Every event
1970s
- May 17, 1977
The 'upheaval': Likud wins. For the first time, power shifted from Mapai and its heirs, in office for 29 years, to the right-wing bloc under Menachem Begin. The Alignment fell to 32 seats; Likud won 43. The result became known as "the upheaval." (Israel Democracy Institute) - November 19, 1977
Sadat visits Jerusalem. Begin received Egyptian President Anwar Sadat on his visit to Jerusalem. (Haaretz, February 22, 2012) - September 17, 1978
Camp David framework signed. After 11 days of talks at Camp David, Begin signed a framework for a peace treaty with Egypt. Israel agreed to withdraw from the entire Sinai Peninsula. (Haaretz, February 22, 2012) - March 26, 1979
Peace treaty with Egypt. At the White House, Begin signed the peace treaty with Egypt, the first agreement of its kind between Israel and an Arab state. (Haaretz, February 22, 2012)
1980s
- June 6, 1982
Israel invades Lebanon. Israel invaded Lebanon, with Ariel Sharon as defense minister. Sharon lost the post after Israeli-allied Christian militia killed hundreds of Palestinians in west Beirut refugee camps that September. (Times of Israel, January 11, 2014) - September 13, 1984
Unity government with rotation. Shimon Peres of the Alignment became prime minister of a government that included Likud, with Likud's Yitzhak Shamir as foreign minister. Shamir replaced Peres as prime minister on Oct 20, 1986. (Knesset, Governments of Israel (Internet Archive copy, 2013)) - December 8, 1987
First intifada begins. After an Israeli vehicle in Gaza caused a crash that killed four Palestinians, protests broke out in the Jabalia refugee camp. The uprising, the first intifada, spread to the occupied West Bank. (Al Jazeera, December 8, 2023)
1990s
- October 30, 1991
Madrid peace conference. A conference co-chaired by Presidents Bush and Gorbachev opened with Israeli, Egyptian, Syrian and Lebanese delegations and a joint Jordanian-Palestinian one: the first time all parties to the Arab-Israeli conflict met for direct talks. (US State Department, Office of the Historian) - September 13, 1993
Oslo Accords signed. Israel and the PLO signed the first Oslo Accord, in which each side recognized the other for the first time. A second accord followed in September 1995. (Al Jazeera, September 13, 2023) - October 26, 1994
Peace treaty with Jordan. At the Arava border crossing, Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty. Jordan became the second Arab country, after Egypt, to make peace with Israel. (Jerusalem Post, October 26, 2025) - November 4, 1995
Rabin assassinated. Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was shot dead by Yigal Amir, a far-right Jewish activist, at a rally of more than 100,000 people in Tel Aviv. In the Oslo talks Rabin had agreed to cede some territory won in 1967 to the PLO in exchange for peace. (Jerusalem Post, November 4, 2025) - May 29, 1996
First direct election of a PM. For the first time voters cast two ballots, one for the Knesset and one for prime minister. Netanyahu beat Peres by about 30,000 votes, under one percent, and sectoral parties gained seats. (Israel Democracy Institute) - May 17, 1999
Barak wins second direct election. Ehud Barak beat Netanyahu for prime minister by a convincing margin, but his One Israel list won only 26 seats. For the first time the two largest factions held fewer than half the Knesset's seats. (Israel Democracy Institute)
2000s
- May 24, 2000
Israel leaves southern Lebanon. The last Israeli troops withdrew from southern Lebanon, ending an 18-year presence in the security zone. The army's stay there from June 1982 had cost 1,216 Israeli soldiers' lives. (Times of Israel, May 21, 2015) - July 25, 2000
Camp David summit ends without a deal. Between July 11 and 24, Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Chairman Yasser Arafat met at Camp David under President Clinton's auspices but could not reach a permanent-status agreement. Both sides pledged to keep negotiating. (American Presidency Project (Trilateral Statement), July 25, 2000) - September 28, 2000
Sharon visit; second intifada. Opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount, which Muslims call the Noble Sanctuary, and violence erupted. Palestinians attribute the uprising to the visit; his supporters say it was already planned. (Times of Israel, January 11, 2014) - February 6, 2001
