The Palestine Chronology

SOCIAL/POLITICAL: Occupied Palestine/ Israel: Israeli police arrest Ephraim Segal, US-immigrant Elon Moreh settler, for questioning in murder of Nablus girl (12/8/83). 2 Israeli buses damaged and 1 Kiryat Arba settler hurt in hail of stones outside Dheisheh refugee camp. Hebron man obtains order nisi requiring West Bank commander to give cause for sealing of his home.

Arab World: Villagers in Milke, S. Lebanon riot against IDF patrol; 5 villagers injured, several arrested.

MILITARY ACTION: Occupied Palestine/Israel: 2 petrol bombs thrown at Israeli police bus near al-Bireh. Occupation forces demolish 3 Palestinian homes and seal 4 others in Hebron and Ramallah belonging to suspected members of groups hostile to Israel.

Arab World: Gemayel advisor discloses orders received in Washington to move LAF into Druze-held Chouf as US and Israeli warplanes provide cover and US ships blanket area with heavy artillery.

Other Countries: US Sec. of State Shultz criticized in Tunis for US-Israel "strategic cooperation."

SOCIAL/POLITICAL:

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Imam of Katibeh Mosque in Gaza given 18 mos. prison term for "incitement" after denouncing murder of Hebron U. students last July. Gaza artist, Fathi Ghabin's detention extended for producing "inciting" posters. Raphael Eitan and Chaim Herzog lead public castigation of 6 Israeli POWs returned by PLO in November prisoner exchange and 2 others still captive for cowardly surrender. Gush Emunim settlers camp at Joseph's Tomb in Nablus declaring to create permanent Jewish presence there; Peace Now warns of demonstration next day, supports DM Zipori's position that encampment is illegal. Teachers in 10 Israeli gov't. schools in Ramallah and al-Bireh strike over low wages. Life sentences given 2 Palestinians charged with killing Ramallah Village League head (1981), and an attack on IDF officer imposed as "(mayor" of al-Bireh; 2 others sentenced to 12-14 years for attacking Israeli settler in Hebron.

Arab World: Arafat accepts outline of Saudi-organized ceasefire in Tripoli. After letter from Pres. Reagan reiterating US position, King Hussein says he is prepared to resume talks with Arafat on joint Palestinian-Jordanian approach to negotiations with Israel; in light of current struggle in Tripoli, Hussein promises to put "no conditions on him. " Rebel spokesman asserts Tripoli fighting results from Arafat's refusal to heed Coordination Committee proposals. Tyre municipality opens special employment office for men released from Ansar prison; appeals to UNRWA to provide jobs.

Other Countries: Meeting in Washington, Pres. Gemayel and Reagan agree to stand by May 17 Lebanese-Israeli agreement. US Sec. of Defense Weinberger tells Jewish leaders of Synagogue Council of America that Arafat is "irrelevant" to future of Middle East. Chile's FM ends visit to Israel; agreement reached to expand mutual trade and agricultural cooperation. Abu Ja'far, Dir. of PLO Political Dep't holds talks with Soviet charge d'affaires in Tunis; also received GDR, DPRK, Rumanian, Polish and Czech ambassadors on occasion of Int'l. Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People. Major oil co.s shipping under Liberian flag pressure Liberian gov't. to cancel plans for embassy in Jerusalem; ambassador reported looking for alternative location in Tel Aviv.

MILITARY ACTION:

Arab World: Palestinian casualties in Lebanon mountain artillery exchanges: 2 PFLP fighters, 1from Struggle Front, 2 from Liberation Army and 1 from al-Saiqa killed; 2 from Struggle Front wounded. Israel-backed militia chief in S. Lebanon, Abu Saleh, quits to renew loyalty to Amal militia. 1983 to date, 71 Druze quit Israeli military for religious reasons (compares with 19 in 1982).

Military Action:

Israeli jets bomb guerrilla bases in areas around Sofar, Falougha and Bhamdoun, reportedly hit as-Saiqa, Syrian Baath party, PFLP-GC and Druze positions, intense and effective anti-aircraft fire deployed; brief exchanges of artillery fire between LAF and PSP around Souq al-Gharb; fierce fighting continues around Baddawi, PLO loyalists and rebels both claim control of major parts of camp; all areas of Tripoli come under rocket and artillery fire.

