PEACE & SECURITY | Creating a more stable world
21 December 2007
Middle East Peace Chronology
The time is right to achieve peace in the Middle East, according to President Bush, because the Palestinians and Israelis have leaders determined to achieve peace, and because the world understands the urgency of supporting the peace process. Decades of diplomatic effort led to talks in Annapolis, Maryland, in November 2007.
2003 to present
November 26-28, 2007
The United States hosts 49 nations, organizations and individuals -- including Israeli and Palestinians leaders -- at the Middle East Peace Conference at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss creation of a Palestinian state and support for the West Bank-based government of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, (More)
June 27, 2007
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair becomes the first special representative for the Quartet, charged with representing the group and supporting Palestinian state-building efforts.
September 20, 2006
President Bush meets with the Palestinian president on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, reiterating U.S. support for a two-state solution. (More)
March 1, 2005
Members of the Quartet -- the United Nations, Russia, the European Union and the United States -- convene in London for the Meeting on Supporting the Palestinian Authority. The Quartet calls for continued financial support from the international community. (More)
February 8, 2005
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas agree to a cease-fire at the summit at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The summit, hosted by Egypt and Jordan, is the first high-level meeting between Palestinian and Israeli leaders in more than four years. (More)
January 9, 2005
Mahmoud Abbas wins the Palestinian presidential elections with 62.3 percent of the votes cast. (More)
November 11, 2004
Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat dies at age 75. (More)
April 14, 2004
President Bush welcomes Israel's plan to withdraw settlements from Gaza and parts of the West Bank and reaffirms the United States' commitment to the road map for Middle East peace. (More)
June 3-4, 2003
Israeli and Palestinian leaders meet at the Red Sea Summit, held in Aqaba, Jordan.
May 10- 3, 2003
Secretary of State Colin Powell travels to the Middle East to discuss implementing President Bush's road map for peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. (More)
May 1, 2003
Mahmoud Abbas is confirmed as the first Palestinian Authority prime minister. (More)
April 30, 2003
The road map to a permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is released. The road map sets forth a sequence of steps toward the goals outlined by President Bush during his June 24, 2002, speech. (See full text and transcript.)
2000-2002
October 1, 2002
President Bush signs the Foreign Affairs Authorization Act for fiscal year 2003 and maintains that the status of Jerusalem must be negotiated by the Israelis and Palestinians.
September 12, 2002
President Bush, addressing the U.N. General Assembly, underscores his commitment to the establishment of an independent and democratic Palestinian state "living side by side with Israel in peace and security."
August 8, 2002
Secretary of State Powell meets in Washington with a Palestinian delegation including chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, Interior Minister Abdel Razak Yehiyeh and Economic and Trade Minister Maher Masri.
August 1, 2002
President Bush meets with Jordan's King Abdullah in Washington. Bush also meets briefly with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, who was at the White House for a discussion with National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.
June 24, 2002
President Bush calls for new Palestinian leadership and pledges that, "when the Palestinian people have new leaders, new institutions, and new security arrangements with their neighbors, the United States of America will support the creation of a Palestinian state whose borders and certain aspects of its sovereignty will be provisional until resolved as part of a final settlement in the Middle East." (See transcript.)
May 2, 2002
The United States, United Nations, European Union, and Russia (a group that becomes known as the Quartet) announce plans to arrange for the distribution of humanitarian aid and to establish more effective security arrangements in the region.
April 4, 2002
President Bush outlines his vision for a resolution of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and announces Secretary of State Powell will travel to the region, seeking an end to terrorism and violence.
March 27, 2002
The Arab League, meeting in Beirut, Lebanon, adopts the proposal of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah and endorses a peaceful two-state settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
March 12, 2002
The U.N. Security Council adopts Resolution 1397, endorsing a "vision of a region where two states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within secure and recognized borders." The resolution, introduced by the United States, is the first Security Council resolution to mention Palestinian statehood.
February 18, 2002
President Bush supports a Saudi proposal to normalize Arab relations with Israel in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal to its 1967 borders. The proposal first appeared February 17, 2002, in The New York Times.
November 19, 2001
Secretary Powell, in a speech delivered at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, outlines U.S. policy to help achieve peace between Arabs and Israelis. He underscores U.S. support for a vision of a region where two states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side within secure and recognized borders.
November 10, 2001
Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly, President Bush states the United States will work "toward a day when two states, Israel and Palestine, live peacefully together within secure and recognize borders as called for by the Security Council resolutions."
September 26, 2001
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian Chairman Arafat agree to a cease-fire and promise to resume joint security initiatives.
