The Palestine Chronology

Military Action:

Baddawi and Nahr al-Bared refugee camps hit by intense tank and artillery barrages from anti-Arafat forces, Arafat says Syrian and Libyan units participate; oil storage tanks at Tripoli port hit by artillery; IDF patrol hit by explosion near Zahrani river.

Casualties:

50-100 killed, 100-200 wounded in fighting around Tripoli; 3 IDF soldiers wounded near Zahrani.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Deposed mayors Khalaf and Shaka'a placed under house arrest to prevent official meeting with British Foreign Office minister, Shakaa also refused permission to travel to US.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Geneva conference participants agree to put aside issue of May 17 agreement, permit Gemayel time to explore means to end Israeli occupation and ensure national sovereignty; Arafat appeals to Arab and Non-aligned heads of state for support. US and Other Countries: Donald Rumsfeld, Defense Secretary in Ford administration, succeeds McFarlane as Special Envoy to Middle East.

Military Action:

Druze forces attack Beirut airport, Lebanese Army positions, with rockets and artillery; remote-controlled bomb explodes near IDF patrol in Aley.

Casualties:

22 killed, 65 wounded, including 3 US military personnel, in Beirut shelling; cumulative statistics on Chouf fighting in past year show more than 420 killed, 600 wounded, 700 kidnapped or detained; 11 IDF soldiers wounded in Aley explosion.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: 2 IDF reservists court martialled for refusing to serve in Lebanon, total now 72.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: PLO Executive Committee begins 2 days of meetings in Tunis.

US and Other Countries: Reagan meets Gemayel, says US is committed to full withdrawal of all foreign forces; Deputy National Security Affairs Adviser Robert McFarlane replaces Habib as special envoy to Middle East, Draper also replaced

Military Action:

IDF hands over checkpoint at Monteverde, east of Beirut, to Lebanese Army; anti-aircraft missile fired at IDF transport plane preparing for takeoff near Damour.

Casualties:

IDF disperses women demonstrating near Sidon for release of detainees at Ansar.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Soldiers and police fire bullets, tear gas, to break up demonstration near Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, 40 arrested; Arens says cycle of violence on West Bank is initiated generally by some elements of the Arab population, refuses requests from 40 leading West Bank and Gaza Palestinians for permission to travel to Tunis to convey support for Arafat; Shlomo Argov, Israeli ambassador to UK whose attempted assassination in 1982 was pretext for invasion, says the war was unjustified.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Fateh rebels refuse Arafat's offer to withdraw PLO loyalist forces from Beqaa to Tripoli; Arafat says crisis in PLO serves Israel, has reduced attacks against IDF from one or two a day to 2 or 3 in past 15 days.

US and Other Countries: Shultz reports to Reagan on Middle East tour.

Military Action:

Syrian forces fire on IDF tractor and APC in Bekaa Valley.

Casualties:

Suspect in assassination of Bashir Gemayel handed over to Lebanese judicial authorities by Phalange militiamen holding him since September; IDF separates Lebanese and Palestinian detainees at Ansar detention camp.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Government reportedly plans to move thousands of residents out of West Bank refugee camps, will offer them grants to build homes on land placed at their disposal by government, seeks financial support for plan from other governments and from international Zionist organizations; 2 women in Galilee village of Arraba arrested on security charges; British Ambassador in Israel summoned to Foreign Ministry for severe condemnation of recent British statements on Middle East and meeting between Foreign Office Minister and PLO official in Tunis; 350 dunums of land seized at Umar, West Bank village near Gush Emunim settlement of Migdal Oz; West Bank Union of Chambers of Commerce defies High Court decision, will not collect value added tax.

US and Other Countries: After 4-hour meeting with Mubarak, Shultz says US and Egypt hold identical views on withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon; State Dept. official says Israel and Lebanon have agreed on 95% of a withdrawal plan, Haddad's role is main obstacle; 3,000 attend memorial service in Washington for Americans killed in Beirut Embassy, at least 7 CIA employees reportedly among those killed in the explosion.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: In special Knesset session, Defense Minister Arens says Upper Nablus settlement is of supreme strategic importance for defense, where Jews and Arabs live side by side in Israel they cooperate peacefully and progress together; Druze spiritual leader cancels annual Nabi Shueib celebration to protest tight security checks imposed on Lebanese Druze seeking to enter Israel to participate; Israel Broadcasting Authority empowers director-general to decide whether interviews with West Bank and Gaza personalities are anti-Israel propaganda; US Center for Disease Control doctors report illness in West Bank was induced by anxiety and spread by psychogenic factors, no evidence of poison, no evidence of fabricated symptoms, first cases may have been caused by low concentrations of hydrogen sulfide gas found in latrine in Arraba; teacher at al-Najah University released after 13 days detention on charges of incitement.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Fateh Central Committee meets in Tunis; tripartite talks suspended for duration of Shultz visit.

