January 15: Syria
Eighty people are killed and at least 150 injured in two blasts on the campus of Aleppo University in the Syrian northern city of Aleppo. Both sides, the government and the opposition forces, blame each other for the deadly attack. According to the United Nations new estimates, more than 60,000 people have been killed in Syria in the conflict that began almost two years ago. (January 29): The UN and Arab League Peace Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi reports to the United Nations Security Council that Syria “has reached unprecedented levels of horror” and is being “destroyed bit by bit”. He also calls for the Security Council, which is divided over Syria, to act. (January 30): The International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria held in Kuwait City collects more than $1.5 billion to provide the people of Syria with food, shelter and other necessities. It is estimated that more than 700,000 Syrians fled the country and live in refugee camps.
January 22: Israel
Israel is holding a snap election due to the coalition’s failure to reach an agreement on the annual budget. In a surprising result, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-Beitenu alliance loses a significant number of seats in the parliament, but still remains the largest group with 31 seats. The second largest group is a newly-formed centrist Yesh Atid party led by a popular TV personality, Yair Lapid, who has demanded changes of the military conscription laws protecting the ultra-orthodox Jews. The election results show that this time the Israelis considered socio-economic problems as important as security issues while voting. Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the largest group in the Knesset, is expected to form a new government.
February 20: Israel
Israeli former opposition leader Tzipi Livni agrees to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition. Her new centrist Hatnua party was formed on promises to push for a two-state solution with the Palestinians. Livni is offered a post of justice minister and chief negotiator with the Palestinians.
February 20: Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabian King Abdullah swears in 30 women into the Shura Council, making them the first women ever to be part of the political process in this conservative country. Although the council is only an advisory body, this is a big move towards female participation in public life. Women have been already granted the right to vote and run in the municipal elections in 2015.
March 14: Israel
Five weeks after the elections, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu forms a coalition government. The new coalition includes his alliance of Likud-Yisrael Beitenu, the centrist Yesh Atid and Hatnua party and the far-right Jewish Home.
March 19: Iraq
A series of car and suicide bombings targeting public places in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, kills about 60 people and injures about 150. Sunni Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda are accused of these violent attacks.
March 23: Israel/Turkey
Israel apologizes to Turkey for killing nine Turkish activists during the 2010 commando raid onto a ship carrying humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip that was under the Israeli blockade. Israel also agrees to compensate the families of the killed activists. The incident caused major rift in the Israeli-Turkish relations.
March 26: Syria/Arab League
Syria’s opposition National Coalition represents the country of Syria during the Arab League summit in Doha, Qatar. The event is seen as a major diplomatic win for the Syrian opposition.
April 1: Syria
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) says that more than 6,000 people have been killed in Syria in March, making it the bloodiest month since the uprising against the Bashar al-Assad regime started two years ago. (April 10): One of the Syrian opposition groups fighting the Assad regime, the al-Nusra Front, announces its merger with al-Qaeda in Iraq. The jihadist Al-Nusra group is on a U.S. list of terrorist organizations. The news about the merger raises concerns whether the arms provided for the anti-Assad opposition end up with terrorist groups.
May 3: Syria
Israel launches two air strikes on Syria targeting a shipment of weapons bound for Hezbollah in Lebanon. (May 5): Syrian activists report two massacres in central Syria, one in the Sunni village of al-Bayda and the other in the town of Baniyas, where bodies of about 150 people are found, including women and children. The pro-government militia, the shabbiha, is reported to be involved in these massacres. (May 17): The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reports that more than 1.5 million Syrians have fled the civil war, mostly to Jordan and Lebanon. Another 4.5 million are internally displaced. (May 28): The European Union agrees not to renew its arms embargo on Syria, on both the government and opposition. The EU member countries can now decide themselves whether they want to send arms to Syria. Russia criticizes the EU decision, and sends anti-aircraft missiles to the Syrian government.
June 4: Syria
After testing samples from several locations in Syria, France determines that Syria’s government has used sarin, a chemical nerve agent, against its own people. The United States and the United Kingdom have also acknowledged that there is evidence that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons. The use of chemical weapons is banned by most countries. The results have been reported to the United Nations.
June 15: Iran
Hassan Rouhani, a moderate cleric backed by reformists, wins Iran’s presidential elections. During the election campaign, Rouhani pledged to work with the Western countries to help ease sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear program.
June 16: Turkey
Mass anti-government protests erupt in dozens of cities across Turkey after the violent police response to a small protest over government plans to close Gezi Park and build a mosque in its place. The protesters call for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s resignation who, they claim, has become authoritarian and a threat to Turkey’s secular political tradition by pushing an Islamist agenda.
June 25: Qatar
Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani abdicates in favor of his son Sheikh Tamim bin-Hamad al-Thani in a peaceful handover of power. The son is expected to continue his father’s policies of political and economic liberalization. The Al Thani family has ruled Qatar for the last 150 years.
July 30: Israel/Palestinian Territories
Direct peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians resume in Washington, D.C. after Israel approved the release of 100 Palestinian prisoners. The previous talks broke off three years ago over the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, but efforts of the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry have resulted in bringing the two sides again to the table. The chief negotiators are Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Palestinian Senior Negotiator Saeb Erekat, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, and Former US Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk. The goal is to achieve the two-state solution through resolving the major issues: the future of Israeli settlements and the border line, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
September 17: Syria
The United Nations weapons inspectors conclude in their report that chemical weapons were used in Syria in at attack on the Ghouta area of Damascus on August 21 that killed several hundred people. Although the report does not specify who was responsible for the attack, the inspectors have determined that chemical weapons were carried by Russian-made rockets, which have been used by the Syrian government before. (September 28): The UN Security Council adopts a binding resolution on Syria’s chemical weapons, agreed earlier by Russia and the United States, which states that Syria must abandon its chemical weapon stockpile and must give access to its facilities to chemical weapons specialists.
September 25: Syria
Eleven of Syria’s rebel groups fighting against the government of Bashir al-Assad issue a statement, which says that they do not recognize the authority of the National Coalition, the main opposition alliance based in Turkey and recognized by more than 100 countries as representative of the Syrian people. The statement calls for all opposition groups, of which there are more than 1,000 to unite under Islamic Sharia law.
October 18: Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia turns down a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, accusing the organization of double standards and inability to perform its duties of providing peace and security. It refers to failure to act on Syria, Palestine, and weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. Ten rotating non-permanent members sit on the council for two years with the permanent five: United States, United Kingdom, China, Russia, and France.
October 22: Brunei
The Sultan of Brunei who rules by decree announces that the country will enforce a Sharia law penal code, including death by stoning, limb amputation for theft, and flogging for drinking alcohol and abortion. The Sultan ensures that the law will apply only to the Muslim citizens, who constitute about two thirds of the country’s population.
October 30: Iraq
About 20 people are killed in three separate suicide bombings in Iraq in renewed violence. Deadly bombings of public places such as bus stations and restaurants have become a daily occurrence. In September alone, more than 1,000 people were killed with thousands wounded. 2013 has shown a reversal of the previous improvements in providing security and has reached the 2008 levels in the number of people killed in bombings.
November 6: Palestinian Territories
Independent investigation into former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s death by Swiss scientists confirms that his remains show 18 times higher than normal levels of radioactive polonium in his body. However, because he died in 2004, it cannot be determined whether it was polonium poison that caused his death.