The Palestine Chronology

Military Action:

Syrian forces fire on IDF tractor and APC in Bekaa Valley.

Casualties:

Suspect in assassination of Bashir Gemayel handed over to Lebanese judicial authorities by Phalange militiamen holding him since September; IDF separates Lebanese and Palestinian detainees at Ansar detention camp.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Government reportedly plans to move thousands of residents out of West Bank refugee camps, will offer them grants to build homes on land placed at their disposal by government, seeks financial support for plan from other governments and from international Zionist organizations; 2 women in Galilee village of Arraba arrested on security charges; British Ambassador in Israel summoned to Foreign Ministry for severe condemnation of recent British statements on Middle East and meeting between Foreign Office Minister and PLO official in Tunis; 350 dunums of land seized at Umar, West Bank village near Gush Emunim settlement of Migdal Oz; West Bank Union of Chambers of Commerce defies High Court decision, will not collect value added tax.

US and Other Countries: After 4-hour meeting with Mubarak, Shultz says US and Egypt hold identical views on withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon; State Dept. official says Israel and Lebanon have agreed on 95% of a withdrawal plan, Haddad's role is main obstacle; 3,000 attend memorial service in Washington for Americans killed in Beirut Embassy, at least 7 CIA employees reportedly among those killed in the explosion.

Military Action:

Lebanese military says that explosive device at US embassy was hexogene, equivalent to 1,320 lbs. TNT.

Casualties:

Rescue workers continue to clear rubble at US embassy, casualty figures rise to 47 dead or missing, including CIA's chief Middle East analyst; police arrest nearly 100 suspects in bombing, mostly from neighborhoods around Sabra and Shatila camps.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Minsterial settlement committee approves 3 new West Bank settlements; General Moshe Levy takes over as chief of staff; Arens says Beirut embassy bombing justifies Israel's demands for security arrangements in Lebanon; Muslim leaders demand full control over all Waqf properties, administered since 1948 by Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Negotiations in Netanya; PLO representative to Poland lays wreath at monument to Jewish heroes of Warsaw Ghetto uprising.

US and Other Countries: House Foreign Affairs Committee approves $251m. in military loan and economic aid for Lebanon, links it with requirement of Congressional approval for use of US troops in any new and more permanent multinational peacekeeping force; head of American delegation to Warsaw Ghetto commemoration calls PLO wreath laying an obscenity that makes a mockery of the event.