Thursday, April 17, 1986

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Over 700 Israeli border police and security forces gather in 4 Druze villages in the Golan Heights to prevent rallies and demonstrations the 40th anniversary of Syria's independence; busloads of sympathizers from the occupied territories areturned back at roadblocks [JP 4/18].

Other Countries: Ecuador, a member of OPEC, recently repaid a $5 million debt to Israel in oil despite an embargo by OPEC on sales to Israel, according to a report in Ha'Aretz [JC 4/17].

Military Action

Arab World: Bodies of 1 kidnaped American, Peter Kilburn, and 2 kidnaped Britons, Philip Padfield and John Leigh Douglas, are found near Beirut with note stating they were killed in retaliation for Britain's role in the U.S. bombing raids on Libya; note is signed by "Arab Fida'iyyin Cells" [NYT, WP, FT 4/18; LT. 4/19].