PM-only election: Sharon wins. In the first election ever held for prime minister alone, with no Knesset vote, Sharon beat Barak with 62.4%. Turnout, 62.3%, was the lowest in Israel's history to that point. A month later Israel returned to its former system. (Israel Democracy Institute, 2002) - January 28, 2003
Back to a single ballot. Sharon had abolished direct election of the prime minister, and Israel returned to single-ballot elections. Held during the second intifada, the vote gave his Likud 38 seats to Labor's 19. (Israel Democracy Institute) - August 17, 2005
Gaza disengagement. Sharon's government began a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and a small part of the West Bank, reversing his decades of support for expanding settlements. (Times of Israel, January 11, 2014) - November 21, 2005
Sharon leaves Likud, founds Kadima. Facing a Likud rebellion over the Gaza pullout, Prime Minister Sharon quit Likud to lead a new centrist party, later named Kadima, into early elections. (Al Jazeera, November 21, 2005) - January 4, 2006
Sharon's stroke. On the eve of a scheduled heart procedure, Sharon suffered a massive stroke and entered a coma. He was still in a coma in 2013 and died in January 2014. (Times of Israel, January 11, 2014) - July 12, 2006
Second Lebanon War. Hezbollah fighters killed three Israeli soldiers and seized two in a cross-border raid, setting off 34 days of fighting in Lebanon. (Al Jazeera, August 27, 2006) - June 15, 2007
Hamas takes control of Gaza. Fighting between Fatah forces and Hamas resumed in Gaza on June 9, and by June 15 Hamas had full control of the Strip; the internal violence killed 188 Palestinians, OCHA reported. President Mahmoud Abbas dissolved the unity government on June 14. (UN OCHA, July 26, 2007) - December 27, 2008
Gaza war of 2008–09. Israel's "Operation Cast Lead" lasted until Jan 18, 2009. Its airstrikes, shelling and ground operations killed 1,383 Palestinians, 333 of them children, OCHA reported. Rockets and mortars from Gaza killed three Israeli civilians; ten Israeli soldiers were killed. (UN OCHA, March 11, 2017) - March 31, 2009
Netanyahu returns to office. The Knesset approved Netanyahu's government, Israel's 32nd, by 69–45 with five abstentions, after he assembled a coalition amid tensions within Likud. (Haaretz, March 31, 2009)
2010s
- September 3, 2011
Social protests peak. After a summer of tent protests over the high cost of living, more than 400,000 people rallied for "social justice" across Israel, in what was called the biggest protest in the country's history. (Ynet, September 4, 2011) - November 14, 2012
Gaza war of November 2012. In eight days of fighting before an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire, 158 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, 103 of them civilians, including at least 33 children, and six Israelis were killed, four civilians and two soldiers, OCHA reported. (UN OCHA, November 22, 2012) - July 7, 2014
Gaza war of 2014. In fighting from July 7 to Aug 26, 2,251 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, 1,462 of them civilians and 551 children, according to a UN commission of inquiry's figures published by OCHA; 67 Israeli soldiers and six civilians in Israel were killed. (UN OCHA, June 23, 2015) - July 19, 2018
Nation-state law passes. The Knesset passed, 62–55, a Basic Law stating that the right to national self-determination in Israel is "exclusive" to the Jewish people. It downgraded Arabic from an official language to a "special status." (Al Jazeera, July 19, 2018) - May 30, 2019
First of five elections fails. After the April vote, Netanyahu could not form a coalition: Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu and the Haredi parties split over the draft law. The Knesset dissolved itself 74–45, forcing an unprecedented second election that year. (Times of Israel, May 30, 2019) - November 21, 2019
Netanyahu indicted. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced that Netanyahu would be charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust in Cases 1000, 2000 and 4000. He was the first sitting Israeli prime minister accused of bribery. (Haaretz, November 21, 2019)
2020s
- May 17, 2020
Netanyahu–Gantz unity government. After a third election, the Knesset approved a Netanyahu–Gantz government 73–46. Under the deal, Benny Gantz was to become prime minister on Nov 17, 2021. (Times of Israel, May 17, 2020) - September 15, 2020