US and Other Countries: Secretary Shultz arrives in Cairo, meets Habib and US ambassadors to 9 Middle East countries.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Heads of northern settlements meet in Kiryat Shemona, call on government not to abandon Haddad in negotiations over Lebanon withdrawal.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: PLO Executive Committee meetings end, leave door open for further PLO-Jordanian talks, Arafat travels to Morocco to meet with King Hassan; President Gemayel says he will not sign any agreement allowing Israeli forces to remain in Lebanon.

Arab Governments: Jordan promises military hardware and training to Lebanese Army.

US and Other Countries: Reagan announces Secretary of State Shultz will travel to Middle East to conclude an agreement on withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon; Reagan says PLO has 50 pilots helping Nicaragua and Salvadoran Left; Secretary Shultz says Reagan told King Hussein if he said he was ready to enter negotiations, Reagan would not press him to do so until the US could find some form of settlement freeze; British Foreign Minister meets PLO political department head Farouk Kaddoumi in Tunis, first contact at this level between Britain and PLO.

Military Action:

IDF reportedly constructing series of large and sophisticated military bases across South and central Lebanon, including airstrip at Damour, barracks and transport facilities at Sidon, fortified posts in Arkoub and Bekaa Valleys, logistics HQ near Marjayoun; Syrian forces and IDF exchange artillery fire in Bekaa; Haddad says he must formally be made military governor of South Lebanon.

Casualties:

9 suspects indicted for grenade attack that wounded 5 US Marines on March 16.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: IDF seals 4 Dahariya homes of Palestinians who reportedly admitted to attacks in Hebron area, including stone-throwing that killed Israeli woman in January; IDF orders West Bank schools to remain closed until April 19, Jenin schools closed indefinitely; Umm Safa and Gibya residents report thousands of dunams seized for nearby Ateret settlement; molotov cocktail thrown at border police patrol in Bethlehem; Jerusalem Mayor Kollek warns civic and religious leaders of Shufat and Beit Hanina if they don't stop stone-throwing along road to Neve Ya'acov settlement then police and army will; Peace Now begins protests near site of proposed Upper Nablus settlement; court orders Ministry of Defense to pay compensation of IS2m. to family of Palestinian woman shot by Israeli soldier in April 1982, soldier given 5 months suspended sentence; Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs spokesman offers 3,939 apartments and building plots in West Bank and Gaza, announces campaign to expand 68 settlements, increase Jewish population in occupied territories 30-50,000 in next 18 months; Chief of Staff Eitan, in farewell statement to Cabinet, says there should be 10 new Jewish settlements for each stone-throwing incident, when Israelis have settled the land all the Arabs will be able to do about it is scurry around like drugged roaches in a bottle; 2 Likud MKs recommend that soldiers be instructed to aim higher if shooting at demonstrators' legs doesn't stop stone-throwing; Israeli Electric Corporation completes 4-year project to supply electricity to West Bank settlements and villages at cost of IS360m.; Association for Civil Rights says ban on section of '83 film is attack on freedom of expression, asks for its revocation.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: PLO stresses importance of continuing relations and dialogue with Jordan; Habib participates for first time in troop withdrawal negotiations at Netanya.

Arab Governments: Mubarak says it is imperative PLO join Jordan to facilitate negotiations; Moroccan sources say proposed Arab summit later this week likely to be postponed; Jordan reportedly considering reducing ties to West Bank; King Hussein meets British Foreign Secretary; Syria says Hussein's refusal to enter talks shows US does not hold key to Middle East peace.

