The Palestine Chronology

In the Gaza Strip, the IDF conducts 2 brief incursions nr. Khan Yunis, in both cases levelling land before withdrawing. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in 1 village nr. Jenin in the afternoon, and in 2 villages nr. Hebron, one village each nr. Salfit, Qalqilya, and Jerusalem and in Tulkarm and Jenin at night; patrols in 3 villages nr. Jenin in the morning, 1 village nr. Hebron in the afternoon, and 2 villages nr. Jericho at night. (PCHR 5/30)

U.S. Secy. of State John Kerry reveals a $4 billion plan to boost the Palestinian economy, speaking at the World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea in Jordan (see document D1 in JPS 169 for more). Kerry also urges Israelis and Palestinians to reach a political agreement, saying that a failure to do so would mean living with “a permanent intifada.” Israeli pres. Shimon Peres and PA Pres. Mahmoud Abbas both address the gathering, with Abbas using his speech to refuse any solution involving “temporary borders.” (HA, JP, REU 5/26)

There are reports of rockets fired from s. Lebanon into n. Israel, yet this is subsequently denied by the IDF, whose soldiers also fail to find any impact site or evidence of a projectile landing in Israeli territory. Meanwhile, 2 rockets are fired into a Shi‘i district of Beirut, in an apparent response to Hizballah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s promise to keep fighting in Syria alongside Asad. Arab League chief Nabil al-‘Arabi urges Hizballah to withdraw from its role in Syria, saying that to continue would threaten Lebanon’s internal unity. (AP, HA, REU 5/26; ToI 5/27; JP 5/28)

The IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah in the morning; conducts synchronized patrols in 3 villages nr. Jenin at midday and 1 village nr. Jenin later in the afternoon; and conducts latenight patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah, 1 nr. Jenin, and 1 nr. Tulkarm. In Gaza, Hamas-affiliated police raid a Bayt Lahiya house, beating and detaining 15–20 Palestinians before releasing them later in the day. Palestinian media sources (e.g., Ma’an News Agency 1/17) claim the small group was performing prayers to mark a Shi’i holy day and was targeted because they are Shi’i, but Hamas officials deny this, saying that “police tracked an illegal group with corrupted views that were planning to commit crimes.” Palestinian human rights groups demanded an investigation. (MNA 1/17; PCHR 1/19; OCHA 1/20)

The Palestinian and Israeli media report rumors fr. anonymous Awarta residents that a Thai worker for the settler family murdered in Itamar on 3/11 had complained that the family owed him NIS 10,000 in wages and had threatened to kill the family; some sources (e.g., MNA 3/14) say the IDF rounded up all foreign workers in the settlement for questioning immediately after discovering the murders. Israeli authorities do not comment. Meanwhile, after Netanyahu criticizes the PA’s “weak” denunciation of the attack, Abbas makes another statement calling the killing “inhuman and immoral” and “a despicable act.” The IDF imposes a curfew on Awarta and orders all men age 15–40 to turn themselves in for questioning; of 300 who surrender, 32 are arrested. Jewish settlers mass at the entrance to Nabi Salih village and throw stones at Palestinian cars; the IDF observes but does not intervene. The IDF also conducts synchronized morning patrols in 5 villages n. and e. of Jenin; conducts evening and late-night patrols Jalazun r.c. and 2 villages nr. Ramallah, in al-Bireh, and 1 village nr. Tulkarm; conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in another village nr. Ramallah. A day ahead of national unity demonstrations called for online, at least 3,000 young Palestinians rally in Gaza City calling for an end to divisions between Hamas and Fatah. (AFP, JP, MNA 3/14; NYT, WP 3/15; PCHR 3/17; OCHA 3/18)

