interactive encyclopedia of the palestine question – palquest | search

Sections

About

Use quotation marks “…” to search for an exact phrase.

Events

Founding Principles of Ottoman Reform: The Tanzimat I

3 November 1839

Nine Jewish Colonies Are Established in Palestine in the 1890s

Elections Held for Fourth Ottoman Parliament; Five Representatives from Regions in Palestine

18 April 1912 - 5 August 1912

Jemal Pasha Orders the Public Hanging of Arab Nationalists from the Levant

21 August 1915 - 6 May 1916

Start of the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans

British Failed Attempts to Conquer Transjordan

21 March 1918 - 4 May 1918

Conquest of Damascus; Faisal Enters Liberated City

26 September 1918 - 3 October 1918

General Allenby Issues Guidelines for the Military Occupation of the Levant

23 October 1918

The General Syrian National Congress Proclaims the Independence of the Arab Syrian Kingdom

7 March 1920 - 8 March 1920

San Remo Conference: Distribution of Mandates

International Zionist Conference Meets in London

French Occupy Damascus; Arab Syrian Kingdom Nominally Reduced to Transjordan

14 July 1920 - 31 August 1920

The Issue of the Administration of Transjordan

25 July 1920 - 31 December 1920

Churchill and Abdullah Reach Preliminary Understanding over Transjordan

2 March 1921 - 30 March 1921

Hybrid Status for Transjordan; Prince Abdullah Becomes Its Emir

May Day Clashes in Jaffa

1 May 1921 - 7 May 1921

Report of the Haycraft Commission of Inquiry on Jaffa Disturbances

League of Nations Approves Exclusion of Transjordan Territory from the Jewish National Home

14 September 1922 - 16 September 1922

British-French Demarcation of Line Between Palestine (Including Transjordan) and Syria (Including Lebanon)

British Formal and Conditional Assurance to Transjordan's Abdullah

25 April 1923 - 25 May 1923

Treaty of Lausanne Is Signed with Ataturk's Turkey

Prevention of Crime (Tribal and Village Areas) Ordinance Goes into Effect

Agreement between Great Britain and Transjordan Emirate

20 February 1928

Death of Shaykh Izzeddin al-Qassam in a Battle with a British Force

12 November 1935 - 21 November 1935

Peel Commission Report Proposes Partition of Palestine

British "Divide-and-Rule" Policy

November 1938 - May 1939

London Round Table Conference Convenes

7 February 1939 - 27 March 1939

Roosevelt and Ibn Saud Meet

14 February 1945

League of Nations Passes on Supervision over Mandates to the UN; Acknowledges Transjordan's Independence

Independence of the Emirate of Transjordan; a New Constitution for the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan

25 May 1946 - 7 December 1946

Arab League Supervises the Establishment of a Unified Palestinian Arab Higher Committee

Majority of UNSCOP Members Recommend Partition

15 June 1947 - 3 September 1947

Palestinians and Zionists on UNSCOP Partition Plan

29 September 1947 - 3 October 1947

First Phase of Palestine War: Offensive Defense versus Active Defense

29 November 1947 - 10 March 1948

Series of Zionist Attacks on Palestinians in the Wake of the Partition Plan

6 December 1947 - 31 December 1947

Haganah Operations

11 March 1948 - 31 March 1948

US Apparent Hesitancy Toward Partition

18 March 1948 - 30 March 1948

SC Res. 43: Calling for an Immediate Truce in Palestine

Operations Nachshon and Har'el to Open Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Road

