Research > Guides > Conflict & Terrorism > Conflict hot spots > Middle East

Middle East - Israel, Palestine & Lebanon

Middle East, key events & documents

U.S. State Dept. on the Middle East: http://usinfo.state.gov/mena/middle_east_north_africa/me_vision.html

U.S. policy, text of speeches, in depth background, chronology and links about the Middle East peace process, focused on Israel and Palestine.
Question of Palestine: U.N.: www.un.org/Depts/dpa/qpal/

The United Nations Division for Palestinian Rights: history, U.N. Resolutions, maps and documents on "the question of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict."
Israel and the Palestinians, BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/middle_east/2001/israel_and_the_palestinians/default.stm

News, background, maps, profiles, key documents, analysis, issues, web links, country profiles, and timeline from the BBC.
Map of the Separation Barrier: http://www.btselem.org/English/Separation_Barrier/Index.asp

Information and map of the separation barrier between Israelis and Palestinians, provided by The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. Barrier Map (takes some time to load)
MidEast Web Gateway: www.mideastweb.org

Started by people active in Middle East dialog and peace education efforts. Its goal is to weave a world-wide Web of Arabs, Jews and others who want to build a new Middle East based on coexistence and neighborly relations.
CFR Middle East resources: http://www.cfr.org/region/397/middle_east.html

Council on Foreign Relations anthology of Op-Eds, Speeches, and Testimony.
Middle East Network Information Center: http://menic.utexas.edu/menic.html

The Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin presents information about the countries of the Middle East, as well as collections of links about this area, including ancient history, energy, government, news, regional information, religion, and society.
Middle East Studies Internet Resources: www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/mideast/cuvlm/

Columbia University's guide to news sources and Middle East resources by region, country and subjects including history, culture and language. Includes links to the Encyclopædia of the Orient, electronic journals and newspapers.
Islam: Empire of Faith: www.pbs.org/empires/islam/

This companion Web site to the PBS documentary explores all aspects of the world of Islam.

Middle East, key events & documents

New Mid-East peace drive launched: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7114396.stm

11/28/07, BBC: Israeli and Palestinian leaders have agreed to start talks aimed at reaching a full peace deal by the end of 2008. President Bush called the conference at Annapolis and expressed optimism, but the conference was met with wide skepticism.
Abbas appoints non-Hamas Palestinian PM: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6756079.stm

6/15/07, BBC: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has appointed a new prime minister, after Hamas forcibly took control of Gaza and drove the Fatah party out.
Lebanon ceasefire began: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4789569.stm

8/14/06, BBC: After Lebanese and Israeli approval the ceasefire called for in UN Security Council Resolution 1701 began.
UN vote backs Lebanon ceasefire: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4785001.stm

8/11/06, BBC: The UN Security Council Resolution 1701 calls for "a full cessation of hostilities", and for UN and Lebanese troops to replace Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. Text of Resolution 1701
UN Resolution on disarming militias in Lebanon: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8723.doc.htm

Text of UN Security Council resolution 1680, (5/17/06): A call to enforce UN Resolution 1559 and to disarm Palestinian militias and "disarm and disband all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias," a reference to Hezbullah.
UN resolution on Syria and militias: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N04/498/92/PDF/N0449892.pdf?OpenElement

Text of UN Security Council resolution 1559 (9/2/04) that called for Syrian troops to leave Lebanon and called for the "disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias," a reference to Hezbullah.
Israel attacks Lebanon after Hezbollah seizes two Israel soldiers: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5171616.stm

7/12/06, BBC: Lebanese guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid, triggering the first Israeli land incursion into the Lebanon since 2000.
Israel re-invades Gaza after Hamas captures an Israeli soldier: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5127556.stm

6/30/06, BBC: Israel responded to the capture of one of it's soldiers by invading southern Gaza, detaining Hamas Palestinian ministers and preparing to invade in northern Gaza.
Hamas wins Palestinian parliamentary elections.: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4650788.stm

1/26/06, BBC: Islamic militant group Hamas has won a surprise victory in Wednesday's Palestinian parliamentary elections. Israel insists it will not deal with an authority including Hamas.
Israel pulls out of two West Bank settlements: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4267048.stm

9/21/05, BBC: "Israeli troops have left two West Bank settlements, thereby completing the final phase of the unilateral withdrawal began in Gaza."
Israel pulls out of Gaza: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4234336.stm

9/11/05, BBC: Israel declared an end to military rule after a 38-year occupation and lowered its flag over Gaza in a ceremony. After Israeli disengagement.
Israelis and Palestinians announce truce: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4245353.stm

2/8/05, BBC: Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon have declared a truce to end four years of Middle East violence. Hamas militants said the ceasefire declarations were "not binding" on its members.
Mahmoud Abbas wins Palestinian Presidency: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/4160171.stm

1/10/05, BBC: Interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas won a landslide victory in the presidential election to succeed the late Yasser Arafat.
Yasser Arafat dies: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3984841.stm

11/11/04, BBC: Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat dies in a hospital in France. Mahmoud Abbas elected head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Rawhi Fattuh sworn in as acting president of the Palestinian Authority.
Israeli cabinet approves Gaza pullout plan: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3780457.stm

6/7/04, BBC: Israel's cabinet approved in principle Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's four-stage plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. The vote on the first stage will be delayed until March 2005 and the full withdrawal would be completed by the end of 2005.
Bush endorsed Israeli withdrawal from Gaza: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3627001.stm

4/14/04, BBC: President Bush endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Sharon's proposal to withdraw settlements from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. Bush also endorsed Israel remaining in some parts of the West Bank permanently and called for returning Palestinian refugees to go to a future Palestinian state, not Israel.
Hamas chief killed in air strike: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3556099.stm

3/22/04, BBC: Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the "spiritual head" of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, was killed in an Israeli air strike.
Sharon orders Gaza pullout plan: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3451497.stm

2/2/04, BBC: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered a plan for the evacuation of all Jewish settlers from Gaza.
Geneva Accord: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3252530.stm

12/1/03 BBC: An alternative, unofficial peace plan for the Israel/Palestine was launched at a ceremony in Geneva. Shared Jerusalem sovereignty and the waiving of the Palestinian right of return are the key points of the plan. While the "roadmap" seeks to create secure conditions under which a political agreement could take place, the Geneva accord envisages a settlement first, which should then lead to peace. Q & A from BBC, 11/28/03.
Arafat accepts Palestinian Prime Minister's resignation: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3085810.stm

9/6/03 BBC: Arafat accepts the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in a move seen as a major set-back for the "Road Map" for peace with Israel.
"Roadmap" for peace and Palestinian statehood: www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2003/20062.htm

4/30/03: Text from the U.S. State Dept. of "A Performance-Based Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" released the day that the new Palestinian cabinet was approved.
Palestinian agreement on Cabinet clears way for peace plan: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2971551.stm

BBC 4/23/03: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his new prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, end of a standoff over appointments to the new Palestinian cabinet which clears the way for the release of the "Road Map" for creation of a Palestinian State.
Bush U.N. announcement of a "state" for Palestine: www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/11/20011110-3.html

President Bush's 11/10/01 speech at the United Nations about Sept. 11, the war in Afghanistan and his announcement that "we are working toward a day when two states, Israel and Palestine, live peacefully together within secure and recognize borders."