July 19, 2001
The Group of Eight (G8) foreign ministers, meeting in Genoa, Italy, issues a statement calling for implementation of recommendations in the Mitchell Report on the Arab-Israeli conflict (prepared by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell).
June 26, 2001
President Bush and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon meet in Washington to discuss implementation of the Mitchell Report on the Arab-Israeli conflict.
April 30, 2001
The Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee, chaired by former U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell, issues its final report on how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict might be solved. The report calls for an immediate cease-fire, a renunciation of terrorism and a resumption of peace talks, as well as a freeze on construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. (More)
February 25, 2001
Secretary of State Powell meets with Prime Minister Sharon in Jerusalem and Chairman Arafat in Ramallah.
November 7, 2000
Former U.S. Senator George Mitchell is asked by President Clinton to chair a fact-finding commission to look into the causes of recent violence between Israelis and Palestinians.
October 17, 2000
Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak attend a meeting in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, arranged by President Clinton and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss a cease-fire and pullback of Israeli forces.
October 4, 2000
Barak and Palestinian leader Arafat meet with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and French President Jacques Chirac in Paris.
July 11-25, 2000
President Clinton hosts a meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leadership to address the most difficult of final status issues, including Jerusalem and the return of Palestinian refugees.
March 21, 2000
Palestinian-Israeli talks commence at Bolling Air Force Base near Washington and last one week. The U.S. facilitates discussion of permanent status issues in an effort to help the parties reach a comprehensive agreement by September 13, 2000.
January 3, 2000
Delegations from Israel and Syria, led by Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq Al-Shara, gather in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, for a further week of talks. Differences remain, and Secretary Albright announces the postponement of a third round of talks.
1998-1999
December 15, 1999
President Clinton welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Syrian Foreign Minister Al-Shara to the White House to resume direct negotiations suspended in 1996.
September 24, 1999
Representatives of regional and international parties, led by Secretary of State Madeline Albright, gather in New York as Partners in Peace to demonstrate their strong and unwavering support for the Middle East Peace Process.
July 14-20, 1999
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak visits the U.S. for the first time since taking office July 6. He and President Clinton pledge to make peace a top priority. Barak also meets in Washington with Secretary of State Albright, Secretary of Defense Cohen and other United States officials.
May 17, 1999
Ehud Barak is elected prime minister of Israel, defeating Benyamin Netanyahu 56 percent to 44 percent in direct voting.
May 17-20, 1999
King Abdullah II of Jordan makes his first visit to the United States since succeeding his father, the late King Hussein.
February 7, 1999
King Abdullah II of Jordan succeeds his father, King Hussein, who succumbed to cancer. President Clinton issues a proclamation honoring Hussein’s legacy and joins world leaders at the late king's funeral.
December 12-15, 1998
President Clinton visits the Palestinian Authority and Israel. Following an historic address to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in Gaza, the president witnesses a PLC vote "fully and forever" rejecting conflict with Israel and revoking articles of the Palestinian Charter calling for the destruction of Israel.
November 30, 1998
President Clinton hosts a Middle East Donors Conference in Washington at which some 40 nations pledge more than $3 billion in economic aid to the Palestinian Authority. The president will seek Congress' approval for an additional U.S. contribution of $400 million over the next five years.
October 15-23, 1998
President Clinton, Secretary of State Madeline Albright and other U.S. officials broker intensive negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority at the Wye River Conference Center on Maryland's Eastern Shore. A final, all-night session results in the Wye River Memorandum, which is signed at the White House on October 23.
September 28, 1998
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chairman Yasser Arafat meet at the White House with President Clinton, who announces Albright will return to the region to help push direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations back on track.
January 20-22, 1998
President Clinton meets separately with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Chairman Yarrer Arafat in Washington in an attempt to re-energize the peace process.
1994-1997
May 31, 1996
Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu becomes prime minister of Israel, having defeated Labor's Shimon Peres in early elections called after the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.
April 30, 1996
President Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres sign a U.S.-Israeli Counterterrorism Accord at the White House.
March 13, 1996
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak hosts a Summit of the Peacemakers in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to call for a halt to extremism and violence.
November 4, 1995
Israeli Prime Minister Yizhak Rabin is assassinated by an Israeli university student, Yigal Amir, following a peace rally in Tel Aviv.
September 28, 1995
The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is signed in Washington. The pact contains 31 articles and seven annexes (redeployment and security, elections, civil affairs, legal matters, economic relations, cooperation programs and prisoner release). Following the signing, President Clinton, King Hussein, President Hosni Mubarak, Prime Minister Yizhak Rabin, and Chairman Arafat review progress toward a comprehensive peace and ways to reinforce and accelerate that progress.
