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Oslo II Agreement Signed by Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat
The second phase of the Oslo accords is signed by Prime Minister of The State of Israel Yitzhak Rabin and leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, or Fatah, Yasser Arafat. The agreement establishes zones of varying self governance for the PLO in The West Bank. -
Yitzhak Rabin assassinated by Israeli right-wing extremist
Yitzhak Rabin is shot and killed at a political rally by a Jewish extremist who opposed Rabin's concession of land. Rabin's successor is Shimon Peres, likewise of the Labor Party. -
Peres and Arafat reaffirm Oslo Agreement
Peres and Arafat meet to reaffirm the execution of the Oslo Accords. Israel withdraws its military from five Palestinian cities and releases 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. The foremost opposition party in Israel, Likud, is displeased, as is the foremost Palestinian opposition party, Hamas. -
Palestinian Elections
Palestinian elections are held for the first time, with Arafat's Fatah winning a landslide victory. -
Hamas Bombing Campaign
Hamas, seeking to derail negotiations, launches a suicide bombing campaign in Israeli cities. -
Conflict with Hezbollah and Civillian Deaths
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shi'a paramilitary in Southern Lebanon, launches missiles across Israel's Northern Border in an effort to support Hamas's opposition to the Oslo Accords. The IDF responds with heavy shelling, during which they negligently strike a UN compound housing refugees, killing 100. Much of Israel's substantial Arab population would, in turn, boycott the upcoming election in which it was previously assessed they'd overwhelmingly vote Labor. -
Netanyahu Becomes Prime Minister of Israel
Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party wins the 1996 election, beating Shimon Peres and the Labor Party by roughly 1%. -
Violence at The Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa Plaza
Prime Minister Netanyahu makes accessible to Jews a tunnel running alongside the Temple Mount, sparking outrage and mass demonstration among the Palestinian population of Jerusalem. The IDF's violent suppression of these demonstrations is met with gunfire from Palestinian police officers, in the first such exchange since the signing of the Oslo Accords. The Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa Plaza demonstrates its capacity as a flashpoint. -
Summit in Washington
Netanyahu and Arafat meet at the behest of President Clinton to abate further violence and ensure the execution of the Oslo Accords -
Settlements and Suicide Bombings
Netanyahu approves the construction of West Bank Settlements which, though not forbidden by the Oslo Accords, had been guaranteed against by Yitzhak Rabin during negotiations. Subsequently Hamas carries out a suicide bombing campaign in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. -
Israel and Fatah sign The Wye River Memorandum
After negotiating at the behest of President Clinton, Netanyahu agreed to withdraw Israeli forces from 13% of Palestinian territory and facilitate the construction of an airport in the Gaza Strip. Arafat, in turn, agreed to use PLO resources to detain suspected terrorists. Though neither end of the Memorandum was upheld, it provided a temporary cessation of violence. -
Ehud Barak of Labor Wins 1999 Election
At the time of the 1999 Election, Netanyahu had incensed his anti-land-concession voter base by signing the Wye Memorandum, and broadened his opposition through his controversial support of West Bank Settlements. Resultantly, Ehud Barak of the Labor Party would win by a significant majority. -
Failure of Camp David II Summit
A negotiation intended to decisively bring about an independent Palestinian State, Barak and Arafat reach an impassible deadlock over the status of Palestinian refugees, Jerusalem, and the Temple Mount. The Summit's failure aggravates in Palestinian society calls for Intifada. -
Ariel Sharon's Visit to The Temple Mount and Subsequent Intifada
Likud leader Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount Complex incurs in Jerusalem a sequence of violent escalations, resulting in the Second Intifada, a years-long period of conflict generally viewed as marking the end of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.