March 20, 2013 – President of the United States Barack Obama begins a four-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territoriesSnow in Jerusalem during Storm AlexaYair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party, celebrating the unprecedented success of his party in the elections, January 24, 2013.
January 2 – Construction of the barrier on the Israeli–Egyptian border is completed in its main section.[1]
January 4 – Hundreds of thousands of people rally in Gaza in a show of unity between the governing Hamas, elected in 2006, and Fatah, in opposition since then.
January 18 – Benjamin Netanyahu says in an interview that he will not destroy any more Israeli settlements during his second term.
January 30 – Israel allegedly launches an airstrike on a Syrian convoy transporting weapons to Hezbollah.[2] Other sources stated the targeted site was a military research center in Jamraya responsible for developing biological and chemical weapons.[3]
January 31 – United Nations report says that Israeli settlements must be immediately withdrawn without preconditions, to comply with article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
February
March
March 5 – Swarms of locusts from Egypt enter Israel. A large, 3.5-month long, extermination scheme was employed by The Ministry of Agriculture, avoiding crop loss.[4][5]
April 17 – Two rockets fired from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula hit the Israeli resort of Eilat, but land in open areas, causing no damage. Three more rockets hit open areas in neighboring Jordan.[12]
May 3 – Two additional Israeli air strikes against Syria reportedly take place May 3 and 5. Both targeted long-ranged weapons sent from Iran to Hezbollah.[14][15]
May 20 – 2013 Beersheba shootings; During a vendetta attack carried out in a Bank Hapoalim branch in Beersheba, an Israeli citizen enters a bank and opens fire with a pistol, killing four people and injuring five, then commits suicide.
May 21 – During mine-clearance work in the Golan Heights, an IDF soldier is killed after stepping on a land mine.
June
June 18 – President Shimon Peres' 90th birthday celebrations at ICC in Jerusalem. Representatives from Israel and abroad attended the celebrations, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, singer Barbra Streisand, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and many more.
July
July 5 – According to anonymous U.S. officials, Israel launches an airstrike on Syria. It targeted Russian-made Yakhont anti-ship missiles near the city of Latakia, and killed several Syrian troops.[17]
18–30 July – The 19th Maccabiah Games are held with 7,500 athletes from Israel and Jewish communities throughout the world competing in 34 sports.[18]
July 28 – As a "good will gesture" to restart peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, Israel agrees to release 104 Palestinian prisoners, most of whom have been in jail since before the 1993 Oslo Accords.[19]
October 30 – Israel allegedly carries out an airstrike against a Syrian air defense site in Snawbar, 10 miles south of Latakia.[21]
November
November 6 – Former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's trial for fraud and breach of trust ends with an acquittal.[22]
November 11 – Avigdor Lieberman resumes his position as Foreign Minister. Prime Minister Netanyahu had previously been acting Foreign Minister, and had held the position in reserve for Lieberman should he be acquitted.[23]
December
December 10 – The Knesset passes the "Law to Advance Competition and Limit Monopolization", aimed at breaking up the large conglomerates controlling a large part of the Israeli economy and increasing economic competition, so as to significantly lower the cost of living. The law, which came as the result of the 2011 social justice protests, forces Israel's large monopolies to sell a large percentage of their assets by banning business pyramids.[24]
December 12 – Storm Alexa begins.[25] Israel, along with the occupied territories and other areas of the Middle East, sees days of heavy snowfall and rain. The storm causes widespread traffic disruptions and power outages, and forcing the temporary closure of several highways, schools, and Ben-Gurion International Airport. Jerusalem is completely paralyzed by deep snow and flooding, with residents told to stay indoors and roads leading to the city blocked.[26]
December 15 – Life begins returning to normal after Storm Alexa subsides.[27]
December 16 – Israeli naval officer Shlomi Cohen, who was driving along the Israel–Lebanon border, is killed when a Lebanese soldier, acting without any orders, opens fire at his vehicle, and then flees his post. A few hours later, IDF soldiers operating in the area shoot two Lebanese soldiers after seeing what was termed "suspicious movement" across the border.[28] The soldier who killed Cohen later turns himself in to Lebanese authorities, who promise that he will be prosecuted.[29]
December 22 – a pressure cooker bombexplodes on a public bus in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam, Israel. All casualties were averted because a few minutes earlier, a passenger on the bus had examined the contents of an unattended bag, and saw what looked like a bomb inside, which led all passengers and the driver to exit the vehicle.
June 19 – Lt. General Aryeh Ivtsan (born 1928), the 8th Israeli chief of police
June 21 – Uzi Meshulam (born 1952), Rabbi of Yemeni origin who became known for leading an armed standoff in 1994 as part of his struggle to expose the Yemenite Children Affair.
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