CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS- 1995-1996

1995
2 January	Prime Minister Rabin halts new construction in a West Bank settlement, stating that Israel's future lies in territorial compromise with the Palestinians.
10-17 January	Foreign Minister Peres visits Venezuela and Argentina.
15 January	Prime Minister Rabin orders construction of bypass roads in the West Bank.
22 January	Two bombs explode at a bus stop at Beit Lid Junction, killing 19 Israeli soldiers and wounding scores. Islamic Jihad suicide bomber was responsible for this attack.
25 January	Israel's cabinet approves construction and sale of 4,000 new homes in West Bank Jewish settlements.
2 February	Mubarak, Rabin and Arafat meet in a Cairo summit to promote Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on the Interim Agreement. 5 February
	A meeting between Rabin and Arafat yields no visible results.
12 February	Israel and the PLO pledge to make new efforts to restore the peace process. This is included in a joint statement issued by the foreign ministers of Israel, Jordan, Egypt, the U.S. and a PA representative.
23 February	Israel and Tanzania resume diplomatic relations suspended in 1973.
24 February	Israel and Burundi resume diplomatic relations.
9-10 March	Secretary of State Christopher arrives for another visit.
10 March	Some progress is reported in Israel- Palestinian talks.
12-14 March	British Prime Minister John Major pays an official visit to Israel.
12 March	Foreign Minister Peres holds talks with Jordan's Crown Prince Hassan.
14 March	Secretary of State Christopher announces on his return from Damascus that Israel and Syria will resume face to face negotiations broken off in December 1994.
20 March	Following the killing in an ambush of two Jewish settlers in Hebron, the government decides it will carry on talks with the Palestinians.
27-29 March	Official visit to Israel of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
3 April	Russian Foreign Minister Kozyrev holds talks in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Rabin and Foreign Minister Peres.
6 April	Israel launches its first spy satellite into orbit.
16 April	The IDF intercepts a carload of Hamas gunmen in Hebron, killing 3.
27 April	Israel confirms its intention to confiscate 130 acres of land in East Jerusalem.
18 May	U.S. vetoes a Security Council draft resolution condemning Israeli seizure of land in East Jerusalem.
22 May	The government suspends its plan to confiscate land in East Jerusalem.
24 May	Israel and Syria make small progress in talks on future security arrangements.
28 May	King Hassan II of Morocco hosts a meeting in Rabat between Foreign Minister Peres and Yasser Arafat.
29 May	Prime Minister Rabin stresses the unity of Jerusalem in a Knesset address.
4 June	Peres and Arafat hold talks in Erez Crossing Point.
6-8 June	Germany's Chancellor Helmut Kohl visits Israel.
9 June	Prime Minister Rabin holds talks in Cairo with President Mubarak.
10 June	Secretary of State Christopher reports Assad agrees to resume military negotiations with Israel broken off after one meeting.
23 June	Rockets fired from Southern Lebanon hit Club Med north of Nahariyah killing one.
2 July	No visible progress is achieved in another Peres-Arafat meeting.
4 July	Israel and the PLO report some progress on Palestinian self rule in more West Bank areas.
14 July	New round of Israel-Syria security talks is called off because Israel and the U.S. refuse to accept new Syrian conditions.
18 July	An Israel-EU Trade Agreement is drafted.
24 July	A suicide bomber blows up a crowded commuter bus in Ramat Gan killing 5 Israelis.
11 August	Israel and the PLO reach an agreement on redeployment of forces in the West Bank.
21 August	In another suicide bombing in Jerusalem, 6 Israelis are killed and some 100 wounded.
25 August	Israel and the PLO issue a joint statement on the state of their negotiations.
28 August	Foreign Minister Peres holds talks with Jordan's Crown Prince Hassan.
10-12 September	Prime Minister Emilio Gonzales of Spain pays an official visit to Israel.
9 September	Israeli militants block roads in protest against the emerging Israel-PLO agreement.
20 September	An Iranian airliner, hijacked by a disgruntled steward lands in Israel, is later released.
24 September	Israel and the PLO initial in Taba an Interim Agreement on self rule for Palestinians.
28 September	Rabin and Arafat sign the Israel-Palestinian Interim Agreement at the White House in the presence of King Hussein and Presidents Clinton and Mubarak.
5 October	The Knesset approves, by a majority of one, the Interim Agreement.
24 October	US Congress approves a bill calling for the transfer of the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem no later than 1999.
29-30 October	The second Middle East North Africa Economic summit is held in Amman.
4 November	Prime Minister Rabin is assassinated in Tel Aviv by a Jewish extremist.
6 November	Prime Minister Rabin is buried in Jerusalem in the presence of leaders from 80 nations. Shimon Peres becomes the acting prime minister.
20 November	Israel and the EU sign a trade agreement in Brussels.
20 November	The IDF withdraws from six West Bank towns.
22 November	Acting Prime Minister Peres presents his government to the Knesset and wins a vote of confidence. he becomes defense minister as well while Ehud Barak is appointed foreign minister.
12-13 December	Prime Minister Peres holds talks in Washington with President Clinton.
16 December	Secretary of State Christopher announces that high-level Israel-Syria talks will commence on 27 December.
27 December	Israeli and Syrian negotiators meet at Wye Plantation near Washington.

1996
10 January	King Hussein of Jordan visits Tel Aviv, holds talks with Prime Minister Peres.
15-18 January	President Weizman pays an official visit to Germany.
28 January	Israel and Oman issue a joint statement.
5 February	Prime Minister Peres decides to call early elections for the 14th Knesset to be held on 29 May.
25 February	A suicide bomber blows up a bus in Jerusalem, killing 12 and injuring 20. Another explosion near Ashkelon kills 13 Israelis. Hamas claims responsibility. Israel orders closure of the territories.
28 February	Peres warns Israel may delay its redeployment in Hebron as a result of the wave of bombings.
2 March	Another Hamas human suicide bomber blows up a bus in Jerusalem killing 20 Israelis.
4 March	A Palestinian suicide bomber blows himself up in the midst of a holiday shopping crowd in a Tel Aviv mall killing 14, wounding 130.
5 March	President Clinton pledges to help Israel with high technology bomb detection devices.
7 March	Palestinian security forces launch a campaign against Islamic Jihad and Hamas terrorists.
13 March	An anti-terrorist summit conference, called the Summit of the Peace Makers is held in Sharm el Sheikh, attended by 25 world leaders. Syria boycotts the summit.
14-15 March	President Clinton visits Israel to boost the morale of Israelis.
27 March	Yigal Amir is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for assassinating Prime Minister Rabin.
11 April	Israel launches operation "Grapes of Wrath" against Hizballah in Southern Lebanon.
24 April	Russia's Foreign Minister Primakov holds talks in Jerusalem.
28 April	A cease fire in Lebanon is arranged by the U.S.
30 April	President Clinton and Prime Minister Peres issue a joint statement at the conclusion of talks in Washington.
3 May	Israel decides to postpone redeployment in Hebron.
4 May	The PLO announces it amended its National Covenant to remove anti-Israel sections.
29 May	In the national elections, Benjamin Netanyahu is elected prime minister of Israel.