460 Chronology
1969 Yasir Arafat elected PLO head; Nasir declares War of Attrition
against Israel; Qadhafi leads coup in Libya
1970 Soviet arms buildup in Egypt; Rogers Plan for temporary cease¬
fire accepted by Egypt, Israel, and Jordan; indirect peace talks
fail; Jordan crushes Palestinian rebellion; Nasir dies
1970-2000 Presidency of Hafiz al-Asad in Syria
1970-1981 Presidency of Anwar al-Sadat in Egypt
1971 Last British forces leave Gulf region
1972 Sadat orders most Soviet military advisers out of Egypt
1973 Egypt and Syria coordinate surprise attack against Israelis in the
Sinai and Golan; after initial setback, Israelis penetrate Syria
and cross Suez Canal; US and USSR impose cease-fire; Arab oil
boycott, price hikes, and production cutbacks pressure Israel
and its backers; Geneva Peace Conference
1974 Kissinger arranges separation-of-forces agreements among
Israel, Egypt, and Syria; Arab states affirm PLO as sole
spokesman for Palestinians; UN General Assembly invites Arafat
to speak
1975 Saudi King Faysal is assassinated and succeeded by Khalid; civil
war starts in Lebanon; Egypt and Israel sign interim Sinai
agreement; UN General Assembly calls Zionism a form of racism
1976 Syria intervenes in Lebanon; Arab summit at Riyadh tries to
end Lebanese civil war, appointing Syrian troops as
peacekeepers
1977 Begin is elected Israeli premier; Sadat flies to Jerusalem and
addresses Knesset; Egypt and Israel start peace negotiations in
Cairo
1978 Southern Lebanon invaded by Israelis, later replaced by UN
force; Carter calls Begin and Sadat to summit at Camp David,
where they draft tentative peace treaty; successive coups in the
two Yemens; exiled Khomeini inspires mass demonstrations
against the shah, as workers' strike cuts Iran's oil output
1979 Shah names Bakhtiar premier and leaves Iran; Khomeini
returns and proclaims Islamic Republic; oil shortages cause
price hikes; Egypt and Israel sign peace treaty, causing other
Arab states to break ties with Egypt; Saddam Husayn officially
takes power in Iraq; Iranian militant students seize US Embassy,
holding Americans hostage; Muslim revolutionaries occupy
Mecca mosque; USSR invades Afghanistan