After secretly securing approval of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on 3/13, Saudi Arabia and the UAE send some 2,000 troops, supported by a medical contingent fr. Kuwait, into Bahrain to shore up the govt. there. Saudi Arabia sought to intervene, fearing that Shi‘i protests in Bahrain could encourage Saudi Arabia’s own Shi‘i population in the oil-rich Eastern Province to rebel. The move marks the 1st time that the GCC council has mobilized a military force in response to domestic unrest and only the 2d time that it has mobilized a joint force (the 1st time was in defense of Kuwait when Iraq invaded in the 1990s). (AP, REU 3/14; NYT, WP, WT 3/15)

Overnight, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) fires a manufactured C5K (S-5) rocket fr. Gaza toward an IDF base inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF rearrests Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Council (PC) mbr. Azzam Salhab; conducts an unusually high number of patrols in and around Tulkarm, in al-Bireh, and in villages nr. Jenin, Qalqilya, Ramallah, and Salfit in the morning; conducts more patrols in villages nr. Qalqilya and Tulkarm in the evening and inside Jericho late at night. Jewish settlers fr. Halamish settlement nr. Ramallah block the road leading to nearby Nabi Salih village, stone passing Palestinian vehicles. Hamas-affiliated police force a bank to cash some $500,000 in stolen checks drawn against the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF) account, even though the account does not have enough money in it. Hamas’s Interior Min. confirms the incident, saying police were ordered to seize the money after PIF governors transferred funds out of Gaza to accounts in the West Bank (see Quarterly Update for details). The Palestine Monetary Authority, which regulates Palestinian banks, closes all Gaza branches until 3/6 in protest. (AP, MNA 3/3; PCHR 3/10; OCHA 3/18)

In Bahrain, Shi‘i and Sunni groups clash in the town of Hamad in the 1st serious display of sectarian violence. Frequent antigovernment protests continue thereafter, taking on an increasingly sectarian tone. (NYT 3/4, 3/5; WP 3/6; NYT, WP, WT 3/7; WP 3/10; NYT, WP 3/12; NYT, WP 3/13; NYT, WP, WT 3/14)

In the morning, the IDF makes 2 brief incursions into Gaza to level land along the border fence in s. Gaza to clear lines of sight. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in the fmr. settlement sites, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 8 tents (home to 40 Bedouin) and 2 wells nr. Suissa settlement outside Hebron; sends some 40 undercover troops into Salim nr. Nablus, where they raid an apartment building and arrest a wanted Palestinian; patrols in and around Tulkarm, in Qalqilya, and in villages nr. Jenin in the morning, summoning 4 Palestinians to appear for questioning; conducts late-night patrols in al-Bireh, Qalqilya, and 2 village nr. Ramallah and Tulkarm. Jewish settlers fr. Bat Ayin nr. Hebron uproot at least 250 olive trees in nearby Jab’a village. (WT 2/23; PCHR 2/24; OCHA 2/25)

After a televised speech in which Libya’s Col. Qaddafi vows to hunt down and kill protesters “house by house,” 1,000s of his supporters take to the streets of Tripoli brandishing machetes and join trucks heading to outlying areas to conduct neighborhood searches. With most residents bunkered in their homes and media outlets cut off, the extent of the violence in the Tripoli area is unclear. Rights groups estimate that 519 Libyans have been killed, 3,980 have been wounded, and at least 1,500 have gone missing since violence erupted a wk. ago. Hereafter, fighting quickly devolves into bitter civil war. (NYT, WP, WT 2/23; NYT, WP, WT 2/2; NYT, WP, WT 2/25; NYT, WP, WT 2/26–3/1)

In Bahrain, more than 100,000 protesters (a fifth of the population, mostly Shi‘a) turn out for the largest prodemocracy rally to date in Pearl Square calling for the govt. and the monarchy to step down. (NYT, WP, WT 2/23)

