The Palestine Chronology

After a mtg. with PM Barak in Israel, U.S. Defense Secy. William Cohen says that plans for a U.S.-Israeli defense pact have been put on hold since the deal is contingent upon Israeli withdrawal fr. the Golan, which does not appear likely. Cohen also discusses Israel's planned sale of sophisticated U.S.-developed AWACS technology to China. (MM, NYT, WP, WT 4/4; WP 4/5; WJW 4/6; MM 4/10; WP 4/11)

Israeli Arab students at Haifa University stage a demonstration to protest the death of a woman during Land Day protests in Sakhnin on 3/31. (HA [Internet] 4/5)

To protest against sanctions on Iraq, an Italian plane carrying EU parliament mbr. Vittorio Sgarbi, an Italian journalist, and a French Catholic priest leaves Jordan's Amman airport and flies to Baghdad without UN permission. (MM 4/4, 4/7; JT 4/7 in WNC 4/11)

Turkey sends 1,000 troops into n. Iraq to hunt down Kurdish separatists, makes air strikes on Kurdish bases. Turkey has previously carried out spring campaigns against the separatists. Since 1,000s of troops, supported by mbrs. of Iraq's Kurdistan Democratic Party, began massing on the border with Iraq in 3/00, there have been a few crossborder skirmishes, but this is the 1st large incursion into Iraq. (NYT 4/4; WT 4/5; see also WP 3/27)