The Palestine Chronology

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: In Jerusalem press conference, staff and student representatives of West Bank universities condemn closure of Najah Nat'l. U. (since 7/30/84). Military orders ban Gaza table tennis tournament (scheduled for 9/21).

Arab World: Portuguese & Eritrean labor delegations visit Chrmn. Arafat at Tunis HQ. PDR Yemen leader Ali Nasser Mohammed arrives in Damascus for talks with officials on PLO-Syria reconciliation.

Other Countries: Israel announces appointment of Benjamin Netanyahu as its amb. to UN.

Military Action

Occupied Palestine/Israel: 2nd anniversay of massacres at Sabra and Shatila camps; Israeli troops respond with tear gas to demonstrations in Jalazoun and Dheisheh camps. Israeli bus ambushed near Bethlehem, 5 Israelis, 2 Palestinians in nearby car injured; police search, impose curfew on Dheisheh camp & al-Khidr village. Arab World: IDF position near Jezzine shelled by Katyushas fired from south of Awali River.

SOCIAL/POLITICAL:

Occupied Palestine/Israel: 3 Galilee youths held since 9/27/83 sentenced to 6-15 mos. prison for participation in 1983 Land Day demonstration; lawyer says youths subjected to physical and psychological torture while in Jalameh and Akka prisons. Israeli Ministerial Economic Committee sets Friday deadline for gov't. dep'ts. to present budget proposals with 9% overall spending cut; DM Arens rejects notion of cutting budget for development of Lavi bomber. Jerusalem Post poll reports 72% favor cut in spending for West Bank settlements. Settlers from Yakir and Kedumim, bitter over arrest of 3 Israelis suspected of Nablus killings (12/8/83), return IDF-issued weapons to Israeli authorities.

Arab World: Rev. Jesse Jackson meets Pres. Assad in Damascus, appeals release of US airman downed 12/4/83.

MILITARY ACTION:

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Incendiary bomb thrown at Israeli military patrol at Balata refugee camp; no casualties.

Arab World: Israelis reopen Awali River crossings after 3 days.

Military Action:

Fighting continues southeast of Beirut between LAF and PSP, and in southern Beirut suburbs between LAF and militiamen; car bomb explodes near Reuter news agency in Beirut; PLO rebels advance within half mile of Arafat's HQ in central Tripoli, cut off loyalist forces still holding ground at Baddawi; Islamic Unification Movement fighters deploy alongside PLO loyalists in Tripoli; 12-hour unilateral cease-fire declared in Tripoli by PLO rebels is broken by exchanges of rocket fire in evening; 3 ships carrying supplies to loyalist PLO forces reportedly captured by Israeli navy off Tripoli.

Casualties:

Unspecified civilian casualties in southern Beirut suburbs; contrary to initial claims, French air raid near Baalbek last Thursday did little or no damage to military targets, casualties reported at 2 dead, 7 wounded; Red Cross estimates 60% of Tripoli's 500,000 to 600,000 residents have fled; 8 killed, 97 wounded today in Tripoli, 392 killed, 1869 wounded in fighting since November 3; IDF allows limited flow of commercial traffic across Awali bridge after weekend ban, private vehicles cross only with IDF issued permits.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: 4 petrol bombs thrown at IDF position in Tulkarem, curfew on nearby refugee camp; Council of Jewish Settlements in West Bank and Gaza holds emergency meeting at Kiryat Arba, demands severe action by IDF against Palestinians, settlers threaten to take law into their own hands; 17-year-old boy from Balata sentenced to 6 months in prisoni, IS 30,000 fine for participating in demonstration at Askar camp on November 8; committee representing Dheisheh camp residents releases statement rejecting government plan, announced yesterday, to resettle Palestinian refugees outside camps, details raids, road and school closures, fines, curfews and other measures used against camp residents in recent period.

Palestinian/ Lebanese: Arafat's conditions for leaving Tripoli include security for his supporters, both Palestinian and Lebanese, his right to return to Tripoli, and withdrawal of rebel forces; PFLP and DFLP call for democratic dialogue between fighting PLO forces.

Military Action:

Israeli jets bomb guerrilla bases in areas around Sofar, Falougha and Bhamdoun, reportedly hit as-Saiqa, Syrian Baath party, PFLP-GC and Druze positions, intense and effective anti-aircraft fire deployed; brief exchanges of artillery fire between LAF and PSP around Souq al-Gharb; fierce fighting continues around Baddawi, PLO loyalists and rebels both claim control of major parts of camp; all areas of Tripoli come under rocket and artillery fire.