In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Azun in a car with Palestinian license plates, surrounds a home, arrests 1 PSF mbr. who surrenders; conducts random ID checks in, fires on residential areas of Kafr Dan nr. Jenin; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin and Nablus, in Dahaysha r.c., nr. Bethlehem, Hebron; burns 70 d. of agricultural land btwn. the separation wall and the Green Line nr. Tulkarm (see 8/5). In Ramallah, 7 Palestinians working in the PC building are taken to the hospital with breathing difficulties after opening a suspicious letter addressed to PM Haniyeh; the building is evacuated. The PA head of military intelligence for n. Gaza dies of injuries received in an ambush in Jabaliya r.c. on 8/6; no group claims responsibility. (AP 8/7; WP 8/8; OCHA 8/9; PCHR 8/10)

Overnight, the IDF destroys the last remaining bridge over the Litani River linking n. and s. Lebanon; this cuts off access to Tyre. The IDF announces a 10:00 P.M. curfew on Tyre, saying that any movement there after dark and any vehicular traffic s. of the Litani River at any time will henceforth be considered Hizballah activity and a legitimate target. As UN mbrs. narrow differences on a cease-fire res., Olmert’s security cabinet discusses speeding up the IDF’s advance to the Litani River, escalating attacks on Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure. During the day, the IDF continues heavy air, artillery strikes on some 150 targets across Lebanon, hitting s. Beirut (including 47 killed, 70 wounded in the Christian-Shi‘i suburb of al-Shiyah, where Shi‘a are pro-Amal), the Biqa‘ Valley (including Baalbek, Masnaa), in and around Nabatiyya (including 7 civilians killed in air strikes on cars traveling in Qasmiyya; 15 killed, 20 wounded in an air strike on an apartment building in Ghaziyya), and across s. Lebanon (including demolishing a 4-building apartment complex in Tyre), killing at least 69 Lebanese civilians; continues ground operations across s. Lebanon that leave 3 IDF soldiers dead, 7 wounded in Bint Jubayl and include heavy fighting in Hula (the IDF claims to kill at least 15 Hizballah mbrs.); downs an unmanned Hizballah drone off the s. Lebanon coast. Hizballah fires 130 rockets into n. Israel, injuring 10 Israelis, hitting targets in Acre, Carmiel, Kiryat Shimona (70 rockets), Ma’alot, Nahariya, Safad. The ICRC says that the IDF has barred humanitarian aid missions to the south for 3 days. (BBC, NYT, WP 8/7; BBC, NYT, WP, WT 8/8; WP, WT 8/9; WP 8/10)

The IDF continues to shell the PA headquarters in Hebron, threatens to raid the complex if those still inside do not emerge; the IDF claims that 1 of those inside the complex is a senior Hizballah mbr. who slipped in fr. Lebanon to train Palestinians. (Israeli prosecutors also charge a Lebanese-born Israeli, son of a Jewish mother and Shi'i Muslim father, of being a spy for Hizballah.) The IDF fatally shoots 2 Palestinians, wounds 10 during clashes in Balata r.c.; fatally shoots a 9-yr.-old Palestinian child, wounds 3 others in Qalqilya during a temporary lifting of the curfew, later admitting the soldiers fired in error; fatally shoots an 8-yr.-old Palestinian boy in Jenin; raids a PSF jail in Nablus, taking 20 Palestinians, including several naval police officers, into custody; demolishes 10 Palestinian homes in Rafah r.c.; imposes 24-hr. curfews on Anin, Azariyya, al-Bireh, Halhul. (MM, NYT, WP, WT 6/28)

MK Benny Elon (Moledet), on a lobbying trip to the U.S., says he has received "quiet support" fr. several mbrs. of Congress for his 7-part "Elon peace initiative," based on the idea of the "voluntary transfer" of Palestinians to Jordan, which would become a "Jordanian-Palestinian state." Palestinian refugees would be resettled in their host countries. West Bank and Gaza Palestinians would be given Jordanian-Palestinian citizenship and could remain in their homes, but those who "violate the terms of the plan" would be expelled to Jordan. (JPI 6/27)

