 1919-23. To the alarm of the existing Arab population, the Zionist movement was now acquiring teeth: 1920 saw the foundation of the armed Jewish protection movement, the Haganah. [1]

1922:

The League of Nations adopt the Balfour declaration, and leaves Britain in charge of Palestine, and in assisting the Jews in "reconstituting their national home in that country". Jews represent 11% of the population in Palestine with their 85,000, compared to the 670,000 Palestinians. [2]

The first British white paper on Palestine. The territory is divided into two administrative districts. The larger, eastern, part of the mandated territory is to be known as Transjordan. It is given a measure of autonomy under its new Hashemite emir, Abdullah, who had been expelled from Saudi Arabia. To the rage of militant Zionists, the British dictate that Jews will be permitted to settle only to the west of the Jordan rift valley. [1]

1929:

Alarmed by the rapid expansion of Jewish settlement, Arabs riot in many areas. More than 130 Jews are killed. The riots are a precursor to a more bloody Arab uprising in 1936, in which Palestinian and Jewish paramilitary groups clash for the first time. The latter are aided to victory by a young , fanatically Christian and Zionist army officer, Orde Wingate. [1]

1937:

In the midst of the Palestinian uprising, the Peel commission suggests that the Holy Land be partitioned into Jewish and Arab zones. [1]

1938:

Any lingering doubts about Nazi intentions in Germany is removed by the vicious savagery of Kristallnacht. [1]

1939:

The British impose a stop on the Jewish immigration. At this time 450,000 Jews and 1,060,000 Arabs live in Palestine (30%). [2]

The British set out well meaning but hopelessly impractical proposals for an independent Palestine, within 10 years, in which power will be shared by Jews and Arabs. [1]

Outbreak of the second world war, and the dawning, sickening, realisation that Hitler is intent on a final solution of the Jewish issue - that is, genocide. [1]

1944:

The militant Jewish underground group Irgun Zva'i Le'umi, under future prime minister Menachim Begin, tires of collaboration in the war effort, and declares war on the British rulers of Palestine. [1]

1946:

Britain grants independence to Transjordan, which becomes the kingdom of Jordan. The British continue to administer the area west of the Jordan river, still known as Palestine. The militant Jewish campaign for independence grows more vicious, culminating in the bombing of the King David hotel in Jerusalem. [1]

1947:

The general assembly of the United Nations votes to partition Palestine, dividing it into Jewish and Arab controlled parts. The Jews accept the UN plan, but the Palestinians and neighbouring Arab nations indignantly reject it. [1]

1948:

The new Jewish state, State of Israel, is proclaimed by the Jewish Provisional State Council. Chaim Weizmann becomes president, and the Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion the new prime minister. The secret Jewish army, Haganah, is declared as the new army of Israel. [2]

The Haganah purchases arms from Czechoslovakia. [4]

Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq join the Arab guerillas in fight against the Jews. [2]

1949:

In spite of overwhelming numerical superiority, the Arab armies are soundly defeated by Israel's fledgling army. A series of armistice agreements are signed with Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. [1]

Egypt declares that the agreement on cease fire, is not an acceptance of the state of Israel. The Israeli territory has increased from the 15,500 km² that the UN-resolution of 1947 gave them, to 20,700 km². Gaza Strip becomes Egyptian, and the West Bank Jordanian. There had been 800,000 Arabs living in the area that now became Israel, and only 170,000 had been able to stay. The remaining hundreds of thousands, moved into refugee camps in neighboring countries. [2]

1950:

Due to the heavy immigration, the Israeli economy faces serious difficulties. Aid is provided by Jewish organizations around the world, and the US government. [2]

1956:

Egyptian nationalist hero Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalises the Suez canal, provoking a disastrous military response by Britain and France. [1]

Israel attacks Egypt, and is joined by British and French troops. Israel is much motivated by the Egyptian blockade of ships calling at the Israeli port of Eilat. The three countries had swift victories, but the UN, supported by both USA and the Soviet Union, intervened after few days. Towards the end of the year the three countries had left Sinai, but Israel still held forces in Gaza. [2]

France is, at this point, Israel's main arms supplier. [6]

1957:

Israel leaves Gaza, after USA had promised help to keep the Gulf of Aqaba open for ships calling at Israel. [2]

1961:

Adolf Eichmann, one of the main architects of Hitler's final solution, is captured in a daring Mossad operation in Argentina, and smuggled back to Israel. He faces a dramatic trial - the first ever to be televised - and is sentenced to death for genocide. He is the first and only man to be judicially executed in Israel. [1]

1967:

Political and security tensions, with the increase of Arab troops stationed along the Israeli borders, provokes Israel to a surprise attack on Syria, Jordan, and Egypt.