3 April 1948 - 21 April 1948

SC Res. 46: Calling upon All Parties to Cease Military Activities in Palestine

Operation Jevussi for the Conquest of Jerusalem

26 April 1948 - 30 April 1948

West Bank to Be Placed under Jordanian Military Government

16 May 1948 - 24 May 1948

Ahmad Hilmi Abd al-Baqi Is Appointed Military Governor of Jerusalem

Establishment of All-Palestine Government in Gaza

22 September 1948 - 2 October 1948

Pro-Jordanian Amman Conference

Arab Responses to Formation of the All-Palestine Government

5 October 1948 - 14 October 1948

Great Britain Recognizes Israel on a de facto Basis

30 January 1949

The US Recognizes Transjordan on a de jure Basis

31 January 1949

Jordan's Early Measure to "Jordanize" Arab Palestinians

14 February 1949

Jordan Amends the Parliamentary Election Law

13 December 1949

Dissolution of the Jordanian Parliament

Assassination of King Abdullah

20 July 1951 - 11 August 1952

23rd Zionist Congress Is Held in Jerusalem

14 August 1951 - 30 August 1951

Covenant between Zionist Organization and Israel

Israel Invades Egypt

29 October 1956

GA Resolutions 1123, 1124, 1125 (XI)

19 January 1957 - 3 February 1957

Israel Refuses Full Withdrawal

3 February 1957

Fatah Is Founded

Palestine Arab Delegation (PAD) Office Is Opened in New York

26 June 1961 - 26 June 2001

The Constitutional Statute for the Gaza Strip

Palestinian Delegation at the UN

18 October 1963 - 5 November 1963

Formation of a Higher Islamic Council in Jerusalem

Attempted Assassination of Anis Sayigh in Beirut

Gaza Red Crescent Society Is Established

Hussein Bashir Abu al-Khayr Is Assassinated in Nicosia

24 January 1973

Assassination of Zaid Muchassi in Athens

Shaykh Ahmad Yasin's Islamic Center Is Established in Gaza

7 September 1973

A PLF Operation in Nahariya

Assassination of Ibrahim Abdul Aziz Brigheeth and Samir Toukan in Cyprus

15 December 1979

Palestinian Operation Against Settlers in Hebron

2 May 1980 - 3 May 1980

Fahd Plan Is Announced

Israel Invades Along the Eastern Axis

6 June 1982 - 12 June 1982

First Communiqué of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)

14 December 1987

Ahmad Yasin Arrested

Assassination of Salah Khalaf (Abu Iyad) and Hayel Abdel Hamid (Abu al-Hol)

14 January 1991

The Madrid Peace Conference

30 October 1991 - 2 November 1991

Israel Deports 415 Palestinians to South Lebanon

13 December 1992 - 17 December 1992

Attempted Assassination of Khalid Mishal in Amman; Ahmad Yasin Released

25 September 1997 - 1 October 1997

King Hussein Dies; Eldest Son Is Crowned King Abdullah II

17 February 1999

Sharm al-Shaykh Memorandum (Wye II Accord)

4 September 1999

Implementation of Sharm al-Shaykh Memorandum (Wye II)

10 September 1999 - 20 March 2000

Official Resumption of Final Status Talks

13 September 1999 - 6 December 1999

Failure to Reach a FAPS by 13 February 2000 Target Date

8 December 1999 - 6 February 2000

PLO Central Council Meeting Is Held in Gaza

2 February 2000 - 3 February 2000

Failure of Final Status Talks at Camp David Summit

11 July 2000 - 25 July 2000

Sharm al-Shaykh Summit

16 October 2000 - 18 October 2000

The Mitchell Committee of Fact-Finding on the Palestinian-Israeli Confrontation

7 November 2000 - 30 December 2000

Draft Security Council Resolution S/2000/1171

18 December 2000

Jordanian-Egyptian Proposal for a Cease-Fire and a Resumption of Talks

16 April 2001 - 27 April 2001

14th Arab Summit Meets in Beirut and Adopts Saudi Peace Initiative

27 March 2002 - 28 March 2002

Establishment of al-Mubadara, the Palestinian National Initiative

15th Arab Summit Meets in Sharm al-Shaykh

Aqaba Summit: Bush, Abdullah, Abbas, and Sharon Meet

Assassination of Titu Masud and Suhayl Abu Nahal in Gaza City

Palestinian Peace Gestures

1 December 2003 - 7 January 2004

Draft SC Res. S/2004/240 Condemning Extrajudicial Executions (Shaykh Ahmad Yasin) and all Terrorist Acts Vetoed by US

