How Mid-East truce was built and broken

BBC News Online looks at how a truce by Palestinian militant groups was established and shattered.

27 June: Israel and the Palestinians agree a disengagement of forces in Gaza and a withdrawal from the centre of Bethlehem.

Twenty people died in the Jerusalem bus bombing

29 June: Israeli troops begin pull back in Gaza and Palestinian militant groups declare a temporary truce. Israel says it will not be party to or bound by the truce, which was negotiated by Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian militant groups.

2 July: Israel withdraws from Bethlehem and Palestinian police take over.

3 July: Israeli troops shoot dead a militant in Gaza.

5 July: Mahmoud Abbas meets Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Yassin.

6 July: As a goodwill gesture, Israeli cabinet agrees to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

9 July: US attempts to strengthen Mahmoud Abbas by giving $20m in aid to the Palestinian Authority.

20 July: Mahmoud Abbas meets Ariel Sharon.

The wreckage of Ismail Abu Shanab's car

5 August: Mahmoud Abbas calls off meeting with Mr Sharon accusing him of dragging his feet.

6 August: Israel releases 336 Palestinian prisoners.

8 August: Two Hamas militants and an Israeli soldier are killed in an Israeli raid on a refugee camp in Nablus. Two Palestinians die in protests that follow.

12 August: Two Palestinian teenagers carry out suicide attacks, one in Israel and one against a settlement in the West Bank. Each attack has one victim other than the attacker.

14 August: Israeli troops kill Mohammed Seder, the Islamic Jihad military leader in Hebron.

18 August: Talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators fail to set a timetable for the return to Palestinian control of two West Bank towns, Qalqilya and Jericho.

19 August : A Palestinian suicide attack on bus in Jerusalem kills 21 Israelis, including six children.

21 August: Israel kills Hamas leader Ismail Abu Shanab, a pragmatic political leader in Hamas, and two of his bodyguards. Palestinian militant groups declare the end of their truce.