The Syrian front is the last battleground of the war that came to be called the Six-Day War. Israel has occupied a large strip of the Syrian Golan Heights, along all of the former border line, East Jerusalem and the West Bank which had been annexed by Jordan almost 20 years earlier, the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip, and the Egyptian territory of Sinai. About 1,5 million Arabs are now under Israeli administration. [2]

The United Nations security council passes resolution 242, demanding Israeli withdrawal from the conquered territories. It is still waiting. [1]

The US becomes Israel's primary supplier of arms and military aid. [5]

1968:

The nascent Palestine Liberation Organisation adopts its national charter, insisting that Palestinians everywhere have a right to their own homeland. [1]

1969:

Yasser Arafat is elected chairman of the PLO. [1]

1971:

Black September. Three passenger airliners are hijacked by PLO militants and flown to Jordan. Responding to western outrage, Jordan's King Hussein orders his army to destroy the PLO. After bloody fighting, the Palestinian leadership is driven out, and re-bases in Lebanon. [1]

1972:

Eleven Israeli athletes are murdered at the Munich Olympics. Israel vows to track down and eliminate all those responsible. All but two of the 11 identified killers or planners of the operation have since been assassinated. [1]

1973:

Yom Kippur War, where Egypt and Syria attack Israel in order to recapture territory occupied in 1967. Arab power had clearly increased since the last war, but after 3 weeks of fighting Israel restores control. Demands from the Israeli military cost so much that the budgets are exceeded to an extent that national economy suffers for years to come. [2]

1974:

With the ghost of the Yom Kippur War, and facing the defeat in the parliamentary elections, Golda Meir is not capable of establishing a new government, and resigns. Yitzhak Rabin becomes the new prime minister. [2]

1976:

Israel's military pride is restored with the remarkable raid on Entebbe, in Uganda, in which a plane load of hijacked hostages are rescued. [1]

1977:

When not unable to refute accusations on financial irregularities in the private economy, Rabin experiences a defeat in the parliamentary elections.

Menachim Begin becomes the new prime minister. A period of even more deterioration of the economy starts, despite new politics from Begin's conservative government.

The president of Egypt, Anwar as-Sadat, visits Jerusalem and the peace process between Israel and Egypt starts. [2]

1979:

Camp David Agreement signed between Egypt and Israel. Israeli withdrawal from Sinai starts, and goes on for the next 3 years. The second part of the agreement, which dealt with autonomy for the Palestinians on Gaza Strip and the West Bank, is never observed from the Israeli side. [2]

1980:

Knesset declares the united and complete Jerusalem as capital of Israel. [2]

1981:

Israel fighters bomb a nuclear reactor in Baghdad, Iraq, claiming that this was being used to produce nuclear weapons to be used against Israel.

Golan Heights are annexed by Israel. [2]

1982:

Israel hands Sinai back to Egypt. The process of withdrawal is done in three stages, and meets only sporadic protests from Israeli settlers.

Israeli invasion of Lebanon, in an attempt to root out PLO presence in and around Beirut. Even if this campaign turns out to be a military success, it is a hard blow to the strained Israeli budget. [2]

1987:

The Palestinian Intifada starts, where Israel first starts with brutal suppression, only to realize that this adds momentum to the Palestinian struggle. The Intifada would come to awaken liberal groups in Israel, and would be a prelude to the rudimentary peace initiatives that came in the 1990s. [2]

1988:

Jordan gives up the West Bank in favour of the Palestinian people. The West Bank has still a strong majority of Palestinians who considered towns and villages in Israel as their true homes. The West Bank is also under boundless Israeli control, which it has been since the occupation of 1967.

The Palestinian state is declared in a convention in Algiers, and a flag for the new state is presented. This new state is recognized only by states that have not recognized Israel, and it has no political power, only symbolic. [3]

1989:

Heavy immigration of Soviet Jews starts. [2]

1991:

Peace talks between Israel, the Arab countries, and the Palestinians start. Nothing materializes directly from these talks. [2]

1993:

After secret negotiations outside Oslo in Norway, a peace treaty is outlined, involving the principle of "peace for land", the establishment of a Palestinian state in 1999 after 5 years of gradually increasing autonomy for the Palestinians in most of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The peace treaty is signed in Washington, USA, after that the American president, Bill Clinton, has almost succeeded in making the American public believe that he has had something to do with it. [2]

1994:

Autonomy of Jericho on the West Bank, and of the Gaza Strip begins. The agreement is signed on 4^th May, and the period of autonomy will end on 4^th May, 1999. [3]

Peace treaty between Israel and Jordan.

