Hamas, defined in many countries as a terrorist organization, wins the majority of seats in elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council

Kadima, the party founded by Ariel Sharon, wins the most seats in the Israeli elections

Ehud Olmert, Sharon's successor as leader of Kadima, becomes Israel's prime minister at the head of a coalition government

Hamas militants take hostage an Israeli corporal, provoking a new Israeli military campaign against Gaza

Hezbollah takes two Israeli soldiers hostage, provoking the renewal of air and rocket warfare on the Israel-Lebanon border

A UN-sponsored cease-fire comes into effect in the conflict between Israeli and Hezbollah forces in south Lebanon

Israel begins an intense series of airstrikes against targets in the Gaza Strip, in response to rockets launched by Hamas

Uri Lupolianski, ends his five-year term as the first mayor of Jerusalem from the powerful ultra-orthodox section of Israeli society

Israel escalates its war against Hamas by launching a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip

Israel completes a military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, nearly three weeks after launching its invasion of the territory

Israeli soldiers board an aid flotilla headed for Gaza and in the resulting violence kill nine Turkish activists on the Mavi Marmara

Hamas releases the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1027 Palestinian and Israeli-Arab prisoners held in Israel

Iran blames the USA and Israel for the murder of one of their nuclear scientists by a suicide bomber on a motorcyle

The UN General Assembly, defying Israel, grants Palestine the status of a non-member observer state

Netanyahu wins the Israeli election, with second place taken by a moderate party, Yesh Atid, newly formed by Yair Lapid

Israel makes the first of two air strikes into Syria, targeting arsenals of the terrorist group Hezbollah

The first meeting in new Israel-Palestine peace talks takes place in Washington

Israel releases 25 Palestinian prisoners convicted of serious crimes and in doing so enables renewed peace talks to begin in Jerusalem

The renewed peace talks between Israel and Palestine are jeopardized by an announcement that Israel will build 1500 homes for Jews in East Jerusalem

The Israeli cabinet approves a draft reform bill that will end a 65-year exemption of the ultra-Orthodox (or Haredi) from military service

Israel responds to the new Palestinian alignment between Fatah and Hamas by withdrawing from the latest round of peace talks