The Palestine Chronology

Middle East peace conference opens in the royal palace in Madrid with delegations from Israel, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and the joint Palestinian-Jordanian delegation present. Conference begins with short speech by Spanish PM Felipe Gonzalez, followed by addresses by conference co-conveners Presidents Bush and Gorbachev, and Dutch FM Hans van den Broek, representating the European Community. Soviet FM Boris Pankin and Secy. of State Baker were also present at the negotiating table. Saudi ambassador to the U.S. Prince Bandar bin Sultan and 'Abdullah Bishara, secy. gen. of the Gulf Cooperation Council, also attend the conference, but are not seated at the table. Egyptian FM 'Amr Musa delivers the first address by one of the negotiating delegations. Secy. of State Baker confirms that it was not certain whether or not second phase bilateral talks between Israel and the Arab delegations would commence 11/2 as scheduled due to disagreement between Israel, Arab delegations over venue of such talks. Israel is pushing for holding the negotiations in the Middle East, while Arab delegations seek to continue to hold such talks in Madrid. (NYT 10/31)

Hamas calls for a general strike to protest the peace conference. But 2,000 Palestinian supporters of Fateh, some armed with clubs and knives and waving Palestinian flags, march in favor of the peace talks in Gaza as Israeli troops follow them but make no effort to disperse the gathering. The marchers clashed with supporters of Hamas, injuring four. Five thousand other PLO supporters march in Khan Yunis. Pro-peace conference activists in Qalqiliya, Jenin force shopkeepers to open their shops which had been closed following orders by Hamas to observe ageneral strike. Elsewhere, Israeli security forces kill one Palestinian in Hebron, wound at least 24 in Gaza and 11 in Nablus during clashes. (NYT, WP, MEM 10/31)

Iraqi National Assembly condemns peace conference, attacks Syria, Egypt for their participation. (MEM 10/31)

Some 10,000 Lebanese march in Beirut against peace conference. (WP 10/31)

Israeli, South Lebanon Army forces bombard villages near Nabatiyya, S. Lebanon, in retaliation for 10/29 attacks on Israeli troops. (NYT 10/31)

Faisal Husseini releases names of the fourteen Palestinians who will serve on the joint Palestinian-Jordanian negotiating delegation. Seven additional Palestinians will serve on a steering committee and not participate in the actual talks. Chmn. Arafat asserts that the Palestinian delegates will represent the PLO because "every Palestinian is a member of the PLO." (NYT 10/23)

U.S. State Department indicates Secy. Baker will appoint a special Middle East representative to facilitate the bilateral negotiations which will constitutehe second phase of negotiations. (NYT 10/23)

PFLP, DFLP, Hamas issue joint statement in o.t. urging escalation of intifada, call for general strike 10/23 in opposition to peace conference. Statement also rejects claim that a majority of Palestinians favor talks. Spokesmen for PFLP, DFLP denounce 10/21 threat against Palestinian delegates issued by PFLP-GC head Ahmad Jibril in Tehran. Fateh also issues leaflet in o.t. calling on Palestinians to ignore PFLP-DFLP-Hamas call for strike on 10/23. (MEM 10/22)

Saudi Arabia releases $3 million to PLO. The funds, deducted from salaries of Palestinians working in Saudi Arabia as a "liberation tax," had been frozen following the deterioration of PLO-Saudi relations during the Gulf crisis. Agreement was recently reached about resuming transfers of the funds [see 9/26]. Some of the funds also came from Saudi donations to the Palestinian cause. (MEM 10/24)

Tehran conference on Palestine ends, establishes permanent secretariat in Tehran. (MEM 10/23, IRNA 10/23 in FBIS 10/24)

Chmn. Arafat meets with Lebanese pres. Ilyas al-Hirawin Paris, their first meeting since al-Hirawi's election as president. Talks focus on peace conference, Lebanese-PLO relations. (MEM 10/23)

Al-Hirawi later tells press conference that "not one shot" will be fired at Israel from Lebanon once Israeli forces are withdrawn from S. Lebanon. (MEM 10/23)