Faisal Husseini, Hanan Ashrawi, two other members of the Palestinian steering committee, fly to Morocco for consultations with Chmn. Arafat. (NYT 11/3)

Pro-peace marches continue in o.t., including one involving thousands of marchers in Jenin. Curfew imposed 10/27 on Nablus lifted, but is imposed on 400,000 Gaza residents. (MEM 11/4)

Thousands flee Kufr Rumman, S. Lebanon, after Israeli troops order them to evacuate the area, which has come under recent heavy Israeli artillery fire. South Lebanon Army radio broadcast also orders 100,000 residents of some 100 villages near the Israeli "security zone" to flee. Israel denies it officially ordered the evacuation, claims order came from a local Israeli commander or from SLA acting on its own authority. As Israel continues its bombardment of the area, Lebanese pres. Ilyas al-Hirawi calls Lebanon's defense council into emergency session, and Shi'ite Amal militia announces a general mobilization, vowing to stand with Lebanese army troops in repelling any Israel attacks. (NYT, WP 11/3)

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Bethlehem U. reopens after 3-month military-ordered closure and immediately receives new closure order [NYT 2/4]. Hebron Polytechnic Institute and Hebron U. are closed indefinitely. Israel postpones indefinitely reopening of schools in Nablus, Jenin, and Tulkarm [FJ 2/7]. In Nazareth, 50 Muslim, Christian, Druze, and Jewish leaders condemn Israeli measures in occupied territories, express support for uprising [FJ 2/7].

Arab World: Lebanese Shi'i coalition Islamic Resistance Front threatens to kill Israeli soldier held captive for 2 years [WP 2/2].

Other Countries: U.S. envoy Philip Habib meets with Egypt's Pres. Mubarak in Paris before returning to Washington [WSJ 2/2]. U.S. vetos UN Security Council resolution setting forth UN role in Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations and calling on Israel to abide by Geneva Convention terms [WP 2/2]. In Rome, Jordan's King Hussein visits with Pope John Paul II, meets with Egyptian F. M. 'Ismat 'Abd al-Magid [NYT 2/2].

Military Action

Occupied Palestine/Israel: In village of 'Anabta near Tulkarm, stone-throwing Palestinians attack army bus, settlers' cars, and police vehicle after blockading road. Israeli fires on demonstrators, killing 2, wounding 1. Officials are uncertain whether shots were fired by soldiers or settlers. Army patrol later disperses crowd with live ammunition, wounding 2 more. Settlers attack village during curfew, vandalizing houses, cars [WP 2/2; FJ 2/7]. Crowds throw rocks, bottles and block roads in cities, villages, and camps throughout W. Bank; 3 Palestinians are wounded in Jenin, and 2 are injured by army gunfire in Hebron-region village of Bani Na'im; village is placed under curfew. Violent disturbances are also reported in E. Jerusalem [WP 2/2; FJ 2/7]. Israeli authorities arrest 14 Palestinians during raid of Jerusalem's Thuri quarter [FJ 2/7]. More than 20 are arrested in early morning raid in Nablus [WP 2/2]. Balatah, new and old 'Askar, Duhayshah, Tulkarm, and Am'ari refugee camps and Nablus are under curfew [FJ 2/7]. In Gaza Strip, military imposes curfew on Burayj camp following violent stone-throwing demonstrations; curfew is lifted in Dayr al-Balah camp. Violent clashes are reported in Gaza Strip camps and cities; many Palestinians are injured by army gunfire and beatings [FJ 2/7]. At least 40 Palestinians have been killed since uprising began 12/9 [NYT 2/2]. 