Casualties:

1 Israeli jet shot down by shoulder fired SAM-7, pilot is rescued by LAF patrol after parachuting into Beirut suburb, Syria says 2nd jet was downed; casualty reports from air raid range from 2-18 killed, 8 wounded, damage to targets reportedly minimal; no reliable estimates possible of casualties in Tripoli, ambulances unable to move; Red Cross estimates 13,000-15,000 refugees from fighting at camps are in Tripoli.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: IDF says air raid in Lebanon is reaction to long chain of terrorist attacks against IDF in South Lebanon, 35 IDF soldiers killed, 64 wounded since redeployment to Awali on September 4; Arens, addressing Moral Majority delegation in Jerusalem, says there will be no withdrawal from the West Bank; minister without portfolio Ben Porat says his plan to rehouse 250,000 Palestinians now living in refugee camps will cost between $2 and $1.5 b. over next six years, Shamir to raise the subject in forthcoming meetings with Reagan; IDF say group of Muslim extremists has confessed to the killing of a Jewish religious student in Hebron on July 7; settlers block road near Halhoul after stone throwing incident, enter town, break windows of cars and houses.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Gemayel ends 2 days of meetings in Saudi Arabia with King Fahd.

US and Other Countries: Rumsfeld makes first official visit to Damascus, meets FM Khaddam; Iranian official says 14 Revolutionary Guards and about 30 Lebanese were killed in Israeli and French air raids near Baalbek last week; Soviet Union calls on PLO factions to cease senseless bloodshed, resolve differences through political means.

Military Action:

Fighting continues around Souq al-Gharb, with anti-government forces, reportedly including Hitten and Yarmouk brigades of PLA, using tanks and smokescreens; artillery and rocket fire hits Yarze and Baabda areas; US ships fire salvos for third consecutive day; Gemayel tours LAF positions along Souq al-Gharb-Kaifun ridge.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Shamir, with majority in Knesset, is invited to form new government, extends invitation to Labor Alignment to join government of national unity; Sharon calls on US to send Marines into Chouf, use naval and air power to stop Druze forces, send warning to Syria and Soviet Union; Israeli acting mayor cancels Hebron council's successful petition to High Court for injunction against expansion of Jewish settlements in town's center.

US and Other Countries: Reagan says Marines' participation in MNF is absolutely crucial to ending Soviet-sponsored aggression against Lebanon; House Appropriations Committee votes 20-16 to cut off funds for Marines in MNF on December 1 unless Reagan invokes War Powers Act.

Military Action:

IDF and Syrian Army exchange fire in Beqaa; heavy fighting between PLO factions, and between Lebanese Army and Palestinian forces of Col. Said Musa near Army's Baalbek base, Syrians intervene; IDF surrounds, occupies Phalangist barracks at Kfar Falus, east of Sidon, in effort to evict militiamen.

Casualties:

1 IDF officer killed by Syrian fire; 2 killed, 8 wounded in Baalbek fighting; Christian and Druze militias permit convoys of food and medicine to reach Chouf towns of Bhamdoun and Aley, blockaded for past 35 days; bombs explode in 5 shops selling Israeli goods in Ain al-Hilweh camp; IDF releases following statistics on effect of redeployment: it is withdrawing from 600 of 3,400 sq. km. it now holds, 200,000 of the 750,00 civilians in this total area will come under control of Beirut, IDF frontline will be reduced from 118 to 113 km; more than 100 Palestinian and Lebanese women at Prime Minister's office demand intervention to secure release of men presumably kidnapped by Phalangists at time of Sabra and Shatila massacre.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: 2 Birzeit students sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for participating in last week's demonstration over killing of Hebron students; IDF imposes curfew on Tulkarm-Nablus road after settlers wounded by shots near Anabta.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Arafat asks OAU and Nonaligned Movement to intervene against Syrian and Libyan attacks on PLO; McFarlane meets Gemayel, then flies to Israel.

UN: US vetoes, Zaire abstains, 13 states support Security Council resolution that Israeli settlements in occupied lands have no legal validity and constitute major and serious obstruction to peace.

Military Action:

Heavy artillery and rocket exchanges between Christian and Druse militias, shells fall on beaches north of Beirut.

