BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Palestinian voters will cast their ballots Sunday to choose the chairman of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), an interim self-governing body in charge of civil affairs in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

    The winner steps into the shoes of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who died November after nearly eight years at the helm.

    The following is a chronology of the major events in the Palestinian history, which is virtually shaped by the conflicts and peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis:

    1913 -- First Arab Nationalist Congress convened in Paris, which demands autonomy for Arab provinces of Palestine, Syria and Lebanon within the Ottoman Empire.

    Aug. 23, 1929 -- Riots between Arabs and Jews in Jerusalem spread over most West Bank towns, killing hundreds.

    Nov. 27, 1947 -- The United Nations approves Resolution 181 forthe partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states.

    May 14, 1948 -- Israel declares statehood, sparking eight-monthwar with Arab states.

    May, 1964 -- After first Arab summit in Cairo creates the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the Palestine National Council (PNC), or parliament, holds its first meeting in east Jerusalem, approving a charter calling for an armed struggle to liberate Palestine.

    June 5-10, 1967 -- The Six-Day War. Israel occupies east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

    March 21, 1968 -- Some 400 PLO fighters hold off an attack by the Israeli army on their base at Karameh, Jordan. The battle, in which PLO fighters refused Israeli calls to retreat, becomes enshrined as the first Palestinian victory over Israeli forces.

    Feb. 4, 1969 -- Yasser Arafat was elected president of the PLO executive committee.

    June 12, 1974 -- The PLO grants establishment of political institutions on "every liberalized Palestinian land."

    Nov. 22, 1974 -- Arafat tells the United Nations he carries "both an olive branch and a gun." The United Nations gives the PLO an observer seat in the General Assembly.

    June 1982 -- Israel invades Lebanon, besieging Beirut and PLO headquarters there for some 80 days. The PLO moves to Tunis.

    Dec. 9, 1987 -- The first intifada, or uprising, against Israeli occupation breaks out after Palestinians are run over by acar driven by Israelis in the Gaza Strip. It spreads throughout the West Bank and Gaza. The campaign lasts six years.

    Nov. 15, 1988 -- Height of the Palestinian uprising. The PNC meets in Algiers and declares the creation of a Palestinian state and its acceptance of the partition of Palestine.

    Sept. 13, 1993 - Israel and the PLO sign the Declaration of Principles after months of secret negotiations in Oslo, recognizing each other's legal status and outlines framework for future peace talks.

    May 4, 1994 -- The PLO and Israel sign the Gaza-Jericho accord in Cairo. Palestinians embark on a planned five-year self-rule thefollowing day.

    July 1, 1994 -- Arafat returns to Gaza to create the PNA, whichgoverns the area from which Israeli troops pulled out.

    Jan. 20, 1996 -- After Israel hands over the main towns of the West Bank to Palestinian rule, Arafat is voted president of the PNA. The 88-member Palestinian Legislative Council is also elected.

    May 29, 1996 -- The right-wing Likud led by Benjamin Netanyahu,which opposes the Oslo agreement, wins the Israeli elections.

    Oct. 23, 1998 -- After nine days of intense talks, Netanyahu and Arafat sign the Wye River accord, ending a 19-month impasse inthe Middle East peace process. The deal outlines Israeli troop withdrawal from the West Bank's rural areas in three phases, but Israel suspends its implementation after completing only the firstphase of pull-out.

    March 26, 1999 -- European Union leaders reaffirm in a statement at the Berlin summit "the absolute Palestinian right to self-determination including the choice of a state and looks forward to the early fulfillment of this right." The leaders also say they would consider the recognition of a Palestinian state.

    July 11-25, 2000 -- US President Bill Clinton brings Israeli premier Ehud Barak and Arafat to his Camp David retreat. The talksfail, paving the way for the eruption of the second intifada two months later.

    Sept. 28, 2000 -- Right-wing Israeli opposition leader, later prime minister, Ariel Sharon ignores warnings and visits the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, a site holy to Islam and Judaism, provoking the first clashes of the intifada.

    Dec. 3, 2001 -- Israel raids symbolic PNA targets in Gaza, marking the start of Arafat's confinement to his Ramallah headquarters.

    June, 2002 -- Israel starts to build a wall sealing the West Bank off from Israel in an attempt to block militants from attacking the Jewish state. The move is bitterly opposed by Palestinians. A few days later, Israel reoccupies areas in the West Bank.

    June 24, 2002 -- US President George W. Bush pledges his support for a Palestinian state alongside Israel, but calls on thePalestinians to choose new leaders, an implicit call for them to dump Arafat.

    Sept. 17, 2002 -- The United States, Russia, the EU and the UN adopt a roadmap for peace, calling for the creation of a Palestinian state by 2005.

    March 22, 2004 -- Israel kills Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, the spiritual leader of radical group Hamas. His successor Abdelaziz al-Rantisi is killed the following month.

    Oct. 26, 2004 -- Israeli parliament approves Sharon's withdrawal plan from the Gaza Strip.

    Nov. 11, 2004 -- Arafat died of an unknown disease after receiving several days of treatment in a military hospital in Paris. Abbas is named his successor as head of the PLO. Enditem