Friday, December 17, 1982

Military Action:

Grenades, machine-gun fire and heavy sniping in Tripoli street fighting; Phalange politician Jean Ghanem escapes ambush assassination attempt in Aley; car bomb explodes near Jounieh shopping mall.

Casualties:

18 killed, including 6 Syrian soldiers, in Tripoli; 1 wounded in Jounieh.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Sharon reveals "working paper" after secret negotiations with Lebanese officials that could lead to normal relations between Israel and Lebanon, but refuses to name Lebanese met with; Sharon angry over Reagan Administration refusal to meet with him during last week's visit to US, accuses US of delaying negotiations by linking them to Reagan peace proposals.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Arafat, in interview, says agreement with Jordan reached on "future confederation between independent Palestinian state and Jordan"; Lebanese officials "working paper" and discussions with Sharon; Gemayel, Wazzan and Salem meet Habib and Draper concerning possibility of partial withdrawal.

US and Other Countries: Shultz says troop withdrawals from Lebanon unlikely by end of year.