Abraham Accords signed. At the White House, Israel signed agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which joined Egypt and Jordan as Arab states at formal peace with Israel. (Times of Israel, September 15, 2020) - December 10, 2020
Morocco joins the normalization deals. Morocco agreed to normalize relations with Israel, the fourth country since August after the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan. As part of the deal, President Trump recognized Morocco's sovereignty over the Western Sahara. Palestinian officials condemned it. (Al Jazeera, December 10, 2020) - May 12, 2021
Violence in mixed cities. Amid fighting in Gaza and clashes around Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jewish and Arab mobs attacked each other in Lod, Acre, Ramle and Bat Yam, the widest unrest between citizens since October 2000, when police killed 13 protesters, 12 of them Palestinian citizens of Israel. (Times of Israel, May 14, 2021) - June 2, 2021
Ra'am signs on to a coalition. Mansour Abbas signed a deal to bring Ra'am into the Bennett–Lapid coalition, the first Arab party leader in half a century to do so. The coalition pledged about NIS 53 billion for Arab communities. (Times of Israel, June 3, 2021) - June 13, 2021
Bennett–Lapid government sworn in. The Knesset approved the new government 60–59, ending Netanyahu's 12-year tenure. Naftali Bennett became prime minister. (Times of Israel, June 13, 2021) - June 30, 2022
Knesset dissolves; Lapid PM. The Knesset dissolved itself 92–0 and set the fifth election in three and a half years for Nov 1. Yair Lapid became interim prime minister at midnight. (Times of Israel, June 30, 2022) - November 1, 2022
Netanyahu bloc wins 64 seats. The two blocs were nearly tied in votes, but Meretz and Balad fell below the threshold. Likud and its allies won 64 seats, enough for Netanyahu to form a "pure" right-wing government. (Israel Democracy Institute) - January 4, 2023
Judicial overhaul unveiled. Justice Minister Yariv Levin proposed barring the courts' "reasonableness" review, giving the government effective control of judicial appointments, and letting 61 MKs re-enact laws the court strikes down. (Times of Israel, January 4, 2023) - March 27, 2023
Overhaul paused after strike. After mass protests and a nationwide strike, Netanyahu delayed the overhaul: "When there's an opportunity to avoid civil war through dialogue, I, as prime minister, am taking a time out for dialogue." (Al Jazeera, March 27, 2023) - July 24, 2023
'Reasonableness' law passes. The Knesset passed 64–0 a law limiting the courts' review of government decisions for "reasonableness." The opposition boycotted the vote. (Al Jazeera, July 24, 2023) - October 7, 2023
Hamas-led attack on Israel. Thousands of Hamas-led gunmen stormed southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages to Gaza, which started the war in Gaza. (Times of Israel, October 5, 2024) - October 8, 2023
Hezbollah opens fire on Israel. UN peacekeepers saw about 40 rockets and mortars fired from Lebanon at three Israeli army positions in the Israeli-held Shebaa Farms area. Hezbollah said it acted "in solidarity with the triumphant Palestinian resistance." Exchanges of fire across the border followed. (UN Secretary-General, report on resolution 1701, November 16, 2023) - November 24, 2023
First truce and hostage releases. A seven-day truce began. Hamas freed 105 hostages, 81 of them Israelis, and Israel released 210 Palestinian prisoners, all women or minors. Fighting resumed on Dec 1. (Times of Israel, December 2, 2023) - January 1, 2024
Court voids reasonableness law. Eight of 15 Supreme Court justices voted to strike down the reasonableness amendment, the first time the court nullified a Basic Law or an amendment to one. Twelve ruled that it had that power. (Al Jazeera, January 2, 2024) - January 26, 2024
ICJ orders provisional measures. In South Africa v. Israel, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel, 15–2, to take all measures within its power to prevent acts under Article II of the convention invoked, and, 16–1, to enable humanitarian aid to Gaza. It has not ruled on the merits. (International Court of Justice, January 26, 2024) - June 25, 2024
Court orders Haredi draft. A unanimous nine-justice panel ruled there is "no legal basis for avoiding the recruitment of yeshiva students" and that the state may not keep funding yeshivas for students eligible for service. (Times of Israel, June 25, 2024) - November 21, 2024