Reactions to Bush's Assurances to Sharon RE Disengagement Plan

15 April 2004 - 6 May 2004

Assassination of Ra'fat Abu Assi and Hazim Irhayim in Gaza City

Assassination of Mahmud Abu Khalifa, Amjad Abu al-Hayja, and Yamin Abu al-Hayja in Jenin

13 September 2004

Abbas-Sharon Summit in Sharm al-Shaykh

8 February 2005

Resumption of Israeli-Palestinian Security Coordination

15 February 2005 - 30 April 2005

Palestinian Dialogue Conference Held in Cairo

15 March 2005 - 17 March 2005

Assassination of Muhammad Shaykh Khalil and Nasr Barhum in Gaza City

25 September 2005

Assassination of Said Abdul Fattah Abu al-Jedian in Beit Lahiya

Assassination of Ibrahim Abdul Hadi, Mohammed Abdul Hadi, Mohammad Abu al-Husain, Hassan Abu al-Husain, Huthaifa Shubair, and Mohammed Sami Hamdan in Khan Yunis

July War: Israel Attempts to Establish a Limited Foothold in Southern Lebanon

19 July 2006 - 29 July 2006

Assassination of Ahmad Awad and Ramzi Shuhaybir in Gaza City

8 November 2006

19th Arab Summit Meets in Riyadh: Revival of the Arab Peace Initiative

28 March 2007 - 29 March 2007

Assassination of Sameh Saleh Farwana in Gaza City

Assassination of Fadi Abdul Qader Abu Mustafa in Khan Yunis

Death of Haydar Abd al-Shafi

25 September 2007

Hamas-Fatah Talks in Yemen

18 March 2008 - 28 March 2008

Israel Breaks the Gaza Cease-Fire

4 November 2008 - 30 November 2008

War on Gaza, Day 3

29 December 2008

War on Gaza, Day 16

11 January 2009

War on Gaza, Day 18

13 January 2009

Donor Conference for Gaza Reconstruction, Sharm al-Shaykh

The Obama Administration Prepares its Peace Initiative with the Arab Side

21 April 2009 - 28 May 2009

The Mavi Marmara Incident

30 May 2010 - 5 June 2010

Israel Resumes Provocative Settlement Measures in East Jerusalem

21 June 2010 - 30 June 2010

Direct Israeli-Palestinian Talks, Mediated by George Mitchell, Formally Relaunched in Washington

1 September 2010 - 2 September 2010

Direct Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations Held in Sharm al-Shaykh and Jerusalem

14 September 2010 - 15 September 2010

Israel's Temporary and Partial Settlement Freeze Is not Extended

20 September 2010 - 26 September 2010

The Knesset passes the Law on Disclosure Requirements for Recipients of Support from a Foreign State Entity

Assassination of Muhammad Abu Mu‘ammar in Rafah

Assassination of Muhammad al-Dayah, Abdullah Lubbad, and Isma‘il Lubbad in Deir al-Balah

Assassination of Ahmad Shaykh Khalil, Muhammad Ashur, Bassem Abu al-Ata, Hassan al-Khadari, and Abd al-Karim Shatat in Rafah

29 October 2011

Assassination of Abdullah al-Talbani in Jabaliya

27 December 2011

Abbas and Mishal Sign the Doha Declaration and Then Agree on its Suspension

5 February 2012 - 23 February 2012

Visit of Qatar’s Emir Shaykh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani to Gaza

23 October 2012

Israel's 2012 Assault on Gaza, Day 4

17 November 2012

Jordanian-Palestinian Agreement on Holy Sites in Jerusalem

Arab League Delegation in Washington Discusses the Arab Peace Initiative

Assassination of Haytham al-Mis-hal near Rafah

Stakes Related to Whether Israel Will Release, as Agreed, the 4th Group of Palestinian Prisoners

17 March 2014 - 29 March 2014

Palestinian Car Ramming: A New Palestinian Weapon?

6 March 2015 - 14 May 2015

26th Arab Summit Meets in Sharm al-Shaykh

28 March 2015 - 29 March 2015

Netanyahu Reaffirms Status Quo at Haram al-Sharif; Cameras at Haram al-Sharif?