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Minister of Industry and Trade Ariel Sharon moves into apartment in Muslim quarter of Jerusalem's Old City; merchants close shops in protest [LAT 12/16]. Complete commercial strike closes stores in E. Jerusalem, Nablus, Jenin, Ramallah, al-Birah, and other W. Bank towns [FJ 12/20]. Israel bans distribution of al-Sha'b in W. Bank and Gaza Strip for 12 days [FJ 12/20]. Khan Yunis youth shot 12/12 by Israeli soldiers dies in Barzali Hospital [FJ 12/20]. Palestinian journalists from occupied territories hold sit-in at Arab Journalists' Association's Jerusalem office to protest administrative detention of Radwan Abu 'Ayyash [FJ 12/20]. Israeli police announce capture of 2 Palestinians charged with murder of Israeli soldier [FJ 12/20].

Arab World: Arab League calls for emergency session to discuss Israeli actions in occupied territories [CSM 12/16].

Other Countries: Trial of Ibrahim Khalid, only survivor of 4-man team that attacked Leonardo da Vinci Airport in 1985, opens in Rome. Abu Nidal and Rashid Hamida are being tried in absentia [LAT 12/16]. U.S. calls for Israeli restraint in handling disturbances in W. Bank and Gaza Strip [NYT 12/16]. Israeli Def. Min. Rabin meets with U.S. congressional leaders in Washington [WP 12/19].

Military Action

Occupied Palestine/Israel: IDF soldiers fire on Palestinian demonstrators at Gaza's Shifa Hospital, killing at least 2, wounding more than 11. Dozens are arrested. Palestinians at hospital attack Western journalists. UN reports 2 Palestinians are shot, killed: 1 at Bayt Hanun, in northern Gaza Strip, and 1 at Dayr al-Balah refugee camp. Palestine Press Service reports another demonstrator is killed by soldiers during protest march from Beach refugee camp to Shifa Hospital [LAT, NYT 12/16]. In W. Bank, demonstrations are reported in Nablus, Bir Zeit, Abu Dis village near Jerusalem, and Qalandiya, Am'ari, and Jalazun refugee camps [FJ 12/20].

Arab World: With tank and helicopter support, Israeli troops move north of S. Lebanon security zone, raid Shi'i villages of Maydun and Kafr Hunah. Lebanese sources report 6 fighters are wounded, 20 captured [NYT 12/16].

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: At Hebron University, police use tear gas and live ammunition to disperse student demonstration marking 5th anniversary of Sabra and Shatila massacres. Demonstrators in Ramallah, al-Birah, and Gaza burn tires, construct barricades, and force stores to close [LAT, FJ 9/20]. Birzeit University administration voluntarily closes university following student demonstrations [FJ 9/20]. Police disperse demonstrators protesting detention of Faysal Husayni, arrest Ishaq al-Budayri, assistant director of Arab Studies Society [FJ 9/20]. Arsonists set fire to 25 dunams of Jewish National Fund forest near Jenin UPI 9/26]. At al-Najah U., Islamic Bloc says it will not accept new university rules governing campus mosque, religious celebrations. Other student groups accept new regulations [FJ 9/20]. Walid Zurba of Jerusalem wins court order preventing Israeli developer from buying rooms in his house [FJ 9/20]. Israeli Ministry of Trade renounces measures adopted by inner cabinet to sever some economic and cultural ties with S. Africa [WP 9/20].

Other Countries: Fawwaz Yunis, Lebanese Shi'i, pleads not guilty in U.S. court to charges related to June 1985 hijacking of Jordanian plane. Attorney Gen. Edwin Meese announces Yunis was captured 9/13 after being lured onto FBI-rented yacht in Mediterranean [WP 9/18; NYT 9/19]. 