ICC warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. The International Criminal Court rejected Israel's challenges to its jurisdiction and issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, defense minister at the time, for "the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare" and crimes against humanity. (International Criminal Court, November 21, 2024) - January 19, 2025
Gaza ceasefire takes effect. A ceasefire began and Hamas freed its first three hostages under a deal whose first phase was to last 42 days. (Al Jazeera, January 19, 2025) - March 18, 2025
War resumes; Ben-Gvir returns. Israel launched its deadliest strikes on Gaza since the January ceasefire. Hours later, Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit, which had resigned in January in protest at the ceasefire, announced it would rejoin. (Al Jazeera, March 18, 2025) - June 13, 2025
Twelve-day war with Iran. Israel bombed Iranian nuclear sites at Natanz and Isfahan, and Iran retaliated with drones and missiles. President Trump announced a ceasefire, calling it "the 12 Day War." (Al Jazeera, June 24, 2025) - July 14, 2025
UTJ quits the coalition. Both factions of United Torah Judaism, Degel Hatorah and Agudat Yisrael, left the government and coalition in protest over the draft bill, cutting the coalition from 68 seats to 61. (Times of Israel, July 15, 2025) - July 16, 2025
Shas quits the government. Shas announced its resignation from the government amid the coalition's failure to advance a bill on military service for Haredi men, but said it would not vote to bring down Netanyahu's coalition. (Haaretz, July 16, 2025) - August 22, 2025
IPC finds famine in Gaza. The IPC hunger monitor found an estimated 514,000 people in Gaza, nearly a quarter of its population, experiencing famine. Netanyahu's office called the finding an "outright lie" and said Israel "has a policy of preventing starvation." (Times of Israel, August 23, 2025) - October 13, 2025
Last living hostages come home. Under a ceasefire deal brokered by President Trump, Hamas released the 20 remaining living hostages and Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. That day Hamas handed over 4 of the 28 dead hostages' bodies. (Times of Israel, October 13, 2025) - October 15, 2025
Gaza's toll after two years of war. As of Oct 15, 2025, Gaza's Health Ministry had reported 67,938 Palestinians killed and 170,169 injured since Oct 7, 2023, OCHA said; of the 67,173 dead it had identified by Oct 7, 20,179 were children. (UN OCHA, October 16, 2025) - February 28, 2026
US and Israel strike Iran. The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran two days after US–Iran nuclear talks in Geneva ended without a breakthrough. Iran responded with missile and air strikes across the region, including on Israel. (Al Jazeera, February 28, 2026) - July 17, 2026
Knesset dissolves; vote set. The 25th Knesset dissolved itself 62–0 overnight and set the election for Oct 27, 2026. A separate vote kept mandatory military service at 32 months. (Ynet, July 17, 2026) - October 2, 2026
Court reinstates Arab lists. The Supreme Court unanimously overturned the Central Elections Committee's disqualification of the Joint List and Ra'am. Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh withdrew after the court signaled a majority favored barring him. (Al Jazeera, October 2, 2026)
Knesset elections
The two largest lists in each election, by seats of 120. How seats are won, and why the largest list does not always govern: From votes to seats and Forming a government.
| Election | Largest list | Second | Turnout | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 17, 1977 Knesset 9 | Likud 43 | Alignment 32 | 79.2% | Begin formed a coalition of Likud, the National Religious Party and Agudat Yisrael; Dash joined four months later. (Israel Democracy Institute) |
| June 30, 1981 Knesset 10 | Likud 48 | Alignment 47 | 78.5% | Begin formed a narrow 61-seat coalition of Likud, the National Religious Party, Tami and Agudat Yisrael. (Israel Democracy Institute) |
| July 23, 1984 Knesset 11 | Alignment 44 | Likud 41 | 78.8% | Peres and Shamir formed a national unity government, agreeing to swap the premiership after two years. (Israel Democracy Institute) |
| November 1, 1988 Knesset 12 | Likud 40 | Alignment 39 | 79.7% | Shamir formed another unity government with the Alignment, without rotation; after it fell in March 1990 he formed a narrow right-wing and religious government. (Israel Democracy Institute) |
