2003 in Israel - Events

Events

• January 28 – The Elections for the 16th Knesset are held in Israel. The result is a resounding victory for Ariel Sharon's Likud.
• February 1 – At the conclusion of the STS-107 mission, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry over Texas, killing all seven astronauts on board, including the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon.
• February 28 – Israeli Prime Minister Sharon presents his cabinet for a Knesset "Vote of Confidence". The 30th Government is approved that day and the members are sworn in.
• May 29 – The Indian Ministry of Defence announces its purchase of Phalcon early warning radar systems from Israel. The contract is worth 1.2 billion US dollars.
• July – The White City of Tel Aviv was designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
• August 8 – The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fires artillery toward Israeli border posts. It was the first such exchange in eight months.
• August 10 – A 16-year-old Israeli is killed and five people are wounded in Hezbollah shelling of the northern Israeli town of Shlomi. Israeli planes attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in response.
• September 2 - Or Commission publishes its report.
• October 6 – In his first public comments since the Israeli attack in Syria, US President George W. Bush says that Israel has the right to defend its homeland; at the same time Mr. Bush asks Prime Minister Sharon to avoid any further actions that might destabilize the region.
• December 16 – The Israeli military reveals it developed a secret plan to assassinate Saddam Hussein in retaliation for the Scud missile attacks on Israel during the Gulf War. The plan was called off after five commandos were accidentally killed while training for the mission.