US and Other Countries: Shultz says there is no alternative to the Reagan plan, suggests PLO should lose its 1974 Arab League mandate as sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people if this authority is not exercised constructively; House Foreign Affairs subcommittee links sale of advanced US weapons to Jordan to commitment to recognize Israel and enter into direct negotiations with it, increases Reagan's requests for economic aid to Israel from $785m. to $850m., all grants, increases grant portion of military aid from $550m. to $850m. out of $1.7b. total, and approves same amount for FY 1985 in largest single legislative package of aid for Israel ever approved; CIA director Casey reportedly travelled secretly to Israel last week to convince Israelis that Lebanese Army can control South Lebanon.

Military Action:

Abu Jihad, in interview, says PLO guerrillas ordered to step up attacks on IDF in Lebanon.

Casualties:

Detainees at Ansar camp carry out pro-PLO demonstration for 6 hours when IDF unit enters camp for inspection; Lebanese Army destroys Palestinian houses in Burj al-Barajneh.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: 29 Jews placed under house arrest, fined IS5,000 in connection with Temple Mount incident; Cabinet agrees to share military intelligence from Lebanon war with US; 2 Bedouin arrested for breaking windows of tractors at planned Nevatim air force base near Tel Malhata, for which 700 families are being evacuated; Supreme Muslim Council calls for educational and commercial strike to protest March 1 1 Temple Mount incident; shops forced open by border police in Nablus; curfews in Halhoul and 4 refugee camps approach end of second continuous week; stone-throwing in Jerusalem, Hebron and 6 other West Bank towns; 32 school-children in Araba suffer unexplained illness; government announces plans to establish 15 military settlements, convert to civilian settlements 8 existing military posts in West Bank; Labor MK calls new settlement plans a tombstone for Middle East peace; 260 West Bank residents convicted of stone-throwing since January 1; Kiryat Arba resident detained on charge of firing shots at Hebron house on February 26, wounding 5 year-old girl.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Lebanese-Israeli-US talks resume in Netanya.

US and Other Countries: US officials welcome Israeli decision to share military data from Lebanon war, will send 4-man US Air Force team to Israel next month to begin evaluation.

Military Action:

Grenade thrown at US Marine patrol in Beirut; IDF fires on women and youths demonstrating in Sidon against detention of 5,500 Palestinians and Lebanese at Ansar camp.

Casualties:

5 Marines injured; 2 IDF officers killed when vehicle hits mine east of Beirut, bringing total Israelis killed in Lebanon since June 6 to 461; 4 women injured, 4 detained on charges of inciting to riot during Sidon protest; IDF reserve officer detained by Lebanese Army in Beirut, released after IDF liaison office intervenes.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Deputy Speaker of Knesset tells Foreign Affairs committee Israel had the means in 1967 to make sure that 2-300,000 Palestinians would move to Jordan as was done in 1948, but made a calamitous mistake; two reserve paratroopers jailed for 35 days for conscientious objection to service in Lebanon, brings total soldiers jailed since September to 29; 5 youths arrested by Galilee police on suspicion of raising Palestinian flag and blocking road to new settlement of Harrarit.

Arab Governments: Jordanian information minister says time is not ripe forJordan to join Middle East peace negotiations; Egyptian-Israeli trade talks adjourn after third round.

US and Other Countries: Reagan meets Foreign Minister Salem and special envoy Saeb Salam, says he is determined to end foreign military presence in Lebanon; Soviet Ambassador to Lebanon says Soviet Union would intervene if war occurs between Israel and Syria.

Military Action:

2 Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanon land near kibbutz Zarit in northern Israel; IDF receives order from Sharon not to cross Marine lines, even in pursuit of Palestinian guerrillas.

Casualties:

Lebanese security forces chief Hisham Shaar says 4 killed in 10 days by IDF reconnaisance by fire.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Shamir reiterates Israeli rejection of Reagan plan, says only Camp David accords are acceptable; panic selling on Tel Aviv stock market with 40% fall in one week, paper loss of $500 million, following Government announcement of new regulation on mutual trust funds; head of Najah Univ. Student Council says he and other detained student leaders were subject to daily interrogations and beatings during 2 weeks of detention; Mayor Freij, in Cairo, meets with Foreign Minister Kamal Hassan Ali, urges PLO to negotiate with Israel on basis of Reagan plan.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: President Gemayel and representatives of MNF countries discuss ways to stop Israeli provocations against Marines.

