The Palestine Chronology

IDF soldiers, Palestinian police exchange gunfire across Gaza border at Erez checkpoint; 2 Palestinian police officers, 2 Palestinian civilians wounded. (MM 1/4; QY 1/4 in FBIS 1/5; NYT, WP, WT 1/5; WP 1/6)

FM Peres tells Knesset Israel is demanding a 4-yr. interim period btwn. implementation of 1st and 2d stages of withdrawal fr. Golan in talks with Syria . (MM 1/5; JP 1/5 in FBIS 1/6; JP 1/14)

Egypt, Jordan, Israel hold 1st tripartite mtg. on regional security in Elat to discuss prevention of cross-border infiltrations. (Ma'ariv 1/11 in FBIS 1/12)

Israeli Housing Min. Dir. Gen. Arye Mizrahi approves expansion of Ma'ale Adumin settlement toward Jerusalem, increase in number of houses fr. 5,000 to 18,000, movement of IDF roadblock marking Green Line so settlement would fall inside Green Line; says decision does not violate any agmts. because government already considers the settlement part of central Israel. (Yedi'ot Aharanot 1/5 in FBIS 1/5)

Lebanese FM Buwayz says idea for sending Palestinian refugees fr. Lebanon to Gaza, Jericho to serve as policemen has been debated for past 3 mos.; says Interior M Michel al-Murr drafted motion after 11/25 events, inviting PA to recruit policemen fr. camps, agreeing to send recruits with any light armor they possess as way of getting armed Palestinians out of country. (AFP 1/4, RL 1/5 in FBIS 1/5; MM 1/6) (see 12/19)

U.S. State Dept. confirms it is conducting investigation into reports Israel illegally sold China military technology. (WP, WT 1/5; HA 1/5 in FBIS 1/5; CSM 1/6; MEI 1/20) (see 1/3)

Israeli undercover agents kill 4 Palestinian supporters of PFLP in West Bank, nr. Ramallah; 1 agent wounded. Israel says men were wanted in attacks on collaborators. (QY 1/4 in FBIS 1/5; MM, NYT, WP, WT 1/5; WJW 1/12)

Meeting in Beirut, for. ministers of Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, PLO approve Arab participation in upcoming round of peace talks in Washington. (MM 4/2)

U.S. Congress passes foreign aid bill for rest of fiscal year which does not include $10 billion in loan guarantees to Israel. (MM 4/3)

State Dept. inspector general issues report stating that the department has failed to heed intelligence reports suggesting that an important U.S. ally-widely understood to be Israel-was making unauthorized transfers of U.S. military technology since about 1983. (NYT 4/2, WP 4/3)

EC "troika" arrives in Beirut for talks with Lebanese leaders on regional issues, upcoming multilateral economic talks [Lebanon has already announced it will not participate in multilateral talks]. (Radio Monte Carlo 4/1 in FBIS 4/2)

Security forces kill at least 4 Palestinians and wound 50 in Rafah, Gaza-most serious clash in o.t. in months. Rafah is curfewed shortly thereafter. In separate incident, 13 year-old boy is killed during confrontation with IDF in Tarqumiya, near Hebron. (NYT, MM 4/2; IDF Radio 4/5 in FBIS 4/6)