462 • Chronology
598, calling for end to Iran-Iraq War; more US citizens
kidnapped in Lebanon; Palestinian intifada breaks out in Gaza
and West Bank, protesting Israeli occupation
1988 US Navy involved in heavy Gulf fighting; Iraq and Iran accept
Resolution 598, ending Iran-Iraq War; Lebanese parliament fails
to agree on a new president, leaving Lebanon ruled by two
separate governments; King Husayn disclaims Jordanian interest
in regaining control of West Bank as intifada continues;
inconclusive Israeli elections lead to broad cabinet with Likud
and Labor ministers; Palestine National Council declares
independent state of Palestine; Arafat formally renounces
terrorism and recognizes Israel; US begins direct talks with PLO
representatives
1989 Shamir calls for West Bank and Gaza elections to choose
Palestinian negotiators with Israel but rules out PLO role;
Egypt's Mubarak and US Secretary of State Baker propose peace
plan; Ayatollah Khomeini dies and is succeeded by Khamanei as
Iran's faqih; Majlis speaker Hashimi Rafsanjani becomes
president; Saudi Arabia hosts meeting of Lebanon's parliament
1990 Arab leaders hold emergency summit as large numbers of
Jewish emigrants from USSR enter Israel; two Yemens are
united; Shamir's broad coalition government falls; Israel's
religious parties enter right-wing coalition led by Shamir; Iraqi
forces invade and occupy Kuwait; UN Security Council
condemns Iraq and imposes economic sanctions; many
countries, led by US , send forces and supplies to Saudi Arabia
in Operation Desert Shield
1991 US-led coalition of forces in Saudi Arabia starts massive air
attacks against Iraq; Iraq responds with SCUD missile attacks
against Israel and Saudi Arabia; coalition's massive ground
assault hastens Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait; abortive
rebellions by Kurds and Shi'is in Iraq; UN insists on removal of
nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons from Iraq; Israel and
Arab countries begin peace negotiations in Madrid
1992 General elections in Israel restore Labor to power; Yitzhak
Rabin forms narrow coalition and authorizes secret contacts
with PLO representatives in Oslo
1993 PLO and Israeli representatives sign Declaration of Principles
on White House lawn, offering autonomy to Palestinians in
Gaza and Jericho and eventually to rest of West Bank following
Israeli troop withdrawals and elections for Palestinian council