US and Other Countries: US officials say Begin's visit to US delayed until agreement on troop withdrawal from Lebanon.

UN: Secretary General Perez de Cuellar, at press conference, says Middle East conflict can be settled through compromise formula of Reagan, Fez and Franco-Egyptian plans, that UN could provide framework for negotiations once a plan is agreed on.

Military Action:

Druze and Phalange militia exchange fire in Chouf; US Marines on full alert and deploy in firing positions as IDF patrol confronts Marines at checkpoint near Lebanese University; IDF armored car backs into barbed wire fence at another Marine checkpoint; US Embassy expresses concern over incidents to Israeli Government.

Political Responses:

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Following week of meetings in Tripoli, Libya, PFLP, DFLP, PFLP-GC, Saiqa and PSF statement rejecting Fez and Reagan plans and any form of recognition or negotiation with the expansionist Zionist entity, adherence to armed struggle to liberate Palestine and all the occupied Arab territories; Lebanese- Israeli-US negotiators, meeting for 51?2 hours at Khalde, discuss ending state of war and security zone, make enough progress to turn issues over to subcommittee of Antoine Fattal, Eli Rubenstein, Christopher Ross, and form another subcommittee to deal with timetable for withdrawal of troops.

Arab Governments: Egyptian President Mubarak says Arabs must act on Reagan plan by end of year, PLO Chairman should recognize Israel, unilaterally if necessary; Syrian Foreign Minister Khaddam tours Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and Qatar; King Hussein returns to Jordan from talks with King Fahd in Saudi Arabia.

US and Other Countries: Habib and Draper will divide responsibilities to accelerate the peace process; State Department refuses to qualify last week's statement suggesting possibility of shortening the autonomy period; US says USSR has sent 90 aircraft, mostly MiG-21s, and 12 SA-5 missiles to Syria, which would be particularly effective against E2-C Hawkeye surveillance aircraft used by Israel in Lebanon war; 2 US soldiers in multinational force in Sinai wounded in mine explosion near Ofira; former Presidents Carter and Ford, in joint article, say that Israeli occupation of West Bank and Gaza is a major obstacle to any moderate Arab initiative for peace in the Middle East, and urge King Hussein to join autonomy talks; West German Foreign Minister Genscher attacks Israeli settlement policy, does not recognize the PLO or support an independent Palestinian state, but supports the June 1980 Venice Declaration that the PLO be involved in the peace process.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Prime Minister's office reacts angrily to reports that US may postpone Begin's visit if no progress is made in Lebanon peace talks; Eitan is criticized by Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for comments on Lebanon yesterday; former military intelligence chief Shlomo Gazit, now President of Ben Gurion University in Beersheba, says Arafat's success is the large number of men Israel keeps mobilized to prevent terrorism, that security forces should not be kept on alert in the West Bank; El Al airlines resumes operations after 4 month strike over issue of flights on Sabbath and Jewish holidays; Minister for Science and Development Yuval Ne'eman, acting chair of Cabinet settlement committee, issues communique that settlements in West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights will continue despite US criticism; Israeli military experts reported organizing Zairian army; military roadblock around Najah University effectively implementing Order 854 which requires students from other districts to have special permit to attend university; Civil Administration says it is not involved in land dispute over Hebron municipality electricity pylons torn down by Kiryat Arba residents, that IDF is responsible; military authorities declare Hebron closed military area to prevent 50 Peace Now members from assisting Hebron residents re-erect and guard electricity pylons.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: PLO Chairman Arafat meets with CPSU Secretary-General Yuri V. Andropov and Foreign Minister Andrei A. Gromyko, Arafat and Andropov declare that US shares full responsibility for Israel's criminally aggressvie actions because it gives Israel all the assistance it needs; Lebanese Government states preference for expanded role for UNIFIL throughout Lebanon after withdrawal of Israeli, Syrian and Palestinian forces; Dany Chamoun visits Saad Haddad in Marjayoun and Christian notables in Klea.

Arab Govemnments: King Fahd confers in Riyadh with Walid Jumblatt; Morocco retracts announcement on Arab League delegation, saying no decision will be made until Arab foreign ministers meet in Marrakesh; President Assad tells visiting Arab news agencies' directors that Syria rejects current Middle East peace plans, but would attend an Arab summit to map out collective action.

