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Dear Lord Rothschild,
I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by the Cabinet:

'His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.

Yours sincerely

Arthur Balfour

Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)

The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was set up in 1964 by the Arab League, with the aim of "organizing the Palestinian people to enable them to carry out their role of liberating their homeland and determining their destiny". Although associated in the media with military activities because of the Fatah movement and other Palestinian groups, the PLO assumed responsibility for many aspects of Palestinian life, particularly in the refugee communities. In 1968, Yasser Arafat was elected Chairman of the PLO.

Resolution 242

UN Security Council Resolution 242 emphasised "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every state in the area can live in security". It called for:

• withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories of recent conflict
• termination of all claims or states of belligerency, and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every state in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognised boundaries free from threats or acts of force.

The resolution also affirmed the necessity:

• for guaranteeing freedom of navigation through international waterways in the area
• for achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem
• for guaranteeing the territorial inviolability and political independence of every state in the area, through measures including the establishment of demilitarised zones

February 17 The Levon Affair (1995)
Israeli Defense Minister Lavon forced to resign after exposure of Israeli spy ring terror attacks in Egypt.

February 25 Hebron Massacre (1994)
Baruch Goldstein, a fanatic settler from New York, storms the Ibrahimi Mosque with an automatic weapon and kills 29 praying Muslims