A timeline of Palestine-Israel conflict

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a long-standing and deeply rooted dispute that has spanned decades, resulting in suffering and loss of life for both sides. The long-standing conflict is a deeply complex issue with historical, political, and social dimensions.

It has resulted in numerous clashes and disputes over the years, with Saturday's escalation being the latest.

Here is a look at the timeline of clashes between Palestine and Israel -

1948: Arab-Israeli war

The roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be traced back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries when both Jewish and Arab communities were present in the region known as Palestine, then under Ottoman rule. Tensions escalated during the British Mandate period (1917-1948) as Jewish immigration increased, according to the Financial Times. 

The United Nations in 1947 proposed a partition plan for Palestine, recommending the division of the land into Jewish and Arab states with Jerusalem as an international city.

Israel declared its independence in May 1948, and neighbouring Arab states declared war, resulting in the first Arab-Israeli War.

Fighting between Palestinians and Jewish militias led by the Haganah, which later became the Israel Defense Forces, had broken out in 1947 after the UN recommended the partition of what was then British Mandatory Palestine into a Jewish and a Palestine state. Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan declared war on Israel on 15 May, 1948, a day after it declared its independence.

The war formally ended almost a year later leaving Israel controlling much of the former British Mandate, Egypt in control of Gaza, Jordan in control of the West Bank, and several hundred thousand Palestinians displaced.

1956: Suez Crisis

Following the 1948 war, a significant number of Palestinian Arabs became refugees. In the 1950s and 1960s, Palestinian groups, known as the fedayeen, carried out attacks against Israel from neighbouring Arab countries.

In 1956, Israel, along with France and the United Kingdom, invaded Egypt during the Suez Crisis.

This conflict, sparked by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser's nationalization of the Suez Canal, led to a brief period of hostilities but did not directly involve the Palestinian territories.

The attack was brought to a halt under US and Soviet pressure.

1967: Six-Day War

The Six-Day War in June 1967 resulted in a significant shift in the territorial dynamics of the region. Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria.

Regional tension had been brewing as Israel confronted assaults by Palestinian militants based in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

On 5 June, Israel launched pre-emptive attacks on Egypt, Syria and Jordan, after Egypt built up forces in Sinai and closed the Suez Canal to Israeli shipping.

Israel won by 10 June, leaving it in control of Sinai, the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights as well as more than 1 million Palestinians in the newly occupied territories.

1973: Yom Kippur war

The Yom Kippur War, also known as the October War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria in October 1973.

Although it primarily involved these countries, the conflict indirectly impacted Palestinian territories and the overall regional situation, according to Al Jazeera. 

On 6 October, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise offensive to regain their lost territories, with the Egyptian military overwhelming Israel's fortifications on the eastern banks of the Suez Canal.

Saudi Arabia led an oil boycott in support of the war effort. Israel retained control of the Sinai peninsula, but the war led to negotiations and the signing of the Camp David Peace Accords in 1979.

1978: Israel's  Invasion of Lebanon

Israel invaded southern Lebanon in March after attacks by the Palestine Liberation Organisation, which had relocated to Lebanon from Jordan after taking part in a civil war there. Israel withdrew in a week after forcing the PLO away from the border.

In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon again after cross-border clashes with the PLO.

The invasion led to the siege of Beirut and the exile of the PLO's leadership to Tunisia. Israel occupied southern Lebanon for almost two decades.

1987: Palestinian Intifada

The First Intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule, began in December 1987.

This uprising was marked by widespread protests and violence, leading to increased international attention on the Palestinian issue.

In what was described as Israel's biggest intelligence failure since the 1973 war, protests broke out across the West Bank and Gaza that developed into a sustained uprising lasting several years.

The intifada prompted US and Norwegian mediation that led to the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO.

The Oslo Accords were signed in 1993, marking a significant step toward peace negotiations.

These agreements outlined a plan for Palestinian self-governance in parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, known as the Palestinian Authority.

2000: The Second Intifada

The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, erupted in September 2000 after a visit by Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

This period saw a surge in violence and a breakdown of peace negotiations.

On September 28, hardliner and future prime minister Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount, which is also the site of the al-Aqsa Mosque, sparking Palestinian protests that quickly turned into a second uprising.

Palestinian militant groups carried out a sustained campaign of suicide bombings while the Israeli military responded with a crackdown.

2008-2014: Gaza-Israel Conflicts

A series of conflicts occurred between Israel and the Gaza Strip in the late 2000s and early 2010s, including Operation Cast Lead (2008-2009), Operation Pillar of Defense (2012), and Operation Protective Edge (2014).

These conflicts resulted in significant casualties on both sides.

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Hamas won elections a year later that sparked a civil war in Gaza between the Islamists and the losing Fatah party that ended in 2007 with Hamas taking over the coastal strip.

Israel and Egypt imposed border restrictions in response that Israel intensified when Hamas kidnapped an Israeli soldier.

Simmering tension again broke out into war in July, 2014, with Israel launching an air and ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza after the group fired dozens of rockets into Israel. The war, which lasted a month and a half, killed dozens of Israelis and more than 2,000 Palestinians.

2021: 11-Day Conflict

An 11-day conflict erupted after Hamas fired rockets at cities and towns across Israel following weeks of tension in and around Jerusalem.

The scale and the scope of the barrage caught Israel by surprise and it responded by pounding Gaza with air strikes and artillery.

Hamas fired more than 3,700 rockets into Israel. 

The Jewish state was also rocked by communal violence between minority Arab Israelis and Jews and widespread unrest in the occupied West Bank.

The conflict ended when Egypt negotiated a ceasefire, along with the US and Qatar. 

2022: Israeli Air Attacks

At least 44 people, including 15 children, were killed in three days of violence that began when Israeli air strikes hit a senior Islamic Jihad commander, reports Reuters.

Israel said the strikes were a pre-emptive operation against an imminent attack by the Iranian-backed fighter movement, targeting commanders and arms depots. In response, Islamic Jihad fired more than 1,000 rockets towards Israel.

Israel's Iron Dome air defence system prevents any serious damage or casualties.

2023: The Conflict Escalates: 

Islamic Jihad in Gaza fired two rockets towards Israel after Israeli troops raided a refugee camp and killed seven Palestinian gunmen and two civilians in January. The rockets set off alarms in Israeli communities near the border but caused no casualties. Israel responds with air strikes on Gaza.

Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years from the Gaza Strip in October, with a surprise assault combining gunmen crossing the border with a heavy barrage of rockets. I

Islamic Jihad said its fighters have joined the attack.

Israel's military said it was on a war footing, adding it had carried out strikes targeting Hamas in Gaza and had called up reservists.