US and Other Countries: 500 at United Jewish Appeal luncheon addressed by Israeli President Navon, who says both Labor and Likud parties agree that a return to 1967 borders is not acceptable, PLO is a terrorist organization, a West Bank Palestinian state would be a security threat to Israel and base for Soviet intervention in the region, that Jerusalem is the undivided capital of Israel, but he says that Israel would take into consideration any change in the PLO covenant; Italian General Confederation of Labor meets with leaders of Rome's Jewish community to formulate plans to combat anti-Semitism.

Military Action:

Artillery duels between Druze and Phalange militia near Baabda.

Casualties:

5 killed, 9 wounded in Druze-Phalange fighting.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Chief of Staff Rafael Eitan says Israel may face 100 years of terrorism, that in practice the war in Lebanon has not ended, and one cannot solve all the problems of terrorism in one war, that if the IDF remains in Lebanon for long it may have to mount an intensive campaign to root out terrorist cells as was done in the Gaza Strip after the 1967 war; Defense Minister Sharon flatly rejects any PLO participation in future peace talks with Jordan, and dismisses Iraq's declaration of recognition of Israel's security needs as merely effort to get US arms for war against Iran; Israeli Foreign Minister legal adviser Elyakim Rubenstein says the recall of Egypt's Ambassador to Israel is a violation of the Camp David accords; Avid Kedar, head of Foreign Ministry's Egypt Department, says contacts between Israel and Egypt frozen since Peace for Galilee Campaign; Sgan Nitzav Albert Hayut, new director of Beersheba prison announces 500 security prisoners to be moved to new maximum security prison, equipped with latest electronic monitors, near Nablus; attorney Nissim Shakar of the Committee for Jaffa's Arabs says they will appeal proposed law that non-Jews must close shops on Yom Kippur as well as own religious holidays, and not transport goods on Saturday and Jewish holidays; Israeli officials announce requests by Palestinians to visit relatives in Lebanon decline due to security situation, 5 Israeli Palestinians disappeared recently in Lebanon; bomb near Zedekiah's Cave outside Jerusalem's Damascus Gate critically wounds a Palestinian worker; military authorities surround Najah University, effectively closing the campus, prevent Israeli Association for Civil Rights representative from entering, detain 9 student council members; in Nablus students stone troops who use tear gas and close off market area; rock throwing incidents in Ramallah, al-Bireh aid Dheisheh camp, now defined as District of Binyamin, also in jenin where placards and leaflets are found attributed to National Liberation Movement denouncing as treasonous Arafat's and Hussein's attempt to reach accommodation with Israel.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: PLO Chairman Arafat goes to Moscow; 5 Palestinian leaders and Lebanese Communist Party meet in Tripoli.

Arab Governments: King Hussein tells local leaders that he has a letter from Reagan commiting the US to pressure Israel to restore Arab rights in the occupied territories, and that time is running out for achieving a unified Arab approach by March; Moroccan Foreign Ministry announces agreement with Britain on Arab League delegation to include non-PLO Palestinian; Egyptian Socialist Labor Party poll of 1,486 persons shows 82% want Israeli ambassador expelled, 76To want to sever relations with Israel.

US and Other Countries: State Department says Israeli settlement promotion campaign is unfortunate and counterproductive; Administration officials say US is counting on King Hussein to declare his readiness to join talks on basis of Reagan plan if the PLO and Saudi Arabia support it, if progress is made on troop withdrawals from Lebanon, and if Israel temporarily halts settlement activity; Secretary of State Shultz meets for 2 hours with 14 members of Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and leading Jewish Republicans, tells them of growing fears that Israel and Syria have tacit agreement to keep status quo in Lebanon, they tell him they want US to support Israel's demand for normalization of relations with Lebanon; delegation of Conservative MPs from Britain meet with Begin, give him message of support from Prime Minister Thatcher; European Parliament calls for establishment of a Palestinian state as a factor in a Middle East settlement, direct PLO-Israel dialogue, immediate halt to settlements in the West Bank, Israeli withdrawal from occupied territory, recognition of PLO as representative of Palestinian people if it drops from its charter all paragraphs calling for Israel's destruction, and sovereignty of all states in the region; Habib arrives in Israel.