The Palestine Chronology

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Israeli Attorney General Harish orders police investigation (under news blackout) into Shin Bet scandal, after cabinet votes 14-11 not to establish government commission ofinquiry (a parliamentary victory for Likud) [NYT 7/14].

Arab World: Yasir Arafat, in interview with Der Spiegel, calls for handing the occupied territories over to UN control.

Military Action

Arab World: Israeli jets bomb two buildings 10 miles southeast of Beirut, killing 2 Palestinians and 2 Druze militiamen and injuring 4; Israeli army states targets were PFLP and DFLP bases; raid follows overnight rocket attacks on northern Galilee region, which reportedly caused no injury or damage [WP, NYT 7/15].

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Different lists begin to compete for appointment to municipal committees in Ramallah and al-Birah, opposition has begun to surface [FJ 2/21].

Arab World: General Secretary of the DFLP Nayif Hawatmah issues public appeal to Yasir Arafat to abrogate 11 February agreement reached last year with King Hussein; representatives of DFLP and Arafat's Fateh organization are reported to have met in Prague during past week to discuss healing rift in PLO [NYT 2/23].

Military Action

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Thirteen Israelis, including 5 soldiers, were wounded in at least 7 bombing incidents in the occupied territories and Israel last week [FJ 2/21].

Arab World: Israel calls off 6-day military operation north of its "security zone" in S. Lebanon, states it will still try to find 2 missing soldiers [BG 2/22].

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Israel deports 2 more Palestinians to Jordan: 'Adnan Ghanim and A. 'Abd al-Majid Radad, both West Bankers released in the 5/20/85 prisoner exchange. Ghanim was brutally tortured during his detention since 12/22/85, suffering severe head injury [FJ 2/14]. Peres proposes "devolution" of local, municipal affairs into hands of occupied territories residents states he is not advocating "unilateral autonomy" [JP 2/11]. Israelis, Palestinian leaders in occupied territories reject unilateral autonomy [MG, JP 2/11].

Arab World: Jerusalem Post reports 2 leading Palestinian diaspora leaders, Prof. Walid al-Khalidi, of Harvard University, and Hassib al-Sabbagh, Geneva-based financier, visited Amman last week to participate in negotiations between King Hussein, Yasir Arafat [JP 2/10]. Al-Fajr editor Hanna Siniora and Gaza lawyer Fayiz Abu Rahmah also participated in negotiations between Wat Cluverius and Yasir Arafat [JTA 2/10].

Military Action

Other Countries: Newsweek reports U.S. 6th Fleet jets have secretly been practicing precision attacks in the Negev desert for over 3 months [NWK 2/10].

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: A senior Israeli official states P.M. Peres has proposed negotiating a settlement with Palestinian mayors in the occupied territories [CT 1/24]. Minister of Trade and Commerce Ariel Sharon and Time magazine reach out-of-court settlement in libel suit Sharon filed under Israeli law; Time apologizes, pays undisclosed amount of money [NYT, WP 1/23]. Israeli govt. agrees in principle to return $51 million to help U.S. meet budget cuts [JP 1/23].

Arab World: Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Committee set up by the 46-member Islamic Conference Organization meets in Morocco at request of Yasir Arafat, appeals for support in preventing further Israeli disruptions at Islamic shrines in East Jerusalem [JP 1/22; LT 1/23].

Other Countries: Security Council debates Moroccan, UAE resolution on "The Situation in the Occupied Arab Territories" in wake of confrontations at Haram al-Sharif; Egypt states Israel "must" withdraw from East Jerusalem, Palestinians in West Bank must have right to self-determination, Saudi Arabia warns of "wrath of hundreds of millions of Muslims" if "aggressions" continue [JP 1/22; JTA 1/23].