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Israeli cabinet votes to cancel 7-year-old Lavi jet fighter project. Demonstrating Israeli Aircraft workers block highway near factory [LAT 8/31]. In Rafah, Palestinian child is shot in leg by Israeli truck driver who alleges he opened fire after group of children threw stones at him [FJ 9/6]. Trial of Mordechai Vanunu begins under extraordinarily heavy security; Vanunu faces life imprisonment for selling The Times of London information about Israel's nuclear facility at Dimona [WP, LAT 8/3 1]. In Jenin area, 5 people are injured when 2 gas bombs are thrown at Arab bus. In Gaza, Israeli police order 30 stores closed after gas bomb is thrown at Israeli car [FJ 9/6]. Palestinian-owned poultry farm in Nablus-area village of Naqura is demolished by Israeli bulldozers. It is the 3d farm destroyed in the past week [FJ 9/6]. Israeli authorities reopen Rafah crossing to Egypt after 4-day closure. The crossing was closed after acollaborator was attacked [FJ 9/6].

Arab World: Jordanian Ministry for Occupied Territories Affairs agrees to allocate JD 140,000 for development projects in Gaza Strip [FJ 9/6].

Military Action

Arab World: Shi'i guerrillas claim 4 Israeli soldiers were killed in overnight clash in S. Lebanon security zone. Israeli sources state 4 Shi'i fighters were killed north of the security zone [CSM 8/31].

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Israeli border guards arrest 8-year-old and 9-year-old Palestinian children on charges of throwing bombs. Children are released after 1 hour [FJ 8/30]. Israeli authorities expropriate more than 3,000 dunams of agricultural land near Dura [FJ 8/30]. Israel reports discovery and arrest of 3 Fateh cells in Jenin area involved in 11 military attacks on Israeli targets [FJ 8/30]. Israel submits chronology of its involvement in Irancontraffair during 1986 to U.S. congressional panel [WP 8/29].

Arab World: Shi'i protesters in S. Beirut attack food stores and money-changing booths, chant slogans, and burn tires in demonstrations against rising prices [LAT 8/29].

Other Countries: U.S. federal court upholds diplomatic immunity of Major Gen. Amos Yaron in suit brought by ADC for Yaron's role in Sabra and Shatila massacres [WJW 10/1].

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Israeli army announces arrest of 3 West Bankers in alleged kidnap-slaying of two Afula teachers. The three, aged 17-19, are arrested at their homes in the village of Arabbuna, near Jenin. Homes of their families are demolished. Arabbuna is placed under curfew [WP 7/29]. Kach movement members along with Temple Mount Faithful group attempt to enter al-Aqsa Mosque compound to pray. Police refuse to allow Kach members in, allow Temple Mount Faithful in on condition they not pray. One man prays near the Dome of the Rock and is forcibly expelled [FJ 8/2]. Israeli newspaper Ha'Aretz finds 70 percent of Israelis favor death penalty for those convicted of politically motivated killings. Minister without Portfolio Moshe Arens, Foreign Minister Shamir, and Deputy Prime Minister David Levy also favor death penalty for such killings [LAT 7/29]. Two Afula teachers are buried; 1,000 extra police and border guards are mobilized to keep the peace. Three police are injured by angry protesters at the funeral [LAT 7/29].

Arab World: Walid Jumblatt and Nabih Birri announce new pact of cooperation called the "National Front," ending 3- month feud; vow to support each other if fighting erupts with pro-Arafat Palestinian factions [CT, MG 7/29]. Artillery and sniper fire break out between East and West Beirut. Car bomb explodes in Shi'ite suburb of Beirut, injuring three [MG 7/29]. King Hussein is first Arab leader to confirm attendence at the upcoming Arab summit meeting in Casablanca [CT 7/29]. A high-level Palestinian delegation led by Faruq al-Qaddumis reported to have arrived in Tripoli, Libya [JP 7/29].

Other Countries: Manila newspaper Bulletin Today reports Israelis are giving military training to young Filipinos on Palawan Island [JP 7/29].

Military Action

Arab World: Two SLA soldiers are killed and 8 taken prisoner in dawn attack by Amal in security zone [LT 7/29].