Casualties:

1 Israeli jet shot down by shoulder fired SAM-7, pilot is rescued by LAF patrol after parachuting into Beirut suburb, Syria says 2nd jet was downed; casualty reports from air raid range from 2-18 killed, 8 wounded, damage to targets reportedly minimal; no reliable estimates possible of casualties in Tripoli, ambulances unable to move; Red Cross estimates 13,000-15,000 refugees from fighting at camps are in Tripoli.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: IDF says air raid in Lebanon is reaction to long chain of terrorist attacks against IDF in South Lebanon, 35 IDF soldiers killed, 64 wounded since redeployment to Awali on September 4; Arens, addressing Moral Majority delegation in Jerusalem, says there will be no withdrawal from the West Bank; minister without portfolio Ben Porat says his plan to rehouse 250,000 Palestinians now living in refugee camps will cost between $2 and $1.5 b. over next six years, Shamir to raise the subject in forthcoming meetings with Reagan; IDF say group of Muslim extremists has confessed to the killing of a Jewish religious student in Hebron on July 7; settlers block road near Halhoul after stone throwing incident, enter town, break windows of cars and houses.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Gemayel ends 2 days of meetings in Saudi Arabia with King Fahd.

US and Other Countries: Rumsfeld makes first official visit to Damascus, meets FM Khaddam; Iranian official says 14 Revolutionary Guards and about 30 Lebanese were killed in Israeli and French air raids near Baalbek last week; Soviet Union calls on PLO factions to cease senseless bloodshed, resolve differences through political means.

Military Action:

Shelling continues in Beirut's southern suburbs; PSP militia and LAF battle at Souq al-Gharb; Marine positions hit with small arms and artillery fire; shells fall near Jounieh port, north of Beirut; British MNF patrol fired on in Beirut; US jets buzz Beirut; Baddawi camp comes under rocket and artillery fire as heavy fighting continues, Arafat forces establish positions in Tripoli, shells land in city; head of IDF-backed militia in Nabatiyeh assassinated, fifth attack on militia leaders in two months.

Casualties:

1 civilian killed, unspecified number wounded in shelling in and around Beirut; 1 Marine, 1 LAF soldier wounded; Beirut airport closed to incoming flights; police estimate at least 200 killed, 300 wounded in past 4 days of fighting around Tripoli; oil storage tanks hit again by rocket fire, severe fuel shortage in Beirut, Tripoli; IDF permits limited pedestrian and vehicle traffic across Awali bridges, tension high as thousands of stranded persons wait to cross.

Political Responses:

Israeli/ Occupied Territories: Cabinet approves $2 b. budget cut, new austerity measures, including higher costs for education, health care, economists predict recession, rise in unemployment from current 4%o to 7%o; rallies, strikes, and official expressions of support for Arafat in East Jerusalem, West Bank towns and refugee camps, 1 boy wounded by IDF fire at Dheisheh; IDF announces test mobilization of forces, says it is routine and not meant as threat to Syria.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Resumption of Geneva talks among factional leaders postponed until at least November 20.

Arab Governments: Saudi envoy travels to Damascus to intervene with Assad over Tripoli fighting; Jordan declares support for Arafat; Syrian army, including reservists, mobilized.

Military Action:

LAF repels attack on Souq al-Gharb after hand-to-hand battle; Western military spokesman claims Syrians, Palestinians, and some Iranians are principal component of 2000-man force attacking Souq al-Gharb; PSP forces capture Bkeshtine, reportedly reach point on Mediterranean coast south of Damour; in past week, PSP forces have occupied 39 Christian villages in Chouf, while LF has occupied 3 Druze villages; shells fall near Marine, LAF positions at airport; British, US jets fly reconnaissance missions; IDF vehicle attacked with grenades, small arms fire near Lebanon-Israel border; IDF patrols coastal highway 6 miles north of Awali line.

Casualties:

LAF statistics for Souq al-Gharb fighting are 13 killed, 20 wounded, 20 missing; further reports of massacre of 60-75 Christians in al-Bireh denied by PSP spokesman; 3 'DF soldiers wounded in attack near border.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Arens says IDF will move across Awali line to hit Palestinian targets but will not return to Chouf or intervene in fighting there; Arens says Israel intends eventually to annex West Bank.

Military Action:

IDF attacked in Sidon and Bekaa, no reported casualties; Israeli intelligence attributes US embassy bomb to fundamentalist Shiite organization closely connected to Iran and Syria.

Casualties:

Lebanese lawyer shot and killed by French member of MNF when he fails to stop at roadblock.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Cabinet debates withdrawal of IDF to Awali river, no decision reportedly reached; at Cabinet meeting, Sharon attacks government's failure to launch reprisals against PLO for attacks on IDF; 3 molotov cocktails thrown at IDF vehicle in Beit Jala, 2 at Jalazon camp, no injuries reported.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: PLO military documents seized by IDF in Sidon during war in Lebanon, edited by Hebrew University faculty member, are published in London under title PLO in Lebanon-Selected Documents; Lebanese merchants informed by government they have until May 7 to cut commercial ties with Israel.

US and Other Countries: Shultz starts Middle East tour, says his objectives are finding secure arrangements for Israel, removing foreign troops from Lebanon, and finding some manner of recognizing the legitimate needs and aspirations of the Palestinian people; British Minister of State for Foreign Affairs says US should exert more pressure on Israel to withdraw from Lebanon and freeze West Bank settlements.