22 October 2015 - 24 October 2015

Israel Outlaws the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement

16 November 2015 - 28 November 2015

The US, Egypt, Jordan and Israel Hold a Secret Summit Meeting in Aqaba

21 February 2016

The Waqf Reopens Bab al-Rahma at the Haram al-Sharif Compound

14 February 2019 - 17 March 2019

Extraordinary Arab Summit in Mecca

Hightened Tension over Attempts to Evict Palestinian Families from Sheikh Jarrah

15 February 2021 - 9 May 2021

May 2021 Gaza War, Day 6

Biographies

Hafiz al-Sa’id

Musa Kazim Husseini

1853 - 26 March 1934

1859 - 21 July 1921

As‘ad al-Shuqairi

1860 - February 1940

Muhammad Ruhi al-Khalidi

1864 - 6 August 1913

Jurji Habib Hanania

1865 - 3 March 1948

1868 - October 1930

Freih Abu Middein

1875 - 9 February 1949

1878 - 29 June 1950

Khalil al-Sakakini

23 January 1878 - 13 August 1953

Abdallah Mukhlis

27 December 1878 - 16 December 1947

1880 - 16 June 1946

Abd al-Qadir Muzaffar

Izzeddin al-Qassam

1882 - 20 November 1935

1882 - 22 April 1942

Boulos Shehadeh

1882 - 1 August 1943

Raghib al-Nashashibi

Suleiman al-Taji al-Faruqi

Ahmad Hilmi Pasha Abd al-Baqi

1882 - 29 June 1963

Abd al-Latif Salah

1884 - 8 November 1952

Isaaf al-Nashashibi

1885 - 22 January 1948

1885 - 19 December 1953

11 February 1886 - 19 October 1941

Mu‘in al-Madi

Muhammad Izzat Darwaza

21 June 1887 - 26 July 1984

Wadi‘ Faris al-Bustani

1888 - 20 January 1954

Rashid al-Haj Ibrahim

Rafiq al-Tamimi

Awni Abd al-Hadi

1889 - 15 March 1970

Iskandar al-Khoury al-Beitjali

1889 - 7 July 1973

George Antonius

Jamal al-Husseini

1892 - 5 July 1982

2 April 1892 - 24 April 1965

1893 - 27 April 1940

1894 - 19 March 1949

Omar al-Saleh al-Barghouti

1894 - 22 June 1965

27 July 1894 - 6 August 1993

Subhi al-Khadra

1895 - 4 July 1954

Muhammad Amin al-Husseini

1895 - 4 July 1974

4 April 1895 - 26 August 1971

Ahmad Samih al-Khalidi

1896 - 27 September 1951

Muhammad Ali al-Taher

1896 - 22 August 1974

Wasif Jawhariyyeh

Mustafa al-Dabbagh

1897 - 1 October 1989

8 May 1897 - 8 June 1984

Anbara Salam Khalidi

4 August 1897 - 1986

Matiel Mogannam

15 February 1899 - 11 August 1992

Mohammed Ali al-Ja‘bari

1900 - 29 May 1980

1902 - 27 August 1984

Ishaq Musa al-Husseini

1904 - 17 December 1990

1905 - 2 May 1941

1905 - 21 May 1985

15 May 1905 - 17 November 1979

Abd al-Hamid al-Sayih

1907 - 8 January 2001

1907 - 27 July 2006

Abd al-Qadir al-Husseini

1908 - 8 April 1948

Ahmad al-Shuqairi

1908 - 25 February 1980

Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani

Abd al-Karim al-Karmi (Abu Salma)

