Learn more from Makan

The Balfour Declaration

Learn more from Makan
Learn more from Makan

The British Mandate

Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War, European colonial powers began carving up the Middle East. Britain assumed control over Palestine, and the colonial British Mandate of Palestine began. Jewish immigration – which had been increasing since the end of the 19th century in response to the development of Zionism, a political and nationalist movement to create a new homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine – rose again during the 1930s and 1940s as Jewish refugees sought to escape Nazi persecution in Europe. Tensions and violence continued during this time between the majority Palestinian community, the minority Jewish community, and the colonial ruler Britain.

Learn more from Makan
Learn more from Makan

UN Partition Plan

Learn more from Makan
Learn more from Makan

The Six Day War

Following the establishment of the State of Israel, Palestinians began mobilising, forming a resistance movement to return to their homeland. In 1964, the Arab League formed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). In response to increasing tensions, Israel launched a pre-emptive strike against neighbouring countries in 1967, marking the beginning of the Six Day War, fought from 5-10 June between Israel and the states of Jordan, Syria, and Egypt.

Over the course of six days, Israel expanded its territory beyond the Green Line and occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Gaza, the Golan Heights and the Sinai. By 1981, Israel had formally annexed both East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, a move the majority of the international community rejects.

Learn more from Makan
Learn more from Makan

The First Intifada

Learn more from Makan
Learn more from Makan

The Oslo Accords

Read more about the events
Learn more from Makan

The Second Intifada

Learn more from Makan

To this day, and following years of failed peace processes and repeated surges in violence, the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Golan Heights continues, with the temporary land agreements in the Oslo Accords used to justify building the Separation Barrier and expanding illegal Israeli settlements on occupied land. A full military blockade of Gaza and its population, put in place by Israel and Egypt following the victory of Hamas in local elections in 2007, remains.

Learn about the
Read the
Learn about the