Israeli police question Faisal Husseini, Hanan Ashrawi about alleged meeting with PLO officials in Algiers. Both stated they had not violated any laws, and asserted their right to refuse to answer further questions. Security forces do not confiscate their passports, but require each to post a bond of 5,000 shekels to ensure that they will report for questioning at any time in the future. U.S. state department had earlier requested that Israel not prosecute the two for fear it would complicate Secy. of State Baker's peace mission. (Qol Yisra'el 10/8 in FBIS 10/9; MEM, NYT 10/9; AFP 10/9 in FBIS 10/10)

PM Shamir claims U.S. promised that it would not issue invitations to peace conference without having first reached agreement with Israel. (MEM 10/9)

On the first anniversary ofthe violence at the Haram al-Sharif, tens of thousands of Palestinians who commute from o.t. to jobs in Israel observe a general strike called by the Unified National Command of the Uprising and refuse to travel to work. Israeli security forces maintained the ban on Palestinians from the o.t. entering Jerusalem which had been imposed 10/7 in order to forestall any violence. (AFP 10/8 in FBIS 10/9)

Israeli daily newspaper Yedi'ot Aharonot publishes report taken from the Russian weekly Rossiya, associated with reformist president of the Russian republic Boris Yeltsin, which claims that the Israeli New Communist List (Raqah) has been receiving a $600,000 per annum subsidy from the Soviet KGB. Rossiya obtained the figure from a 1987 document recently seized from the headquarters of the Soviet communist party in Moscow which listed the amount of money given by the KGB to communist parties around the world. (Yedi'ot Aharonot 10/8 in FBIS 10/9)

Islamic resistance in S. Lebanon claims it exploded aroadside bomb as an Israeli patrol passed on the Rummana-Safi road. Israeli artillery shells several villages, including Haris, Haddatha, suburbs of Nabatiyya. South Lebanon Army announces it will attack any person moving in or near villages of Ayta Zut and Haddatha, Shi'ite villages lying north of "security zone." (MEM 10/9)

In Jerusalem, Sec. Baker meets with P.M. Shamir, F.M. Levy, other Israeli officials. Israel says for 1st time that it is willing to enter into single regional peace meeting co-sponsored by Washington and Moscow, but no agreement on structure, agenda, timing, and who would represent Palestinians [MEM 4/9; NYT, WP, LAT, CSM 4/10; JDS, IDF 4/9 in FBIS 4/9; MET 4/23].

Sec. Baker also meets with delegation of 6 Palestinians from o.t., who present to Baker 6-point memorandum [IDF 4/9 in FBIS 4/9; MEM 4/9; FJ 4/15].

Unofficial estimates from UN High Commissioner for Refugees claim about 750,000 Iraqis have crossed into Iran and that about 280,000 have crossed illegally into Turkey, while roughly 300,000 still wait on Iraqi side of Turkish border; relief agencies say thousands will die unless massive aid reaches them soon [NYT 4/10].

Iraq rejects EC notion of setting up safe haven for refugees to be administered by UN; EC backs away from its own plan; Bush admin. also backs away from "enclave" idea [MEM 4/9; NYT, WP, LAT, MEM, CSM 4/10].

Prominent Palestinian in Kuwait, Dr. Salim Mukhtar, writer and dentist, is assassinated near Kuwaiti army roadblock; incident raises concerns in U.S. about continued reprisals and repression of Palestinians in Kuwait [NYT 4/10].

UN Sec. Council authorizes dispatch of 1,440-member observer team to oversee demilitarized zone between Iraq and Kuwait currently patrolled by U.S. forces [WP, LAT 4/10].

General strike is observed in o.t. to mark beginning of 41st month of intifada [HAA 4/10 in FBIS 4/11; FJ 4/15].

In Cairo, Arab League meeting opens with introductory speeches; all 21 nation-members attend; pro-Western nations, particularly Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, dismiss Iraq's justifications for occupying Kuwait and hint that they no longer regard PLO as sole representative of Palestinians [NYT, WP 3/31; MENA 3/20 in FBIS 4/1; CSM 4/1].

Palestinians in o.t. hold general strike to mark Land Day, but within Israel, Land Day strike is canceled for 1st time in years, underscoring political differences among Israel's 800,000 Arabs [NYT, WP 3/31; FJ 4/8; MET 4/9].