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: DM Rabin threatens "scorched earth" policy in S. Lebanon if Shi'ite military actions continue [JP 3/27]. In Jerusalem, Arab Lawyers Union calls on members to create delays in W. Bank military courts by refusing to enter guilty pleas, refusing to accept prisoner testimonies until determining admissibility of confessions; aim is to protest recent heavy sentences imposed by IDF courts [FJ 3/29]. Jewish underground defendant Dan Be'eri indicatesettler leader Rabbi Moshe Levinger was present at meeting to discuss blowing up the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem [FJ 3/29].

Military Action

Occupied Palestine/Israel: IDF disperse student demonstrators at Hittin school, Jenin, with tear gas after students allegedly threw stones; 2 arrested [JP 3/27].

Arab World: SLA, IDF raid Jabaa, 'Ain Buswar; unreported number arrested. Bombs explode near IDF vehicles near Deir Qanun al-Nahr, Jwaiyeh; no casualties [JP 3/27].

Military Action:

Several hundred Lebanese Shiite followers of Hussein Mousavi (who broke from Amal organization headed by Nabih Berri) storm Baalbek's town hall, and take over city, say immediate purpose is to prevent celebration of Independence Day and denounce Gemayel administration; later leave city hall but retain control of and rename central square after Khomeini, set up checkpoints, express support for Islamic state similar to Iran; Chouf area tense but calm.

Casualties:

Israeli military commission report, approved by Cabinet, says Tyre building collapse was accident caused by unexplained leaking of bottled gas on first floor of building and faulty construction, although original Army report had cited booby-trapped car as cause.

Political Responses:

IsraeL/ Occupied Territories: Defense Ministry drops demand that foreigners teaching in Occupied Territories sign anti-PLO "loyalty pledge" (instead, will issue one-year work permits to be withdrawn if holder "gives aid or support to the PLO or any other hostile organization"); Molotov cocktail thrown at Israeli fuel tank in Jenin; 21 Palestinians arrested after bomb blast near railway station north of Tel Aviv wounds one IDF soldier; Bruce Kashdan, foreign ministry representative in Beirut, tells Commission of Inquiry that US envoy Draper had warned him Friday, September 17, of "horrible results" if Phalange forces entered West Beirut, that he received a second call from Draper at 10 AM Saturday, September 18, telling him a massacre had occurred at Shatila and Sabra camps and asking a message be passed to Sharon that "You must stop the massacres. They are obscene. I have an officer in the camp counting the bodies. You ought to be ashamed. This situation is rotten and terrible. They are killing children. You are in absolute control of the area and therefore responsible for that area," that Draper's second call was first information about massacre and that he passed information on to Sharon's office, that the IDF claimed Phalange entered camps from north and not through IDF lines, that he passed his and Draper's reports to Ariel Kenet and David Kimche; Lt. Col. Azriel Nevo, Begin's military secretary, denies having received call from Hanan Bar-On on Friday evening, backing up Begin's assertion of no knowledge of massacre until late Saturday; Agriculture Minister Aharon Uzan, in interview, says he favors unilateral iDF withdrawal from Chouf and to 30-mile line from border (follows similar position adopted last week by Energy Minister Modai); Cabinet sources reaffirm these as minority views, claim they undermine Israel's negotiating stance.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: PLO official Ahmed Sidki Dajani, after meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Hassan Ali, who gives conditional approval for first visit in five years, says Arafat plans to visit Egypt in near future; Gemayel, in address to soldiers on eve of Independence Day, calls for vigilance toward dangers of dissidence; Saeb Salam meets Habib to discuss withdrawal of foreign forces; Jumblatt meets Habib to discuss increasing violence in Chouf.

Arab Governments: Syrian Information Minister Iskandar says Syrian forces will not withdraw until after last IDF soldier does.

US and Other Countries: Pentagon team, headed by Andrew Marshall, Defense Department's Director of Assessment, arrives in Tel Aviv to meet with Sharon, Eitan and other senior officers to finalize agreement on sharing information, evaluating performance of US/USSR weapons and lessons gained from Israeli invasion of Lebanon.