This year saw some of the most dramatic actions against civilians on both side. An Israeli settler killed 29 Palestinians performing prayers in a mosque in Hebron. A suicide bomber from Hamas blew up a bus in Tel Aviv, leaving 22 dead and 47 injured. [2]

UK becomes a major supplier of military equipment to Israel. [5]

1995:

Palestinian land is annexed to build houses which Palestinians had no right to own or lease. [2]

Oslo 2 Agreement is signed in Washington, USA. This changes much of the content of the Oslo agreement, and settles the rules for the forthcoming peace process. The West Bank is divided into three zones, where the Palestinians only control the security in some of the larger cities. [3]

Prime minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated by the Jewish right-wing extremist Yigal Amir.

Shimon Peres is sworn in as new prime minister. [2]

1996:

Palestinian guerrilla attacks inside Israel, one suicide bomber in Ashqelon, killing 2, another in Jerusalem, killing 24. Borders between Israel and Palestine are closed in an Israeli retaliation.

Israel launches an attack against a refugee camp in Qana, Lebanon, leaving about 100 dead, many of these children. The attack was a clear military failure, as there was no military action in the area. Daring speculations connected the bombing to the ongoing electorate in Israel, and for a short period the killings increased the popularity of Shimon Peres.

Benjamin Netanyahu wins the first direct prime minister elections of Israel, with a margin of 29,457 votes over his only contender, the ruling prime minister Shimon Peres.

Netanyahu lifts a ban imposed in 1992 on new Jewish settlements in occupied Palestine. The new politics intended to increase the Jewish presence by 50,000, a relative increase of 35%.

Netanyahu's government initiates building of new apartments that are reserved for Jews alone, in the Palestinian owned territory called Har Homa in Hebrew, and Jabal Abu Gnayn in Arabic. With this settlement East Jerusalem will be surrounded by all-Jewish housing estates.

Arab countries reimpose boycott of Israel, as a retaliation of what they consider Israeli violations of the Oslo 2 Agreement. [2]

National elections in Palestine, which foreign observers declare as free and fair. The elections have a good turnout, and Yassir Arafat is elected president. [3]

Germany and France begin major arms supply to Israel. [5]

1997:

This becomes a year of minimal progress in the peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel, thanks much to the hard line politics of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He initiates the establishment of new Jewish-only settlements on the West Bank, which destroy connections between the Palestinian territories and East Jerusalem. Arafat responded with less willingness to conduct talks with Israel, and the Palestinians resumed their fights, similar to how the situation had been during the Intifada. [3]

1999:

The scandal-prone government of Binyamin Netanyahu is replaced in general elections by a Labour-led coalition headed by former army chief Ehud Barak, who promises to deliver a final peace settlement with the Palestinians. [1]

2000:

The Palestinian Central Council ratifies a plan for officially declaring a Palestinian state on September 13, even if no final peace agreement has been reached with Israel. Polls among Palestinians show pessimism over the possibility of having a final peace agreement with Israel by September 13. A majority also believes that a Palestinian state will not be declared on this date. 1/3 were in favour of direct confrontation or a new intifada, while another 1/3 supported the Palestinian leadership.

September 13^th passes, but no independence is declared, as no final peace agreement has been signed with Israel.

A new intifada breaks out, following Ariel Sharon's provocative visit to a Muslim holy site in Jerusalem/Al Quds. Over the following 3 months, many small clashes between stone throwing Palestinian youths and armed Israeli military, leaves hundreds dead. There are also killings of Israelis performed by armed Palestinian guerilla, as well as killings by illegal Jewish settlers against Palestinians. [3]

2001:

The death toll mounts inexorably. By the end of the year more than 1000 are dead, the overwhelming majority of them Palestinians. Successive US attempts to secure a ceasefire, initiated by Sen George Mitchell and CIA director George Tenet, come to nothing. America's new president, George Bush, endorses the idea of a Palestinian state, but cools towards Yasser Arafat in the wake of the September 11 atrocities in New York and Washington. Israel, now led by Ariel Sharon, mounts ferocious assaults on the Palestinian territories, and describes Arafat as an "irrelevance". [1]

Supply of military equipment from the UK to Israel doubles. [5]