The Palestine Chronology

Iraq says it will abide by UN resolution calling for Iraq's withdrawal from Kuwait but only if allies meet conditions including: withdraw of allied forces, withdrawal of Israel from o.t., payment of war reparations to Iraq, and removal of Sabah family from power in Kuwait. In Baghdad, civilians celebrate what they believe is end of war; Pres. Bush rejects offer as "a cruel hoax" [BADS 2/15 in FBIS 2/15; MEM 2/15; LAT, NYT, WP 2/16].

About 30,000 Algerians hold pro-Iraq march in Algiers; demonstrators attack UN office and offices of Italy's and Egypt's airlines [LAT 2/16; MEM 2/18].

Pres. Gorbachev sends letter to Pres. Bush, Pres. Mitterrand, P.M. Major, asking allies to hold off on ground offensive until talks scheduled early next week in Moscow with F.M. Aziz are completed [NYT, WT, WP 2/16].

In unusually blunt statement, White House criticizes Israeli ambassador Zalman Shoval for making public comments about U.S. economic aid to Israel. Shoval complained on 2/14 that U.S. had not moved forward on $400 million in loan guarantees and that Israel "had not received one cent in aid" from allies to compensate for missile damage." U.S. says comments are "outrageous and outside the bounds of acceptable behavior" [NYT, WP 2/16]. Fateh troops loyal to Yasir Arafat split into 2 rival camps in S. Lebanon and fight fierce battle leaving as many as 28 dead, and 42 injured [LAT, NYT, WP 2/16; MEM 2/18].

UN Sec.-Gen. Perez de Cuellar condemns allied bombing raids on highway from Baghdad to Jordanian border; calls Jordan "an innocent victim" of war [LAT 2/5].

In 1st policy address to Knesset on Gulf war, P.M. Shamir vows that Israel will never take part in an international conference on the Middle East, and denounces PLO as "the biggest supporters of the murderer from Baghdad" [IDF 2/4 in FBIS 2/5; NYT, LAT, WP, MEM, WT 2/5].

EC sends experts to Gulf to help contain oil slick; France's new D.M. Pierre Joxe flies to Saudi Arabia; Soviet Communist party calls on Pres. Gorbachev to launch fresh diplomatic initiative to end war [LAT 2/5].

Pres. Rafsanjani of Iran offers to mediate Gulf war; Iraq has no comment, U.S. response is cool [MEM 2/4; NYT, WP 2/5].

PLO says that it will stop its rocket attacks against Israeli troops in S. Lebanon "security zone," and will use other means to assist Iraq in Gulf war [RFL 2/4, BVL 2/5 in FBIS 2/5; NYT, WP 2/5]