1909 - 11 October 1980

1910 - 26 February 1971

Sami Taha Hamran

1911 - 11 September 1947

Abd al-Majid Shuman

1912 - 5 July 2005

Abd al-Rahim Mahmoud

1913 - 13 July 1948

Anwar Nusseibeh

Hind al-Husseini

25 April 1916 - 13 September 1994

1917 - 12 December 2003

16 March 1919 - 27 August 1985

Haydar Abd al-Shafi

10 June 1919 - 25 September 2007

Jabra Ibrahim Jabra

28 August 1919 - 12 December 1994

2 December 1920 - 29 July 2003

29 August 1922 - 2 May 1996

Fatima al-Budeiri

1923 - June 2009

Yusra al-Barbari

15 April 1923 - 13 May 2009

1925 - 10 April 1973

1 August 1925 - 26 January 2008

1926 - 23 January 1984

1927 - 13 January 2005

Issam Abd al-Hadi

1928 - 8 August 2013

Samira Abu Ghazaleh

1928 - 12 January 2017

1928 - 1 September 2020

Hanna Abu Hanna

16 October 1928 - 2 February 2022

1929 - 2 June 2016

Ibrahim Abu-Lughod

15 February 1929 - 23 May 2001

7 May 1929 - 5 July 1994

Bassam Shak’a

1930 - 22 July 2019

Bashir Barghouti

1931 - 9 September 2000

Anis Abdullah Sayigh

3 November 1931 - 25 December 2009

9 May 1935 - 10 April 1973

1936 - 3 August 1978

1936 - 29 August 1987

Ghassan Kanafani

9 April 1936 - 8 July 1972

Ahmad Ismail Yasin

June 1936 - 22 March 2004

Bayan Nuwayhed al-Hout

1937 - 12 July 2025

1939 - 19 August 2014

Abd al-Wahhab Darawshah

12 October 1943

Abd al-Aziz Rantisi

1947 - 17 April 2004

4 January 1951 - 26 October 1995

François Abou Salem

16 November 1951 - 1 October 2011

1962 - 31 July 2024

9 February 1963

Historical Texts

Proclamation of the Independence of Syria

Palin Commission Report

Report by the Haycraft Commission of Inquiry into the May 1921 Jaffa Riots

Statement of the Arab National Conference

13 December 1931

Charter of the Arab Youth Congress

The Murison Commission Report

Memorandum Submitted by Arab Senior Government Officials to the High Commissioner

London Round Table Conference on McMahon-Husain Correspondence

Memorandum of Conversation between King Abdulaziz Saud and President Roosevelt

14 February 1945

Statement by the Governments of the Arab League States on their Military Intervention in Palestine

Statement by the States, Members of the Arab League, on the Entry of Their Armies in Palestine

Palestinian National Council: Proclamation of the Independence of Palestine

Declaration of Jordan’s National Assembly, On the Unity between the Eastern and Western Banks of Jordan

Twelfth Arab Summit: the Fez Initiative

9 September 1982

Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)

Speech of Haydar Abd al-Shafi at the Madrid Conference

31 October 1991

The Mitchell Report

UNSC Resolution 1397

Letter of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon

Fourteenth Arab Summit: The Arab Peace Initiative

The Quartet (UN, EU, Russia, US) Communiqué on the Situation in the Occupied Territories

Yasir Arafat's Speech at the Palestinian Legislative Council

A Performance-Based Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Prime Minister Elect Ismail Haniyeh Presents New Government’s Program To the Palestinian Legislative Council

Netanyahu's Speech at Bar-Ilan University

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s Address at al-Quds University: Statehood in Two Years

Jordanian-Palestinian Agreement on Holy Sites in Jerusalem

Secretary John Kerry’s Speech on Middle East Peace

28 December 2016

Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry: On the Protests in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

28 February 2019

30th Arab Summit: Tunis Declaration

Database of All Business Enterprises Involved in Israeli Settlement Activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

12 February 2020

Abraham Accords: Declaration of Peace, Cooperation, and Constructive Diplomatic and Friendly Relations, Announced by the State of Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain

15 September 2020

Abraham Accords Peace Agreement: Treaty of Peace, Diplomatic Relations and Full Normalization Between the United Arab Emirates and the State of Israel

15 September 2020

Historical Media

Mr. and Mrs. Winston Churchill at Government House Reception

Arab Revolt 1936 - Royal Commission

11 January 1937

Places

al-Shaykh Muwannis

Balad al-Shaykh

Khirbat al-Duhayriyya

Mansurat al-Khayt

Highlights

VIII. Palestinian Defeat, Divisions And Survival

The Palestinian National Movement and the Jewish Question (II)

