The Palestine Chronology

PM Rabin moves Ed. Min. Shulamit Aloni to sci. and tech. and communications portfolios, appoints Amnon Rubinstein (Meretz) ed. min. (NYT 6/1)

IDF damage 5 houses before rooting out, arresting 1 and killing 2 wanted Palestinians in Gaza Strip. (WP 5/31, MM 6/1)

Settlers shoot, wound 2 Palestinian women and a 3-year-old boy, clash with IDF near Hebron. (Qol Yisra'el 5/31 in FBIS 6/1; NYT 6/1)

Fateh supporters win 16 seats, Hamas backers 10 in UNRWA workers' union council election in Gaza Strip. (Reuter 6/1 in MM 6/1)

Syrian FM Faruq al-Shara' meets with Iranian 1st Dep. FM 'Ali Muhammad Besharati in Damascus (see 5/26). (SARR 5/30 in FBIS 6/1)

Palestinian delegation presents Israel with 10-point draft joint statement of principles on self-rule. (MM 5/12)

Lebanese delegation presents 1st official peace talks document to Israel rejecting Israel's 5/4 proposal for joint military working group, demanding timetable for withdrawal before consideration of peace treaty. (Davar 5/12 in FBIS 5/12)

Israeli Int. Min. Aryeh Deri (SHAS) withdraws his letter of resignation just before it would have gone into effect, giving PM Rabin 1 week to replace Ed. Min. Shulamit Aloni (Meretz) with a Laborite. The two mins. relinquish duties of their posts to Rabin for 1 week. (Qol Yisra'el 5/11 in FBIS 5/12; MM, NYT 5/12)

Hamas supporters prevent voting in Hebron U. campus elections. Minor scuffles end when trustees agree to hear grievances about Fateh's tactics in getting out the vote. Fateh supporters win by default in first victory at this Islamist stronghold. (MM, WP 5/12)

Israeli Int. Min. Aryeh Deri (SHAS) resigns from governing coalition, imperiling the ruling majority. Meretz mins. reject PM Rabin's proposal to change Ed. Min. Shulamit Aloni's portfolio. (NYT, WT 5/10; Qol Yisra'el 5/9 in FBIS 5/10)

Dep. Def. Min. Mordechai Gur says govt. has no plans to disarm settlers, although some weapons have been confiscated recently. Settlers are training the "Judea Police" to counter any Palestinian police force; Shin Bet is moving to contain development of radical paramilitary Jewish underground. (ITV 5/7, Qol Yisra'el 5/9 in FBIS 5/10)

Israeli cabinet approves 38,000 permits for o.t. workers. (MM 5/10)