Here’s a concise, fact-based historical timeline of the region known as Palestine (historic/geographic name for the area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River) from ancient times to November 2025. It focuses on major turning points, rulers, and demographic/political changes.
Ancient and Classical Period
~1200 BCE – Biblical Exodus (traditional date; historicity debated) and Israelite conquest/settlement in Canaan. Philistines settle the southern coast (origin of the name “Palestine”).
1000–586 BCE – United Kingdom of Israel → divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
586 BCE – Babylonian conquest; destruction of First Temple; Jewish exile to Babylon.
539 BCE – Persian conquest; Jews return and rebuild Second Temple.
332 BCE – Alexander the Great conquers the region.
167–63 BCE – Hasmonean (Maccabean) Jewish independence.
63 BCE – Roman conquest; region becomes province of Judea.
70 CE – Romans destroy Second Temple; mass Jewish exile/dispersal (start of major Jewish Diaspora).
135 CE – After Bar Kokhba revolt, Emperor Hadrian renames the province Syria Palaestina to erase Jewish identity.
Byzantine, Arab, and Medieval Period
324–636 CE – Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Christian rule; region largely Christian and Jewish.
636–638 CE – Muslim Arab conquest under Caliph Umar; region becomes part of Islamic Caliphate.
7th–11th centuries – Arabization and Islamization; majority population becomes Arabic-speaking Muslim; significant Jewish and Christian minorities remain.
1099–1187 – First Crusade establishes Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.
1187 – Saladin (Ayyubid) reconquers Jerusalem.
1260–1517 – Mamluk rule from Egypt.
Ottoman Period
1516–1917 – Ottoman Empire rule; region divided into sanjaks (districts) of Jerusalem, Nablus, Acre, etc. Population: ~85–90% Muslim, ~10–12% Christian, ~5–7% Jewish in early 1800s.
1831–1840 – Brief Egyptian occupation under Muhammad Ali.
1834 – Major Palestinian Arab revolt against Egyptian conscription.
1878–1914 – First Aliyah and early Zionist agricultural settlements; Jewish population rises from ~3–5% to ~8–12%.
British Mandate and Partition Era
1917 – Balfour Declaration: Britain supports “a national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.
1917–1918 – British conquest from Ottomans (Allenby enters Jerusalem).
1920 – League of Nations awards Britain the Mandate for Palestine.
1920, 1921, 1929 – Anti-Jewish riots by Palestinian Arabs (Jerusalem, Jaffa, Hebron massacres).
1936–1939 – Great Arab Revolt against British rule and Jewish immigration.
1937 – Peel Commission recommends partition (first two-state proposal).
1947 Nov 29 – UN General Assembly Resolution 181: partition into Jewish and Arab states; Jerusalem internationalized. Jewish leadership accepts; Arab leadership rejects.
State of Israel and Palestinian National Movement
1948 May 14 – Israel declares independence.
1948–1949 – First Arab–Israeli War; Israel defeats armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq. ~700,000–750,000 Palestinian Arabs flee or are expelled (Nakba). Israel controls 78% of Mandate Palestine; Jordan annexes West Bank and East Jerusalem; Egypt occupies Gaza.
1949–1967 – No independent Palestinian state; West Bank under Jordanian rule, Gaza under Egyptian administration.
1964. Founding of PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) in Cairo.
1967 June – Six-Day War: Israel captures West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, Sinai, Golan Heights.
1967 Nov – UN Security Council Resolution 242: “land for peace” formula.
1973 – Yom Kippur/Ramadan War.
1974 – Arab League recognizes PLO as “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people”.
1978 & 1979 – Camp David Accords and Egypt–Israel peace treaty; Israel returns Sinai.
1982 – Israel invades Lebanon; PLO expelled from Beirut to Tunis.
1987–1993 – First Intifada (Palestinian uprising in territories).
Oslo and Peace Process Era
1993–1995 – Oslo Accords: mutual recognition Israel–PLO; creation of Palestinian Authority (PA); partial Israeli withdrawal.
1994 – Jordan–Israel peace treaty.
2000 Sept – Second Intifada begins after collapse of Camp David summit.
2005 – Israel unilaterally withdraws settlers and troops from Gaza.
2006 – Hamas wins Palestinian legislative elections.
2007 June – Hamas seizes control of Gaza; PA (Fatah) retains West Bank; split Palestinian leadership.
2008–2022 Cycle of Wars and Stalemate
2008–2009, 2012, 2014, 2021 – Major Israel–Hamas wars in Gaza (Cast Lead, Pillar of Defense, Protective Edge, Guardian of the Walls).
2020 – Abraham Accords: normalization between Israel and UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco.
October 7 War and Aftermath (2023–2025)
2023 Oct 7 – Hamas attacks southern Israel: ~1,200 killed, ~250 hostages taken; deadliest day for Jews since Holocaust.
2023 Oct 27 – ongoing. Israel invades Gaza to destroy Hamas; war continues into 2025. Gaza death toll (per Gaza Health Ministry/Hamas-run): >44,000 by Nov 2025 (figures disputed; include combatants and civilians). Almost all of Gaza’s 2.3 million people displaced at least once; northern Gaza largely destroyed.
2024–2025 – Low-level conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon escalates into full Israel–Hezbollah war (Sept 2024 – Nov 2024 ceasefire). Houthi attacks from Yemen; ongoing West Bank violence.
2025 (as of November 17) – Gaza war in lower-intensity phase; hostage negotiations stalled. No functioning governance in much of Gaza; humanitarian crisis persists. Palestinian Authority weak in West Bank; no elections since 2006. International recognition of “State of Palestine” by ~145 UN member states, but no agreement on borders or final status.
This timeline reflects the mainstream historical record accepted by most scholars. Different narratives (Israeli, Palestinian, etc.) emphasize different events and interpretations, especially regarding responsibility for refugee crises and failed negotiations.
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