The Palestine Chronology

Military Action:

Tripoli fighting at a minimum, all forces reinforce positions around central part of city; LAF and PSP continue artillery exchanges around Souq al-Gharb; IDF moves troops and armored vehicles toward Sidon, Nabatiyeh placed under curfew.

Casualties:

Residents of Tripoli leave city in anticipation of renewed fighting in central areas; Red Cross puts civilian and military casualties in Tripoli since November 3 at 438 killed, 2100 wounded.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: 3 youths from jenin area sentenced to 5-7 year terms for using petrol bombs.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Arafat agrees in principle to Saudi-Syrian proposals to end Tripoli fighting, including indefinite cease-fire, withdrawal of all Palestinian forces from Tripoli, and a democratic dialogue to resolve intra-PLO questions; Jibril says there are no negotiations, Arafat should be tried by revolutionary tribunal on account of political and morale deviations during last 18 years.

Arab Governments: Iraq reportedly closes Baghdad office and expels members of Abu Nidal group; Syria rejects Weinberger's charges on truck bombing of Marine base, says it will strike blow for blow if there is retaliation.

US and Other Countries: Soviet FM Grormyko says PLO would be stronger if it were unified and worked closely with national patriotic forces of the Arab world, above all with Syria; 13 Iranian revolutionary guards killed in Israeli and French air raids buried in Tehran.

Military Action:

Shelling continues in Beirut's southern suburbs; PSP militia and LAF battle at Souq al-Gharb; Marine positions hit with small arms and artillery fire; shells fall near Jounieh port, north of Beirut; British MNF patrol fired on in Beirut; US jets buzz Beirut; Baddawi camp comes under rocket and artillery fire as heavy fighting continues, Arafat forces establish positions in Tripoli, shells land in city; head of IDF-backed militia in Nabatiyeh assassinated, fifth attack on militia leaders in two months.

Casualties:

1 civilian killed, unspecified number wounded in shelling in and around Beirut; 1 Marine, 1 LAF soldier wounded; Beirut airport closed to incoming flights; police estimate at least 200 killed, 300 wounded in past 4 days of fighting around Tripoli; oil storage tanks hit again by rocket fire, severe fuel shortage in Beirut, Tripoli; IDF permits limited pedestrian and vehicle traffic across Awali bridges, tension high as thousands of stranded persons wait to cross.

Political Responses:

Israeli/ Occupied Territories: Cabinet approves $2 b. budget cut, new austerity measures, including higher costs for education, health care, economists predict recession, rise in unemployment from current 4%o to 7%o; rallies, strikes, and official expressions of support for Arafat in East Jerusalem, West Bank towns and refugee camps, 1 boy wounded by IDF fire at Dheisheh; IDF announces test mobilization of forces, says it is routine and not meant as threat to Syria.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Resumption of Geneva talks among factional leaders postponed until at least November 20.

Arab Governments: Saudi envoy travels to Damascus to intervene with Assad over Tripoli fighting; Jordan declares support for Arafat; Syrian army, including reservists, mobilized.

Casualties:

Lebanese Army corporal and 3 civilians killed in Tripoli, most shops close in mourning for Thursday's killings; 3 Palestinian-owned shops in Sidon destroyed by bombs; bomb destroys bakery in Sabra camp; boobytrapped watermelon explodes in Nabatieh; siege of Deir Qanoun lifted, 78 villagers remain under arrest.

Political Responses:

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Fateh rebels from September Martyrs battalion briefly occupy hospital at Bar Elias in Beqaa; Fateh loyalists attempt to recapture supply office in Damascus.

Military Action:

IDF tank trucks blocked by burning tires, stones at Aadlun, 12 miles north of Tyre; march in Nabatiyeh, sit down strikes in mosques in several villages to protest arrest of Jibsheet sheikh; Lebanese Army fired on by Phalange in East Beirut; Phalange and Franjieh's Marada Brigades exchange artillery fire in mountains south of Tripoli; Syria and Israel move tank reinforcements to opposing positions along 25-mile cease-fire line.

