21 March – 1989 Tel Aviv stabbing attack: A knife-wielding Palestinian Arab attacks Israeli civilians at random in Tel Aviv, killing two and wounding a third.
2 April –
1989 Palestinian presidential election: The Central Council of the Palestine National Council, the governing body of the PLO, elects Yasser Arafat as President of Palestine.[3]
10 April – Lone gunman wearing an Israeli army-issue uniform shot down four Arabs outside Jerusalem's Old City with a sub-machine gun. Sicarii claims responsibility for the shooting.
19 May – First Intifada: The Palestinian leader Ahmed Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, was arrested by Israel. Yassin was later on sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in attacks against Israelis.[4]
21 August – Vanuatu recognizes the State of Palestine.[1]
4 September – The Philippines recognizes the State of Palestine. 86 countries recognized the State of Palestine by the end of 1989 which is now counted as 89 countries due to the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union and the 1992 dissolution of Czechoslovakia.[1]
21 September – Palestinian president Yasser Arafat holds a press conference with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, after having a meeting with him, where he endorses open talks with Israel, urges citizens to resist the most recent crackdown on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and answers and debates with Israeli journalists.[5]
^ abRoss, Michael (April 3, 1989). "PLO Gives Arafat New Title: President". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. The PLO Executive Committee, meeting throughout the night, voted Sunday [2 April 1989] morning in Tunis to elect PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat president...