After the Nakba

Al-Jalazone Refugee Camp

Khan Eshieh Refugee Camp

Jalil (Wavel) Refugee Camp

Ein el Tal (Handarat) Refugee Camp

Balata Refugee Camp

Dheisheh Refugee Camp

Husseiniyeh Refugee (Gathering) Camp

Burj al-Barajneh Refugee Camp

Al-Raml (Latakia) Refugee Camp

Sayida Zeinab (Qabr Essit) Refugee Camp

Rashidiyya Refugee Camp

Shatila Refugee Camp

Nahr el-Bared Refugee Camp

Yarmouk Refugee Camp

Wihdat Refugee Camp

Beddawi Refugee Camp

The Deir Yasin Massacre, 9 April 1948

An Ominous Sign of Worse to Come

Stages of a Forced Displacement

Dera‘a Refugee Camp

The First Intifada, 1987-1993

Exhilaration of Revolt, Promise of Freedom

Tal al-Za‘atar Refugee Camp

Al-Dawayima, 29 October 1948

A Most Brutal Massacre Long Kept Under Wraps

Palestinian Culture and Expressions of Identity

Palestinian Embroidery

A Rich and Diverse National Heritage

The Palestinian Novel

Literature of the Oppressed in a Dispersed Geography

The Palestinian Short Story

Exile, Sorrow, and Black Humor

Palestinian Visual Arts (III)

Explorers (1965-1995)

Palestinian Cinema

From Serving the Revolution to Creative Expression

Palestinian Music

Blending Levantine Sounds and the Power of Poetry

Palestine-Lebanon Border

A Line Drawn with the Stroke of Foreign Pens

Palestine-Egypt Border

A Line Imposed by the British on the Ottomans

Balfour Declaration, 2 November 1917

Promising Palestine Away

The King-Crane Commission of 1919

Setting a Pattern of Futile 'Peace' Initiatives

The Peel Commission, 1936–1937

Sowing the Seeds of the Partition

The 1946 Anglo-American Committee

Humanitarianism Over Justice

The United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine

Negotiating Palestine after the Nakba

Madrid and the Oslo Agreement, 1991-1993

Short-Lived Promises of a Negotiated Settlement

World Zionist Organization

Setting the Stage for a Jewish State in Palestine

Land Day, 30 March 1976

A Turning Point in the Defense of Palestinian Lands in Israel

The October 2000 Events in Israel

The Violent Repression of a Palestinian Solidarity Outburst

The Village of al-Araqib

Rebuilding Home for the Hundredth Time and Beyond

The Palestinian National Liberation Movement – Fatah (I)

The Palestinians and the Israeli Communist Party

The Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas

The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine

The Palestinian National Movement and the Jewish Question (I)

Before the Nakba

Public Contracts during the Mandate

Colonial Deals in Favor of Zionist Goals

The Algerians of Palestine

The Bosnians of Palestine

Palestinian Refugees in Syria

Fully Integrated, for Better and for Worse

Palestinians in Jordan, 1948-1967

The Making of the “Jordanians of Palestinian Origin”

V. Reverberations Of the Palestine War

Steadfastness as Everyday Resistance

Palestinian Trade Unionism, 1920-1948

A Dynamic Movement Ripped Apart by the Nakba

X. Oslo Process: Towards Failure

XII. Gaza Strip Separated and Assaulted

XIII. A Growingly Intractable Deadlock

Palestinian Music in Exile

Traditions and Resistance

Great Palestinian Rebellion, 1936-1939

A Popular Uprising Facing a Ruthless Repression

The Palestinian National Initiative Movement - Al-Mubadara

II. British Occupation and Early Mandate

Exhibition-Making Practices, 1917-1993

Curating the National Identity

A Watershed in the Arab-Israeli Conflict

VI. Rise of The Palestinian National Movement

VII. After 1973 War: Separate Peace and Civil War

The Palestinian Poster

Popularizing National Landmarks and Symbols

XI. Second Intifada and the Post-Arafat Era

UN Partition Plan, 29 November 1947

Paving the Way to the Impending Nakba

IV. The Palestine War And The Nakba

The Second Intifada, 2000-2005

Mounting Confrontation, Shattered Aspirations