Casualties:

5 Lebanese women wounded when IDF fires on several hundred demonstrators at Aadlun; 9 women from Lebanon, previously held in Israeli prisons, reportedly transferred to new prison in Nabatiyeh.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Knesset approves $29 billion budget for fiscal 1983; 2 Arab Labor MKs petition High Court to cancel budget law that excludes Israeli Arabs from welfare benefits paid to large families; ministerial committee established to coordinate government plans for Jerusalem, including relocation of all ministry HQs to the city; IDF surrounds Birzeit University, forces students at gun point to remove anti-Israel slogans on walls, 80 students trapped on campus; construction work begins on 1,350 dunums of land seized from Sharfat village, near Gilo settlement.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Habib presents Lebanese position to Israeli foreign and defense ministers in Jerusalem, role of Haddad reportedly major obstacle to progress; PLO leader Abu lyad (Salah Khalaf) says annulment of Camp David accords by Egypt is not a condition of restoration of official PLO relations with Egypt.

Arab Governments: Directors of Egyptian national oil company, which supplies 25% of Israel's oil imports, visit Israel, meet energy minister, other officials.

US and Other Countries: Pentagon announces resumption of arms sales to Israel, halted since invasion of Lebanon, 200 Sidewinder missiles worth $16m are first to be delivered.

Military Action:

Rival militias battle in Tripoli; Druze militia surrounds Lebanese Army barracks in Hammana, warns army and police to keep off roads in Chouf mountains; in response to attacks by Lebanese National Resistance, IDF steps up security in and around Sidon; Syrian small-arms fire directed at IDF fortification on eastern front.

Casualties:

3 killed, many wounded in Tripoli fighting, shops close as armed men roam streets; 3 wounded by Nabatiyeh car bomb.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: 12 Bedouin men begin hunger strike in Israel to protest harassment by Green Patrol, demand talks with Ministry of Agriculture; Central Bureau of Statistics figures show $557m. trade deficit for first 2 months of 1983, nearly 20% higher than 1982; trial begins of two Kiryat Arba officials charged with illegal possession of explosives and destroying evidence police believe may be connected with June 1980 bomb attacks on West Bank mayors; 2 IDF injured by stones during incidents in East Jerusalem and Ramallah; general strike in Ramallah; Nablus market under curfew; Birzeit University reopens; 3 Birzeit students beaten, 1 detained by settlers; IDF uses helicopters to patrol West Bank; 35 Gaza youths sentenced by military tribunal to fines and suspended prison sentences for disturbing the peace by throwing stones last week; 6 teenagers in Ramallah sentenced to 6 to 8 months imprisonment and fined $400 to $900 for participating in recent disturbances; 3 girls in Ramallah convicted of stone-throwing, fined up to $2800 and given suspended prison terms; youth arrested in Jerusalem for wearing shirt in colors of Palestinian flag; special prayers held at Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosques to protest plot by Jewish zealots, uncovered by police last week, to seize Temple Mount.

Arab Governments: Egyptian-Israeli talks on normalization of trade and commercial relations, suspended since June, resume in Cairo.

US and Other Countries: Foreign Minister Salem tells Shultz and other officials in Washington, that Lebanese Army is capable of controlling all Lebanon, Israeli military presence is unnecessary; Shultz and Shamir meet for 5 hours, focus on possible use of international troops and increased US presence to meet Israeli security concerns in South Lebanon; Shamir delegation meets with Reagan, Bush, Weinberger, Shultz, Habib and Draper, Reagan reportedly emphasizes urgency of Israeli agreement to withdrawal terms; 10 IDF touring US to offset impression that Lebanon campaign was overly aggressive; US Ambassador to UN Kirkpatrick, in Israel for conference on Soviet Jewry, meets Begin; former President Carter meets King Hussein in Amman, says Israeli settlements in West Bank are illegal and an obstacle to peace.

Military Action:

IDF shelling and blockade maintained for fifth day as negotiations deadlocked; water and electricity are partially restored; IDF artillery and gunboats blast Palestinian neighborhoods, setting fires, with high casualties (other non-Palestinian areas hit); evening gunner duels mark IDF attempts to advance; IDF officers say IDF broke fifth cease-fire in retaliation for deaths of 5 IDF soldiers the night before; shells fall on US Ambassador's residence in Yarze; IDF shell hits nylon factory, igniting long fire and explosions; Israeli jets zoom over Beirut.