| June 23, 1992 Knesset 13 | Labor 44 | Likud 32 | 77.4% | Rabin formed a Labor–Meretz–Shas coalition of 62 MKs, with outside support from five Arab-party MKs. (Israel Democracy Institute) |
| May 29, 1996 Knesset 14 | Labor 34 | Likud 32 | 79.3% | Netanyahu, elected prime minister directly by about 30,000 votes, formed a six-faction coalition of 66 MKs. (Israel Democracy Institute) |
| May 17, 1999 Knesset 15 | One Israel 26 | Likud 19 | 78.7% | Barak, elected prime minister directly, formed a seven-faction coalition of 75 MKs. (Israel Democracy Institute) |
| January 28, 2003 Knesset 16 | Likud 38 | Labor 19 | 67.8% | Sharon formed a coalition of Likud, Shinui, the National Religious Party and National Union, with 68 MKs. (Israel Democracy Institute) |
| March 28, 2006 Knesset 17 | Kadima 29 | Labor 19 | 63.5% | Olmert formed a coalition of Kadima, Labor, Shas and Gil, with 67 MKs. (Israel Democracy Institute) |
| February 10, 2009 Knesset 18 | Kadima 28 | Likud 27 | 64.8% | Although Kadima won one more seat, a majority backed Netanyahu, who formed a six-party coalition of 74 MKs. (Israel Democracy Institute) |
| January 22, 2013 Knesset 19 | Likud Beitenu 31 | Yesh Atid 19 | 67.8% | Netanyahu formed a four-party coalition of 68 MKs. (Israel Democracy Institute; Israel Democracy Institute (Ofer Kenig), April 15, 2026) |
| March 17, 2015 Knesset 20 | Likud 30 | Zionist Union 24 | 72.3% | Netanyahu formed a five-party coalition of 61 MKs. (Israel Democracy Institute; Israel Democracy Institute (Ofer Kenig), April 15, 2026) |
| April 9, 2019 Knesset 21 | Likud 35 | Blue and White 35 | 68.5% | Netanyahu could not form a coalition, and the Knesset voted 74–45 to dissolve itself, a month after being sworn in. (Israel Democracy Institute; Times of Israel, May 30, 2019) |
| September 17, 2019 Knesset 22 | Blue and White 33 | Likud 32 | 69.8% | Neither Netanyahu nor Gantz assembled a coalition, and the Knesset dissolved, setting a third election. (Israel Democracy Institute; Times of Israel, December 12, 2019) |
| March 2, 2020 Knesset 23 | Likud 36 | Blue and White 33 | 71.5% | Netanyahu and Gantz formed a rotation government, approved 73–46 on May 17, 2020; Gantz was to take over in November 2021. (Israel Democracy Institute; Times of Israel, May 17, 2020) |
| March 23, 2021 Knesset 24 | Likud 30 | Yesh Atid 17 | 67.4% | After Netanyahu failed, Lapid assembled an eight-party coalition with Yamina's Bennett as prime minister. (Israel Democracy Institute) |
| November 1, 2022 Knesset 25 | Likud 32 | Yesh Atid 24 | 70.6% | Netanyahu formed a six-party coalition of Likud, Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit, Noam, Shas and UTJ, approved 63–54 on Dec 29, 2022. (Israel Democracy Institute; Times of Israel, December 29, 2022) |
Prime ministers
| Prime minister | Party | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menachem Begin (Knesset, Governments of Israel (Internet Archive copy, 2013)) | Likud | June 20, 1977 | October 10, 1983 |
| Yitzhak Shamir (Knesset, Governments of Israel (Internet Archive copy, 2013)) | Likud | October 10, 1983 | September 13, 1984 |
| Shimon Peres (Knesset, Governments of Israel (Internet Archive copy, 2013)) | Alignment | September 13, 1984 | October 20, 1986 |
| Yitzhak Shamir (Knesset, Governments of Israel (Internet Archive copy, 2013)) | Likud | October 20, 1986 | July 13, 1992 |
| Yitzhak Rabin (Knesset, Governments of Israel (Internet Archive copy, 2013)) | Labor | July 13, 1992 | November 4, 1995 |
| Shimon Peres (Knesset, Governments of Israel (Internet Archive copy, 2013)) | Labor | November 5, 1995 | June 18, 1996 |
| Benjamin Netanyahu (Knesset, Governments of Israel (Internet Archive copy, 2013)) | Likud | June 18, 1996 | July 6, 1999 |
| Ehud Barak (Knesset, Governments of Israel (Internet Archive copy, 2013)) | One Israel (Labor) | July 6, 1999 | March 7, 2001 |
| Ariel Sharon (Knesset, Governments of Israel (Internet Archive copy, 2013)) | Likud (Kadima from November 2005) | March 7, 2001 | April 16, 2006 |
| Ehud Olmert (Knesset, Governments of Israel (Internet Archive copy, 2013)) | Kadima | April 16, 2006 | March 31, 2009 |
| Benjamin Netanyahu (Haaretz, March 31, 2009) | Likud | March 31, 2009 | June 13, 2021 |
| Naftali Bennett (Times of Israel, June 13, 2021) | Yamina | June 13, 2021 | July 1, 2022 |
| Yair Lapid (Times of Israel, June 30, 2022) | Yesh Atid | July 1, 2022 | December 29, 2022 |
| Benjamin Netanyahu (Times of Israel, December 29, 2022) | Likud | December 29, 2022 | In office |