January 12: Yemen/Saudi Arabia
Saudi forces push back the Yemeni Houthi rebels from the Saudi border village of al-Jabiri. Houthi forces entered the village in November, accusing the Saudis of helping the Yemeni government to fight them.
January 25: Iraq
Iraq’s former presidential advisor in the Saddam Hussein’s regime and Hussein’s cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid, is executed by hanging. Al-Majid was known as “Chemical Ali” for ordering gas attacks against Kurds in 1988. The Iraqi High Tribunal gave al-Majid four death sentences for genocide and crimes against humanity.
March 7: Iraq
Iraq votes in the country’s second parliamentary elections despite multiple violent attacks by Islamic militant groups aimed at disrupting the polls. Voters are electing the parliament from among over 6,000 candidates and 86 parties. Former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s secular al-Iraqiyya (Iraqi National Front) wins a narrow majority, with Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s State of Law coalition coming second. The two front runners are followed by the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) and the Kurdistan Alliance. The results mean that Iyad Allawi will form the next Iraqi government.
April 25: Iraq
A joint military operation of the Iraqi and NATO forces kills several main leaders of the terrorist al-Qaeda in Iraq group responsible for many violent attacks since the beginning of the Iraq operation in 2003. One of them, Ahmed al-Obeidi, was in charge of operations in the northern provinces of Iraq.
May 8: Israel/Palestinian Territories
The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) agrees to indirect peace talks with Israel, called proximity talks, which will be mediated by U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell. The last direct talks took place in 2008 and were broken off by the Palestinians after Israel’s military offensive on the Gaza Strip. The PLO says it will not agree to hold direct talks until Israel halts building all settlements in the occupied West Bank.
May 31: Israel/Turkey
Israeli troops raid a Turkish ship on the Mediterranean Sea, killing nine activists. The ship carried humanitarian goods for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, trying to break an Israeli and Egyptian blockade of the territory. Israel blocked Gaza to put pressure on the Hamas government. In protest of the incident, Turkey withdraws its ambassador from Israel and cancels joint military exercises.
June 9: Iran
The United Nations Security Council approves new sanctions on Iran in response to its continued nuclear program. This is the fourth set of sanctions, which expands the arms embargo and tightens financial restrictions on Iran’s institutions and individuals. (June 24): The United States Congress approves new additional restrictions on foreign companies that trade with Iran meant to put more pressure on Iran to end its nuclear enrichment program.
June 20: Israel/Palestinian Territories
Under intense international pressure, Israel eases its blockade of the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip, allowing supplies of food, building material, and other humanitarian aid. It states, however, that it will maintain its naval blockade and its troops will continue searching for smuggled weapons.
August 17: Lebanon/Palestinian Territories
Lebanon passes a law that allows the Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon to work legally, but not in the public sector and not in such fields as medicine, law, and engineering. The law also comes short in allowing the Palestinians to buy property. Lebanon’s 400,000 Palestinians have been living in refugee camps since 1948, and performing menial jobs for four generations.
August 31: Iraq
Seven years after the U.S.-led invasion on Iraq, the United States ends its combat operations and withdraws its last combat troops from Iraq. It will, however, keep 50,000 non-combat troops, which will help train Iraqi troops and support counter-terrorism operations. At some point during the war, the U.S. had 165,000 troops in Iraq, the number that was reduced in January this year. Since the beginning of the war in 2003, 4,421 Americans and more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed. As many as 1.6 million of Iraqis, about 5.5 percent of its population, have been displaced. By the end of 2011, the U.S. will have spent $802 billion for the war in Iraq. Some sources put this cost at $3 trillion.
September 2: Israel/Palestinian Territories
Israel and the Palestinian leaders hold their first direct talks in 20 months in Washington, DC. The goal of the negotiations is to end Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories captured in the 1967 war and to create an independent Palestinian state. The main issues to resolve include the West Bank settlement construction, the recognition of Israel as the Jewish state, the final borders of the Palestinian state, Israel’s security, Palestinian refugees, and the status of Jerusalem. Hamas, which is in charge of the Gaza Strip, has been excluded from the talks because Israel, the United States, and the European Union do not recognize its authority. (September 15): Negotiations between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mediated by U.S. Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, continue in Jerusalem. However, the Palestinian leaders say they will walk out of the talks if Israel does not extend the 10-month moratorium on Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which is due to expire at the end of the month. (September 21): The Quartet of Middle East peace mediators, consisting of the U.S., the EU, the UN, and Russia, encourages Israel to extend the settlement freeze, which has had positive impact on pushing the talks forward. (September 26): The Israeli moratorium on the West Bank settlements expansion expires and Israel decides not to extend it.
September 5: Iraq
Just a few days after the United States ended its combat operations in Iraq, insurgents attack an army base in Baghdad. The Iraqi government requests the U.S. troops to help the Iraqi soldiers battle the attackers. U.S. forces remaining in Iraq can participate in combat operations only when asked by the Iraqi government.
October 8: Israel/Palestinian Territories/Arab League
The Arab League endorses the Palestinian decision to walk out of the peace talks unless Israel freezes settlement construction in the West Bank. It also gives the United States one month to resolve the deadlock. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the freeze could break his right wing coalition, which is dominated by pro-settlement parties. (October 11): Israel says it will stop new settlements in the West Bank if the Palestinian leaders recognize Israel as a Jewish state. The Palestinians, however, say this would jeopardize the rights of the non-Jewish population living in Israel as well as the claims of the Palestinian refugees.
November 2: Iraq
Several coordinated attacks in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad kill at least 63 people and injure more than 280 others. The insurgents target mostly Shia neighborhoods with car bombs, roadside bombs, and mortars, showing off their continued strength.
November 9: Israel/Palestinian Territories
Israel announces its decision to build 1,300 new settler homes in East Jerusalem and 800 in northern West Bank. The decision is condemned by the United Nations, the European Union, Russia, and the United States. The settlements are the main stumbling block in the peace process. (November 10): The United States says it has allocated an additional $150 million in aid for the Palestinians. (November 14): The United States offers Israel a package of incentives to extend its freeze on new settlements in the occupied territories for 90 days. The incentives include 20 fighter jets and a promise to veto any proposals critical of Israel at the UN Security Council.
December 7: Israel/Palestinian Territories
After weeks of negotiations, the United States says that it has failed to resolve the impasse of the direct peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The sticking point of the talks has been Israel’s refusal to renew its ban on settlements in the West Bank.