Casualties:

Beirut police estimate 22 killed, 38 wounded in the night (Beirut casualties now 2633 killed, 3612 wounded); appeals made for blood; 2 IDF soldiers found killed (armored personnel carrier hit near Tyre); even after water turned on again in West Beirut, so much of the pipeline is damaged, many residents still must get water in pails; one 23-ton shipment of foodstuffs by World Vision allowed in (no explanation of why others kept out); some Palestinians being allowed to return to camps in the south (mostly women and children, most men are in detention); 7000 new refugees reportedly have fled to Baalbek; 25-30,000 Shiites reportedly returning to Nabatiyeh area; water is still problem in South Lebanon (IDF destroyed water pumping station serving 120 villages in Tyre area, repairs to take 3 months); in Beirut, despite 5 centers for potable water distribution set up by UN, problem is dwindling gasoline for water trucks; IDF damage to Zahrani refinery will take 3 months to repair; ICRC estimates needs for next 3 months at $18 million, says 75 doctors/medical technicians have arrived to aid Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) and Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS); doctors say they are dealing with injuries hitherto unseen (dead to wounded ratio normally 1-5, now 50-50).

PLO displays to reporters extensive IDF anti-personnel weapons, most with US markings, including cluster bombs, canisters of hydrogen cyanide used against Syrians and in Burj al-Barajneh camp and neighborhood (other weapons used in Sabra and Shatila camps and Shia suburb of Ouzai); displayed also is slab of nougat with Hebrew markings, part of car bomb found in Beirut port area.

Israeli Cabinet spokesman Meridor says 331 Lebanese civilians killed, says IDF told him 1200 PLO "terrorists" and civilians killed in fighting in refugee camps (claims not much international aid needed, that international bodies agree with Israeli government figures, that Israeli ambulances sent to help wounded have come back to Israel as not needed); detention camps set up by IDF in southern Lebanon (fences, guard towers, earth embankments at Ansar, west of Nabatiyeh); Meridor says detainees will be treated as criminals, not POWs.

UN High Commission for Refugees, in Vienna, says IDF invasion has set back work in Lebanon by 32 years, destroying schools, camps, warehouses, clinics, leaving 175,000 of 237,000 registered refugees in urgent need of aid.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Cabinet hints PLO might be allowed to stay in Tripoli; government accepts only 7 of 9 points of reported US plan; Cabinet allows more time for negotiations; aide to Begin insists all PLO members must leave Beirut; Cabinet hears report from Sharon; Abba Eban disagrees with government rejection of political role for PLO; Kimche meets with Habib, who then calls Wazzan to contact Arafat; Mayor of Gaza warned that he and other elected town council members may be dismissed if they continue to refuse to cooperate with Israeli civil administration; IDF soldiers surround Bir Zeit campus, use tear gas, arrest 100 students in fourth day of protests against invasion.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Habib informs Wazzan that US will not send US Marines until PLO leaves Beirut (Wazzan reported shocked, asks what good are troops at that point); PLO still insisting on some political presence in Beirut, armed units attached to Lebanese Army; Lebanese landowners who rented to Palestinians after 1948 are asking IDF governor of Sidon to evict Palestinians; in Tyre, Lebanese landowners are evicting Palestinian residents, forcing them to live on beaches, in groves.

US and Other Countries: US fears troops may get caught in crossfire and changes plan not to allow Marines to be sent until after PLO evacuates; US Congressional resistance to use of US troops grows; Jewish Affairs magazine issues public statement demanding removal of IDF troops, ending of US aid to Israel; US position reportedly is no PLO troops should remain, but political/informational office is OK; USSR warns US against military intervention in Lebanon; Pakistan president sends telegrams to Reagan, other members of the UN Security Council asking them to force IDF to withdraw; Turkey calls for IDF withdrawal, but reportedly cooperates with Israel on captured Turks and Armenians fighting with the PLO.

UN: UN Secretary General says UN must rethink "peacekeeping" role in wake of IDF invasion (and Cyprus incident several years ago).