The Palestine Chronology

Israeli-Palestinian clashes continue, killing at least 1 Palestinian. A 2d Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier. In Hebron, IDF troops push, kick, detain Palestinians accompanying UN special envoy Terje Larsen on a tour of the Palestinian section of the city. Larsen says he will report the incident to UN Secy.-Gen. Kofi Annan. The IDF continues to bulldoze lands, structures nr. Netzarim Junction, Dugit settlement. (LAW, WT 12/8; PCHR 12/18)

The PA State Security Court sentences to death Alam Bani Odeh, nephew of assassinated Hamas official Ibrahim Bani Odeh, for treason and espionage. Alam, who was arrested on 11/28, reportedly confessed to having been recruited by Shin Bet 9 mos. ago to monitor his uncle. (LAW 12/11) (see 11/23)

Israeli-Palestinian clashes continue for the 13th straight day, leaving 3 Palestinians dead, 185 injured. The most severe exchanges are outside Nablus, where a mosque is torched, allegedly by Jewish settlers, and Palestinians throw stones a funeral procession for a Jewish settler. IDF troops and helicopters escorting the funeral procession respond with gunfire, call in extra attack helicopters, tanks. The riot degenerates into a gunfight btwn. the PA police and IDF and armed Jewish settlers. The IDF also deploys attack helicopters against Palestinian gunmen nr. Bethlehem. In Hebron, 1 IDF soldier is shot, seriously wounded. Israeli border police prevent an ambulance fr. taking 4 seriously wounded Palestinians into Jordan for treatment. (ADM, LAW, REU 10/11; CSM, MM, NYT, WP, WT 10/12; JT 10/12 in WNC 10/16; JT 11/9 in WNC 11/13)

International mediation efforts continue. UN Sec.-Gen. Annan extends his stay in Israel to meet again with Arafat, Barak. British FM Robin Cook, Russian FM Ivanov, the EU's Solana, Norwegian FM Thorbjoern Jagland also meet with Barak, Arafat. Solana then holds talks with Mubarak in Cairo, King Abdallah in Amman. Russian FM Ivanov goes to Damascus to meet with Syrian pres. Asad, FM Shara`. Mubarak phones Arafat, King Abdallah; receives calls fr. Annan, Turkish pres. Ahmet Necdet Sezer. (Interfax, ITAR-TASS, LPA, MENA 10/11 in WNC 10/12; MENA 10/11, ATL, LPA, al-Safir 10/12 in WNC 10/13; WP, WT 10/12)

Barak, Dep. DM Sneh present the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Comm. with a detailed "disengagement plan" to be implemented if Israel determines that the peace process has totally collapsed. (MM, YA 10/12)

In Ramallah, 1,000s of Palestinians take part in a candle-light vigil calling for a halt to the violence. In the U.S., rallies in solidarity with the Palestinians are held in Kalamazoo, New York. (ADM, LAW, REU 10/11)

International mediation efforts continue, with UN Secy.-Gen. Annan, Russian FM Ivanov, EU foreign policy dir. Javier Solana each meeting separately with Arafat, Barak. Egypt's Musa flies to Damascus to confer with Syrian pres. Asad, who phones Arafat to express Syrian support. Mubarak also phones Arafat and rejects Clinton's proposal (10/8) for a summit in Egypt, saying Israel must 1st agree to pull its troops back fr. PA areas, stop threatening Lebanon and Syria (see 10/8), bar official Israeli visits to the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, agree to an international inquiry. (ATL, Interfax, ITAR-TASS, MENA, XIN 10/10 in WNC 10/12; CSM, MM, NYT, WP 10/11; Milliyet 10/11, al-Quds 10/12 in WNC 10/13; CSM, WJW 10/12)

Meanwhile, Israeli-Palestinian clashes abate somewhat. Inside Israel, Israeli Jews stab to death 2 Israeli Arabs nr. Tel Aviv, set fire to 3 Arab apartment buildings in Jaffa, and set fire to 3 Palestinian homes and a Jewish-owed restaurant that employed Palestinians in Tel Aviv. Clashes btwn. Israeli Jews and Arabs are also reported in Haifa, Tiberias, and Acre, where Israeli police intervene, firing tear gas and live ammunition, wounding 1 Israeli Arab. (Israeli police say they have arrested some 400 Israeli Arabs, 200 Israeli Jews since clashes began.) Jews fr. West Jerusalem damage Palestinian property in East Jerusalem. In Gaza, the IDF demolishes another apartment building in Netzarim Junction, which was evacuated earlier because it had been hit by IDF shells. Jewish settlers reportedly attack Palestinians in Hebron, Khan Yunis, Rafah and outside Jinin, Nablus, Ramallah; some incidents involve settlers firing automatic weapons. In Rafah, a 12-yr.-old Palestinian is shot dead by the IDF. Nr. Ramallah, IDF soldiers wound a Palestinian ambulance driver with live ammunition. (ADM, BBC, MM 10/10; ADM, MM, NYT, WP 10/11; AFP 10/10, MA 10/11, Le Monde 10/12 in WNC 10/12; MM, WJW, WP 10/12; MEI 10/13; WP 11/30)

Protests in solidarity with the Palestinians are held in Brussels, Cairo, Madrid. In the U.S., rallies are held in Ann Arbor, New Haven. (RL 10/10 in WNC 10/12; WT 10/11)

Citing "compelling national security interests," the State Dept. restores Amb. to Israel Indyk's security clearance. (NYT, WT 10/11; WJW 10/12) (see 10/4)

PA negotiators say 3-way summit btwn. Egypt, Israel, PA to clinch a deal on Hebron may occur 12/7, though no date has been set. Arafat, Netanyahu say they are willing to meet. (WT 12/7; JP 12/14)

In Damascus, EU special envoy Miguel Angel Moratinos delivers Pres. Asad a message fr. PM Netanyahu, saying that Israel is interested in resuming negotiations, easing tensions. (MM 12/6; SATN 12/6 in WNC 12/10; MEI 1/24)

In Karak, Jordanian PM Kabariti issues an unprecedented public apology to Iraq for accusing Iraq of instigating the 8/16-18 bread riots. (MEI 12/20)

4 Africans are officially nominated to succeed UN Secy. Gen. Butros-Ghali: Mauritania's Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, Niger's Hamid Algabid, Ghana's Kofi Annan, Ivory Coast's Amara Essy. (NYT, WT 12/7)

IDF lifts ban prohibiting Israelis fr. entering the PA self-rule area of Bethlehem. The ban has been in place since the 9/24-28 clashes. (JP 12/14)

PA military court sentences Palestinian guard Assam Jalaita, who shot to death prisoner Fityani 12/3, to life in prison with hard labor. (NYT 12/7; JP 12/14)

U.S. Court of Appeals rules (8-2) that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) misapplied the federal campaign finance law in a 1992 decision that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) did not fall under the FEC's jurisdiction, suggesting that AIPAC should register as a political action comm. (PAC) rather than a lobby. The FEC has 90 days to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, find another reason why AIPAC should not be registered as a PAC, or declare AIPAC a PAC. (WJW 12/12, 12/19)