May 24, 1995
Secretary of State Warren Christopher announces that Israel and Syria have reached a set of understandings on security arrangements.
October 26, 1994
The Treaty of Peace between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, initialed on October 17 by Israeli Prime Minister Yizhak Rabin and Jordanian Prime Minister Majali, is signed in Israel. President Clinton's participation in the signing ceremony underscores U.S. commitment to the peace process.
August 29, 1994
The Agreement on the Preparatory Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities is signed at Erez, a checkpoint between Israel and the Gaza Strip. The expansion of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank over education, taxation, social welfare, tourism and health was completed by December 1994.
July 25, 1994
The Washington Declaration, embracing the underlying principles of the Israel-Jordan Common Agenda, is signed in Washington.
May 4, 1994
At a ceremony in Cairo, Egypt, Prime Minister Yizhak Rabin and Chairman Yasser Arafat sign the Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area. The new agreement sets out terms for implementation of the Declaration of Principles and includes annexes on withdrawal of Israeli military forces and security arrangements, civil affairs, legal matters and economic relations.
1992–1993
September 14, 1993
The Israel-Jordan Common Agenda, reached in Washington, marks the end of the state of war between the two nations and paves the way for talks leading to a formal peace treaty.
September 13, 1993
Israeli Prime Minister Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Arafat meet and watch Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO Executive Council Member Abou Abbas sign the Israel-Jordan Common Agenda agreement. President Clinton, former Presidents Bush and Carter, and 3,000 dignitaries witness the signing -- on the same desk used in the signing of the Camp David Accords 15 years earlier.
September 10, 1993
• A letter from Arafat is hand-carried to Israel by Norwegian Foreign Minister Johan Joergen Holst, whose country brokered the PLO-Israel pact.
• Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signs a document recognizing the PLO.
• President Clinton calls the Oslo agreement "a bold breakthrough."
• European leaders, including French President Francois Mitterrand and British Prime Minister John Major endorse the Israel-PLO mutual recognition accord.
• Belgian Foreign Minister Willy Claes, representing the European Community's (EC) current presidency, commits to consultations with his EC counterparts and the executive European Commission to intensify contributions to the Middle East peace process.
September 9, 1993
• Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization agree to recognize each other after 45 years of conflict, building on a pact already initialed on Palestinian self-rule in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip and in Jericho.
• PLO leader Yasser Arafat signs a letter recognizing Israel and renouncing violence.
August 31, 1993
Eleventh round of talks opens with the Israeli announcement on secret talks with the PLO in Oslo and an initialed accord on self-rule for Palestinians in Gaza Strip and Jericho.
August 29, 1993
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres tells his Cabinet that he has reached an agreement with the Palestine Liberation Organization on Palestinian autonomy in Gaza and Jericho.
August 26, 1993
The Palestine Liberation Organizations announces a provisional agreement in secret talks with Israel on partial autonomy in occupied territories.
January 28-29, 1992
The organizational meeting for multilateral talks on regional issues, such as arms control, refugees and the environment is held in Moscow. Rounds one, two and three convene in 1992 in Lisbon, Portugal, and London.
January 7-16, 1992
The United States hails it as another "step forward" when Israeli and Jordanian/Palestinian delegates resolve procedural differences, allowing the third round of talks to resume. Israeli representatives meet separately with Lebanese, Syrian and Jordanian/Palestinian delegations.
1989–1991
December 11, 1991
Direct bilateral negotiations between Israel and separate delegations from Syria and Lebanon proceed; Israeli and Lebanese delegations characterize two sessions of talks as "substantive"; but negotiations have not begun between Israel and a joint Palestinian delegation.
December 4, 1991
Palestinian, Jordanian, Lebanese and Syrian delegations arrive at three designated sites to resume direct Middle East negotiations in Washington. The Israeli delegates are absent.
November 29, 1991
Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinians agree to a joint U.S.-Soviet proposal to resume bilateral talks in Washington on December 4, but Israel says it will not be ready to resume bilateral talks until December 9.
November 1, 1991
in remarks closing the Madrid conference, Secretary of State James Baker says a breakthrough was achieved with the start of "direct bilateral negotiations." Baker and conference co-sponsor Soviet Foreign Minister Boris Pankin call for direct bilateral negotiations to start immediately.
October 31, 1991
Palestinians, in a joint delegation with Jordan, attend the Madrid talks among Jordan, Syria, Israel and Lebanon. Direct bilateral talks begin among Israel and Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and participants from the occupied territories. Multilateral negotiations begin on arms control, security, water, refugees, the environment and economic development.