Casualties:

7 IDF soldiers wounded in attack on APC; IDF shoots, kills 2 passengers in car that fails to heed roadblock south of Beirut, military commission appointed to inquire into incident.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Bank of Israel statistics show foreign debt has reached record $21 b., highest per capita in the world; 200 armed settlers hold rally in Hebron, call for Jewish settlement in center of all Arab towns.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Arafat returns to Tunis from 3-day visit to Iraq, meets Cubans on mediating mission between Syria and Fateh.

Military Action:

Artillery barrages continue sporadically in Israeli held-areas of Chouf, IDF bolsters forces in area, attempts to arrange cease-fire; strikes and demonstrations in Sidon, Tyre, Nabatiyeh and many villages to protest Friday's killing of Lebanese student by IDF.

Casualties:

Local Amal commander shot and wounded in Zifra during anti-IDF protests; 15 killed in Druze attack on Chouf village of Mtoulle; 65 men and women from Qaroun, western Bekaa, reportedly arrested by IDF after overnight search and interrogation of residents; 6 arrested by IDF in villages of Mazbut and Keter Mya.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Special envoy Habib meets Israeli officials with Lebanese response to clarifications; heads of Israeli and Lebanese delegations, and US special envoy Draper will sign agreement; WZO Settlement Department proposes establishing 6 settlements south of Hebron, expanding 4 existing ones; 1600 dunums from Akrabe village declared state land last week for settlement of Tel Haim; military authorities permit re-opening of Islamic University, closed since second week of March; former Defense Minister Sharon, in New York, opposes troop withdrawal agreement, says MNF prevents necessary steps being taken against terrorists in West Beirut.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: PLO Executive Committee calls on all Arab states to reject withdrawal agreement, says PLO presence in Lebanon is governed by bilateral, Arab and international agreements and cannot be abrogated unilaterally, the legitimate right to delineate borders with Lebanon belongs to the Palestinian people; Lebanese officials say that 8 pages of Israeli clarifications would change whole balance of agreement.

Arab Govemments: Syrian foreign minister, in Jeddah, says Syria rejects withdrawal agreement; King Hussein in London for meetings with PM Thatcher, other British officials; clandestine organization claims responsibility for bomb attacks against two American offices in Amman.

US and Other Countries: State Dept. official says Israel not expected to withdraw its troops until Syria agrees to withdraw its forces; 87 dependants of Soviet diplomats leave Beirut on orders from Soviet ambassador, Lebanese employees of Moscow Narodny Bank in Beirut advised they are being laid off.

Casualties:

Druze leaders ask government to restore electric power to Chouf region, blacked out for past 3 weeks; 6 IDF prisoners held by Fateh in Lebanon appear in Dutch TV program broadcast in Israel, PLO says their mothers are welcome to visit them.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Stones thrown at car of Israel-appointed mayor of Jenin, who opens fire with his pistol; stone-throwing in Nablus, el-Bireh, Jalazon and al-Amari camps; shots fired from car passing Jalazon; curfews imposed on central Nablus and Ramallah; Hebron prison inmates start hunger strike; students hold protest strikes at Najah University, Hebron's Islamic University; bomb defused in Hebron school; 300 members of Israeli Committee for Solidarity with Birzeit distribute pamphlets and hold protest march in Hebron, call for disarming of West Bank settlers and dismantling of settlements.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Lebanese Christian and Muslim leaders publicly demand disbanding of Amal militia and expulsion of Iranian Revolutionary Guards after yesterday's attack on Lebanese Army unit near Baalbek.

Arab Governments: President Mubarak, at rally of National Democratic Party, accuses PLO of inciting Egyptian people and army against government, warns the 40,000 Palestinians living in Egypt they can be deported, says he refused PLO request to operate radio station; Jordan bans all imports from Lebanon unless accompanied by proof they were made in Lebanon.

US and Other Countries: After 5 1/2 week trial, British court sentences three men, alleged members of Abu Nidal group, to 30-35 years for attempted assassination of Israeli Ambassador Shlomo Argov in June 1982.

