1978 - 1988
September 17, 1978 - The Camp David Accords
March, 1978 - Israel and Egypt sign a bilateral peace treaty in Washington. Israel agrees to hand back Sinai to Egypt (complete in April 1982) and keeps the Gaza Strip. Arab states impose a boycott on Egypt.
June 5, 1981 - Israel attacks PLO and Syrian forces in Lebanon. In July, US mediator Philip Habib mediates a PLO / Israeli peace agreement.
October 6, 1981 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is assassinated.
December 14, 1981 - Israeli government extends its law, jurisdiction and administration to Golan Heights.
June - August, 1982 - Lebanon War
Israel attacks Syrian and PLO forces threatening its northern border in Lebanon. PLO withdrawl agreement negotiated by Habib. International forces deployed in Beruit to facilitate PLO evacuation.
September 1, 1982 - US President Regan announces a US initiative to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is based on earlier Camp David Accords and UN Resolution 242.
September 9, 1982 - 12th Arab League Summit meeting in Mexico. Calls for Israel's withdrawal from all Arab territories occupited since 1967. Confirms the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people under PLO leadership.
September 16, 1982 - Lebanese President Bachir Gemayel assassinated. Israeli forces occupy West Beirut.
April 18, 1983 - US Embassy in Beirut is destroyed by a terrorist bomb.
May 17 1983 - Israel / Lebanon peace and withdrawal agreement is signed, and mediated by US Secretary of State Shultz and Ambassador Philip Habib.
March 5, 1984 - Lebanon abrogates the Lebanese / Israeli agreement.
September 1985 - Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres launches a peace initiative centered on Jordan. It includes a proposal for an international conference.
February 19, 1986 - Frusterated by Yasser Arafat's refusal to accept UN resolutions as a basis for peace talks, Jordan's King Hussein severs his links with the PLO.
December 9, 1987 - A Palestinian uprising, known as the Intifada, erupts in Gaza and spreads to the West Bank, in Israel.
May 1988 - Palestine National Council accepts the UN General Assembly Resolution 181. The PLO accepts the original UN partition plan, Israel's right to exist, and UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 and renounces terrorism. The US opens dialogue with the PLO, the first formal contact in 13 years. Unfortunately the PLO charter is not revised. The dialogue lasts 2 years.
July 30, 1988 - King Hussein surrenders Jordan's claim to the West Bank and cuts all legal and adminsitrative ties to the region.