At news conference in Kuwait, GCC Sec.- Gen. announces member states have decided to cut financial aid to Jordan and PLO because of their Gulf war stands (cf. 4/1) [ADS 3/30 in FBIS 4/1; MET 4/9].

Palestinian military court in Sanaa sentences Hani Muhammad al-Hasan to death for the assassination of Abu Iyad on 16 January [MENA 3/30 in FBIS 4/2]. 

Returning from Middle East, and acknowledging deep mutual distrust between Israelis and Arabs, Sec. Baker says both sides must move simultaneously to adopt "confidence-building measures" because neither side can be expected to make the initial concession [LAT, WT 3/18; CSM 3/19].

Tel Aviv district court sentences cashiered soldier Ami Popper to 7 consecutive life sentences plus 20 years in prison for the shooting deaths of 7 Palestinians in Rishon le Zion last May [NYT, LAT, WP 3/18; JDS 3/17 in FBIS 3/19; MET 3/26; JPD 3/30].

Palestinian workers are allowed to return to Jerusalem for 1st time since recent stabbings; workers are also allowed back to Tel Aviv and Haifa for 1st time since 17 January [NYT, LAT, CSM 3/18; JDS 3/17 in FBIS 3/18; MET 3/26]; general strike is observed in o.t. to mark beginning of Gulf war [FJ 3/25].

U.S. and international human rights officials say bodies of 20 to 30 people have been found tortured or shot, and many more are presumedead in what appear to be reprisal killings by Kuwaiti military against suspected pro-Iraqi collaborators [LAT 3/18].

Moving to mollify vocal democracy movement, Kuwaiti gov't. announces it will hold elections for new parliament within 6 months to a year [WP, WT, CSM 3/18; MET 3/26].

Insurgents in Iraq report fierce fighting between rebels and Iraqi troops in many parts of the country [NYT, WT 3/18]; Baghdad's daily newspapers carry accounts of widespread death and destruction in southern Iraq and say rebellion there has been crushed [WP 3/18].

Speaking at AIPAC conference, Israeli Health Min. Ehud Olmert says Israel is willing to begin peace negotiations with all Arab states and to discuss future of o.t. and Golan, but only with Arab delegation that excludes PLO (cf. 3/18) [WP 3/18; JDS 3/17 in FBIS 3/18; CSM 3/19].

Senior U.S. admin. officials say military plans to use air strikes against any Iraqi military unit that uses poison gas or chemical weapons against rebels [NYT, WP 3/10].

Palestinians in o.t. mark 39 months of intifada with general strike; at least 55 Gazans are wounded in clashes with IDF; clashes are largest since before Gulf war [NYT, WP 3/10; JDS 3/9 in FBIS 3/11; FJ 3/18; MET 3/19].

On quick visit to Kuwait, Sec. Baker is told by gov't. officials that they intend to democratize their country in near future, but insist that until Saddam Hussein is removed from power, there will not be peace or stability in Gulf region [NYT, WP 3/10; MET 3/19].

In speech before joint session of Congress, Pres. Bush announces end of hostilities against Iraq and outlines 4 goals for U.S. policy in Middle East-Gulf security, regional arms control, economic development, and Arab-Israeli peace, specifically mentioning "land for peace" [NYT, WP, LAT, WT, MEM 3/7].

Saddam Hussein names his cousin to replace fired Interior Minister; dissolves Ministry of Local Gov'ts., and issues large pay raise to Republican Guard and army troops, as those forces continue to gain upper hand in 4-day-old popular insurrection [MEM 3/6; NYT, LAT, WP, WT 3/7; CSM 3/8; BADS 3/6 in FBIS 3/6; MET 3/19].

Japanese upper house of parliament gives final approval to $9 billion of assistance to multinational force [LAT, WP 3/7].

General strike called for by UNLU is observed in o.t.; clashes occur throughout o.t., including in Ramallah where 18-year-old Palestinian is shot dead by IDF troops [MEM 3/6; NYT 3/7; IDF 3/6 in FBIS 3/7; FJ 3/11; MET 3/19].

U.S. military concludes that Iraq's chemical weapons never entered combat theater, allied troops have been unable to find any nonconventional weapons [WP 3/7].