October 30, 1991
Opening the Madrid conference, President George H.W. Bush says the objective is "to achieve "real peace ... security, diplomatic relations, economic relations, trade, investment, cultural exchange, even tourism. We seek a Middle East, where vast resources are no longer devoted to armaments."
October 18, 1991
Secretary of State James Baker, at a news conference in Jerusalem, says President Bush and Soviet President Gorbachev are inviting Israel, the Arab states and the Palestinians to attend a Middle East peace conference to be held beginning October 30 in Madrid, Spain.
March, 1991
President Bush says that Gulf War victory opens a "window of opportunity" for resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Secretary of State Baker travels to the Middle East on the first of eight peace missions.
August 2, 1990
Iraq invades and occupies Kuwait. Yasser Arafat's support for Saddam Hussein leads Gulf states to cut off funds to the Palestine Liberation Organization. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are forced out of the Gulf states.
1978 – 1988
December 1988
Palestine National Council accepts original U.N. partition plan (U.N. General Assembly Resolution 181), Israel's right to exist, U.N. Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, and renunciation of terrorism. The U.S. opens dialogue with the Palestine Liberation Organization, the first formal contacts with the PLO in 13 years.
July 30, 1988
King Hussein surrenders Jordan's claim to the West Bank, cutting legal and administrative ties.
February-April 1988
Secretary of State George Shultz, in a letter to Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, launches shuttle mediation effort and sets a timetable for talks on transitional arrangements and a permanent solution in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The proposal, which calls for bilateral Arab-Israeli talks following an international conference, fails to gain support from all parties.
December 9, 1987
Palestinian uprising -- the intifada -- erupts in Gaza, spreads to West Bank.
September 1986
Yitzhak Shamir replaces Shimon Peres as prime minister of Israel.
February 19, 1986
Frustrated by Yasser Arafat's refusal to accept U.N. resolutions as a basis for peace talks, Jordan's King Hussein severs links with the Palestine Liberation Organization.
September 1985
Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres launches a peace initiative centered on Jordan that includes a proposed international conference. The United States encourages Israeli, Egyptian and Jordanian diplomatic efforts, but Israel’s Yitzhak Shamir and Likud Party oppose the conference.
June 1985
Israel completes withdrawal from most of Lebanon, retaining effective control over a 19-kilometer-wide "security zone" in southern Lebanon.
March 5, 1984
Lebanon abrogates Lebanese-Israeli agreement.
February 21, 1984
U.S. forces in Beirut withdraw from Lebanon.
October 1983
U.S. Marine headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, are destroyed by terrorist bomb.
May 17, 1983
Israel-Lebanon peace and withdrawal agreement, mediated by Secretary of State George Shultz and U.S. envoy Philip Habib, is signed.
April 18, 1983
U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, is destroyed by a terrorist bomb.
September 16, 1982
Lebanese President Bachir Gemayel is assassinated; Israeli forces occupy West Beirut; and Christian Phalange militia massacre civilian Palestinians near Beirut, Lebanon.
September 9, 1982
The 12th Arab League Summit meeting in Fez, Morocco, calls for Israel's withdrawal from all Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Arab Jerusalem, and the removal of Israeli settlements in Arab territories. The summit confirms the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
September 1, 1982
President Reagan announces a U.S. initiative to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict, based on Camp David Accords and U.N. Resolution 242. (More)
June-August 1982
In the Lebanon War, Israel attacks Syrian and PLO forces threatening its northern border in Lebanon. Yasser Arafat and his followers are forced to evacuate Beirut strongholds. The United States’ Philip Habib mediates a PLO withdrawal agreement. U.S., French, and Italian forces are deployed in Beirut to facilitate PLO evacuation.
April 1982
Israel completes withdrawal of forces and civilians from Sinai.
December 14, 1981
Israel extends its law, jurisdiction and administration to the Golan Heights.
October 6, 1981
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is assassinated.
March-June 1981
U.S. mediator Philip Habib attempts to defuse Israeli-Syrian confrontation over Syrian SAM missiles in Lebanon; clashes erupt between Israel and PLO elements in Lebanon.
March 1979
Israel and Egypt sign a bilateral peace treaty in Washington under which Israel agrees to hand back Sinai to Egypt. It keeps the Gaza Strip. Arab states impose boycott on Egypt.
September 17, 1978
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, with the help of President Jimmy Carter, agree at Camp David to a framework for peace in the Middle East that offers limited autonomy to Palestinians in occupied territories and sets the framework for an Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. (More)