Military Action:

IDF convoy ambushed south of Damour, 3 IDF wounded.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Police search settler houses in Kiryat Arba for illegal arms and other evidence relating to attacks on Palestinians; 12 carloads of Kiryat Arba settlers block road outside Dheisheh camp, break into school, detain principal after he refuses their demand to line up students for identification; 25 Palestinian familes in Hebron receive warnings to emigrate; American supporter of Kach movement arrested at airport in connection with shooting of 4 year-old Hebron girl; soldier, border policeman injured, a dozen cars damaged in stone-throwing incidents; 1000 dunums of fertile land seized from Deir Dibwan near Ramallah for garbage processing plant; each of 6 Village Leagues receives IS 5 m. annual operating budget from Defense Ministry for salaries of clerks and officials, guards, entertainment and office expenses; 4 Druze residents of Golan sentenced to 3 to 8 years in jail for spying for Syria; IDF says mines that killed 5 Bedouin in Negev last week were laid by unknown persons who crossed the border to Egypt.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Lebanese-Israeli-US negotiations held at Netanya, progress reported on movement across borders, early warning stations; President Gemayel sends envoy to assure Saudi Arabia that Lebanon will not be infiltration point for Israeli goods, Saudi imports from Lebanon valued at $400m in 1982.

Arab Governments: Egyptian-Israeli talks on Taba end without resolving dispute over ownership of the 700 meter Red Sea coastal strip.

US and Other Countries: 18 rabbis end 2 days of lobbying in Washington to demonstrate alternative views among American Jewish leadership, support for Reagan plan and freeze on settlements; EEC expresses regret over Israel's settlement policy, reiterates its commitment to 1980 Venice Declaration calling for association of PLO with peace process.

Military Action:

Artillery exchanges between Phalange and Druze militias cause damage in Beirut for first time since September; car bomb explodes near Italian troops, no injuries.

Casualties:

1 IDF soldier killed, 3 wounded by rocket-propelled grenades while patrolling outskirts of Beirut; 4 civilians killed by IDF retaliatory fire; 7 killed, 13 wounded in artillery battles.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: 5000 acres of land seized for settlement purposes in West Bank; curfew continues in Dahariyeh, south of Hebron; a physician in Tulkarm arrested for allegedly inciting official village heads to withdraw from the Village Leagues.

US and Other Countries: Shultz says Israel demanding more than Lebanon is willing to accept in security and normalization measures, and that US trying to close the gap.

Military Action:

Phalange and Druze militia exchange artillery and rocket fire during night and morning in Shweifat, Baabda, Aley and Bhamdoun; lDF sets up checkpoints on Beirut-Damascus highway to divert traffic from areas of fighting.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Chief of Staff Eitan tells Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that 117 IDF were killed in western Lebanon, 8 in Beirut, that Begin denied Eitan's request during war for 2 more hours to cross Beirut-Damascus highway and destroy Syrian T-72 tank group, that critics such as Yossi Sarid and Shulamit Aloni harmed the war effort by talking about number of Palestinian homeless and refugees; Shamir and Kimche meet for 2'h4 hours with Habib and Draper; Sharon arrives in Zaire; 1DF spokeswoman confirms 10 Israeli Druze soldiers were jailed for defying orders in South Lebanon; Knesset votes 46-44 not to censure Kiryat Arba Council for destroying 4 of Hebron municipality's electricity pylons; Elias Freij and Rashad Shawa say they are willing to be members of a Palestinian-Jordanian delegation in peace talks with Israel.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: After 3 days of meetings in Damascus, PLO Executive Committee does not give Arafat support for alliance with Jordan; Lebanese Government insists end to state of war must be linked to complete Israeli withdrawal; Foreign Minister Elie Salem says another month or 2 of intensive discussion necessary to clear differences with Israel, he is confident Syrian and Palestinian forces will leave when Israelis leave, Lebanon is prepared to guarantee it will never again be base of operations against Israel, calls for multinational force and UNIFIL to double in size; Prime Minister Wazzan asks Justice Minister Roger Shikhani to investigate missing persons and to speed up interrogation of hundreds of detainees.

US and Other Countries: State Department says that Carter and Ford rightly focus on settlements as obstacle, but they are not the major obstacle to peace, and refuse to call settlements illegal; Weinberger and French Defense Minister Charles Hernu hold talks in Washington, Hernu says France will increase its contingent in Lebanon and take on more responsibility after the withdrawal of Syrian, Israeli and Palestinian forces, providing US and Italy do the same.

UN: Security Council votes to extend mandate of 5,800 UNIFIL troops for another 6 months; Israeli Ambassador Yehuda Blum says UNIFL has outlived its usefulness; US delegate says UNIFIL is a positive element in the negotiations.