Key dates in the conflict over Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories seized by Israel in the June 1967 war:
– September 1967: Work begins on the first Jewish settlement of Kfar Etzion, south of Jerusalem.
– May 1977: Prime Minister Menachem Begin intensifies settlement activity and encourages construction in the Gaza Strip and deep within the West Bank.
– August 1996: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu eases restrictions on settlement building that were imposed four years earlier ahead of the 1993 Oslo accords.
– November 1998: Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon encourages settlers to "grab more hills" in the West Bank.
– June 2002: Israel begins building a barrier separating east Jerusalem and the larger settlement blocs from the rest of the West Bank.
– August-September 2005: Israel withdraws all 8,000 settlers from the Gaza Strip.
– November 2009: Netanyahu, again prime minister, announces a partial 10-month moratorium on construction in the West Bank, excluding east Jerusalem.
– September 2010: Israel insists the construction curbs will not be renewed but eventually says it is willing to compromise, following US pressure and Palestinian threats to walk out of newly launched peace talks.
– October 2010: Israel unveils plans for 238 new homes for Jewish settlers in east Jerusalem, drawing an angry response from the Palestinians.
– November 2010: Netanyahu accepts the principle of a new 90-day freeze on settlement activity in the West Bank but demands written guarantees on US aid.
– Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas says that he will not return to talks with Israel without a settlement freeze that includes east Jerusalem.
– December 7, 2010: US officials admit efforts to coax Israel into imposing new curbs on West Bank settlement construction have failed, leaving direct peace talks deadlocked.
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