IDF planes fly reconnaissance missions over Tripoli, PLO forces fire anti-aircraft barrages; car bomb explodes near IDF vehicle in Sidon, joint searches conducted by IDF...
Lebanese Forces (Phalange) commander- in-chief Fady Frem says his forces will cooperate with Gemayel as long as he is committed to expelling all foreign forces from Lebanon...
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Military Action:
IDF planes fly reconnaissance missions over Tripoli, PLO forces fire anti-aircraft barrages; car bomb explodes near IDF vehicle in Sidon, joint searches conducted by IDF and Haddad forces; explosion on Sidon-Nabatiyeh road as IDF vehicle passes; Druze and Phalange in Chouf exchange artillery and rocket fire; extraordinary security precautions maintained at Beirut airport and in city during Shultz visit.
Casualties:
4 IDF soldiers wounded in Sidon; body of Ain el-Hilweh resident found in central Sidon square; 2 Druze wounded in Chouf.
Political Responses:
Israel/ Occupied Territories: Israel's external debt has risen 25% in past 2 years, at end of 1982 was $28b. gross, $15.5b. net, $2b. higher than 1981; curfews imposed on Balata and al-Aza refugee camps after stones thrown at IDF and civilian vehicles, 1 soldier wounded near al-Aza.
Palestinians/ Lebanese: PLO representative in Beirut says if Israeli forces withdraw according to specific timetable, PLO and Syrian forces will also.
US and Other Countries: Secretary Shultz meets Begin, proposes indepth discussion of overall US-Israeli relations while Shultz is in the region; Shultz travels to Beirut, visits damaged US Embassy, meets Gemayel and other Lebanese officials, returns to Jerusalem; Senate Foreign Relations Committee tentatively agrees to $2.61b. aid level for Israel, $460m. more than proposed by Reagan Administration, $60m. more than approved by House committee.
Military Action:
IDF starts destroying PLO tunnels used to cache arms in South Lebanon; 3 Irish UNIFIL soldiers killed in South Lebanon.
Casualties:
UNRWA again fails to erect tents at Ain el-Hilweh as refugees resist; UNRWA asks IDF to protect its staff; Lebanese Ministry of Education again postpones opening of schools as many Palestinian and Lebanese refugees still housed in school buildings with nowhere else to go; Israeli officials say Palestinians in South Lebanon can be treated in Israel, but Lebanese will have to go to Beirut except for dialysis treatment.
Political Responses:
Israel/ Occupied Territories: Chief of Israel's General Security Services testifies secretly before Commission of Inquiry; Knesset moves to abolish film and theater censorship in wake of uproar caused by attempt to ban satirical play; West Bank disturbances grow following yesterday's fatal shooting-Ramallah students leave 4 high schools, stone Israeli vehicles, youth from Deheisha refugee camp stone Israeli vehicles, wounding one Israeli; El Al workers close Ben Gurion in labor dispute; Begin says Gemayel has not completely ruled out peace pact with Israel despite recent negative comments on client state, also reasserts Israeli desire for security zone in southern Lebanon, integration of Haddad forces into Lebanese security forces; IDF officer asserts Egyptian army in Sinai poses military threat to Israel; former Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Meron Benvenisti, at American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC, estimates 50-60 percent of West Bank is already in Jewish hands or available for Jewish settlement under various laws, and says territorial concessions for peace settlement will be impossible after 36 months.
Palestinians/ Lebanese: Arafat reportedly ready to accept a future Palestinian-Jordanian federation following establishment of an independent Palestinian state; Lebanese officials say US premature in reporting Lebanon had agreed to direct diplomatic talks with Israel, Wazzan reaffirms Lebanese desire for IDF troop withdrawal, says Lebanon may add civilians to joint Israeli-Lebanese military committee.
Arab Governments: Egyptian government-controlled press attacks Israel as "fascist" after Sharon's testimony in Jerusalem.
US and Other Countries: US, planning to re build Lebanese armed forces, will send artillery, 75 APCs, 25 155-mm howitzers, communications gear, M60 tanks and will station US Military Advisor Group in Beirut to coordinate rearmament effort; US- Lebanese planning group being established to assess Lebanese military needs and plan procurement well into future; Marine Corps planners assessing requirments for enlarging Marine presence in Lebanon to 5-8,000; US examining whether US law violated when UN-run trade school used for military training by PLO, holds up $15 million UN contribution; Zaire resumes full military cooperation with Israel and welcomes Israeli military delegation.
Military Action:
Lebanese Forces (Phalange) commander- in-chief Fady Frem says his forces will cooperate with Gemayel as long as he is committed to expelling all foreign forces from Lebanon; IDF reconnaissance jets pass over Beirut in apparent tribute to Bashir Gemayel.
Casualties:
Reconstruction proceeding quickly as rubble cleared, roads repaired in Beirut (land mines still a problem); UN estimates $15 billion and ten years necessary to rebuild Beirut.
Political Responses:
Israel/ Occupied Territories: Foreign Minister Shamir reports to Cabinet on US trip (officials reportedly expect drawn-out troop withdrawal negotiations); Israeli government renews insistence that remaining PLO forces be the first to leave, then Syrian and IDF forces leave simultaneously; son of Nablus Mayor Bassam Shakaa detained following yesterday's disturbances.
Palestinians/ Lebanese: Saad Haddad meets with head of Israel's Druze community in Kafr Julis to discuss Lebanese situation.
Arab Governments: Egyptian Foreign Minister Hassan Ali says Egypt will press Israel over disputed Taba area near Eilat.
US and Other Countries: US envoy Morris Draper returns to Lebanon to resume US diplomatic efforts on withdrawal; French posts and telecommunications team leaves for Lebanon to repair and modernize Lebanon's telephone system; Reagan Administration considering rearming Lebanese armed forces with Raytheon Improved Hawk and General Dynamics Stinger infrared-guided man-portable missiles.
