The Palestinians' Route To Limited Self-Rule
1948: State of Israel proclaimed as Britain leaves Palestine. War ensues between Arabs and Jews until armistice in 1949.
1958: Yasser Arafat co-founds clandestine movement (Fatah).
1964: Palestine Liberation Organization formed by Arab states.
1965: Fatah launches its first commando attack against Israel.
June 1967: Israel captures West Bank and Gaza Strip in the Six-Day War with Arab states.
1967: Arafat elected PLO chairman.
1970: King Hussein clamps down on Palestinian commando movements in Jordan. PLO is driven out to Lebanon in 1971.
1974: Palestinian congress convenes. PLO endorses new platform calling for a Palestinian authority in part of Palestine. Arabs declare PLO the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. UN General Assembly grants PLO observer status.
1978: Camp David Accords are signed by Israel and Egypt. PLO refuses limited autonomy in West Bank and Gaza Strip.
1982: Israel invades Lebanon, driving out PLO. PLO institutions scattered through Arab World, with headquarters in Tunis. President Reagan launches peace initiative calling for eventual federal association between Jordan and West Bank and Gaza.
1983: Palestine National Council (PNC) endorses solution based on confederation of future Palestinian state with Jordan. Arafat ends boycott of Egypt, signals readiness to negotiate.
1984: PLO rejects US initiative after failing to secure recognition by US and Israel.
December 1987: The Palestinian intifadah (uprising) against Israeli occupation erupts in Gaza Strip and West Bank.
April 1988: Israeli squads assassinate Arafat's deputy, PLO military commander Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad), in his Tunis home.
August 1988: King Hussein severs Jordan's administrative links to the West Bank and relinquishes responsibility for the PLO.
November-December 1988: PNC accepts state of Israel and calls for two-state solution. The Palestinian independent state is declared in exile. Arafat recognizes Israel and renounces terrorism. US begins dialogue with PLO.
August 1990: Iraq invades Kuwait. Palestinians, feeling abandoned by the oil-rich Arab countries, rally behind Iraq.
1991: Iraq is defeated. President Bush begins peace initiative. PLO authorizes Palestinians from occupied territories to take part in peace talks.
November 1991: The Middle East peace conference is launched in Madrid without the PLO.
August 1993: The Israeli-Palestinian talks reach a deadlock. But a breakthrough is achieved behind the scenes when Israeli officials reach secret deal with PLO in Oslo. Israel recognizes PLO.
Sept. 13, 1993: Norwegian-mediated deal is signed at the White House. Arafat and Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin shake hands.
February-March 1994: Israeli settler kills at least 29 Muslim worshipers in Hebron. UN Security Council condemns attack, calls for international protection for Palestinians.
April 1994: Israel and PLO reach a draft agreement on Palestinian autonomy and sign an economic agreement in Paris.
May 3, 1994: PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin sign agreement in Cairo that provides for Palestinian self-rule in Gaza Strip and West Bank town of Jericho.
