The Palestine Chronology

SOCIAL/POLITICAL:

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Arab local councils in the Triangle and Galilee strike for 2 hours to demonstrate their severe fiscal problems. Ramallah lawyer Shukri Aboudi fined IS50,000 and given 6-month jail term on charges of membership in illegal organization.

Arab World: Gemayel informs opponents he will annul May 17 agreement in exchange for their participation in reconciliation talks.

Other Countries: King Hussein flies to London for talks with PM Thatcher and FM Howe. Chairman Arafat nominated for post of rector of Glasgow University by students, election March 5.

MILITARY ACTION:

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Jewish settlers break into home of 84-year-old Tulkarm man; chop off his finger when he refuses to sign over property to Israeli buyers.

Arab World: Advancing Druze militia discover 117 Druze corpses in Kfar Matta, S. Lebanon, massacred by Christian Phalange militia in 1983. Israeli tanks patrol north-coast highway to Damour demonstrating support for Phalangist takeover there. Israel-backed death-squad kills Shi'ite leader, Raghib Harb, while walking home in Jabsheet near Nabatiya.

Military Action:

2 rockets land near IDF HQin Sidon; IDF checkpoint at Damour comes under fire from gunmen in car.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Arens and Shamir travel to Washington at Reagan's invitation for 3 days of talks.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Arafat travels to Saudi Arabia for meeting with King Fahd; rival PLO units engage in artillery and RPG battles near villages of Taanayel and Jdita, loyalists reportedly hold positions; Gemayel meets Mitterrand in Paris, calls for UN plebiscite in Syrian and IDF held areas.

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:

IDF convoy ambushed south of Damour, 3 IDF wounded.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Police search settler houses in Kiryat Arba for illegal arms and other evidence relating to attacks on Palestinians; 12 carloads of Kiryat Arba settlers block road outside Dheisheh camp, break into school, detain principal after he refuses their demand to line up students for identification; 25 Palestinian familes in Hebron receive warnings to emigrate; American supporter of Kach movement arrested at airport in connection with shooting of 4 year-old Hebron girl; soldier, border policeman injured, a dozen cars damaged in stone-throwing incidents; 1000 dunums of fertile land seized from Deir Dibwan near Ramallah for garbage processing plant; each of 6 Village Leagues receives IS 5 m. annual operating budget from Defense Ministry for salaries of clerks and officials, guards, entertainment and office expenses; 4 Druze residents of Golan sentenced to 3 to 8 years in jail for spying for Syria; IDF says mines that killed 5 Bedouin in Negev last week were laid by unknown persons who crossed the border to Egypt.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Lebanese-Israeli-US negotiations held at Netanya, progress reported on movement across borders, early warning stations; President Gemayel sends envoy to assure Saudi Arabia that Lebanon will not be infiltration point for Israeli goods, Saudi imports from Lebanon valued at $400m in 1982.

Arab Governments: Egyptian-Israeli talks on Taba end without resolving dispute over ownership of the 700 meter Red Sea coastal strip.

US and Other Countries: 18 rabbis end 2 days of lobbying in Washington to demonstrate alternative views among American Jewish leadership, support for Reagan plan and freeze on settlements; EEC expresses regret over Israel's settlement policy, reiterates its commitment to 1980 Venice Declaration calling for association of PLO with peace process.

Military Action:

Israeli truck driver kidnapped and killed near Damour, bomb thrown at IDF near Hadath, Lebanese National Resistance claims responsibility; artillery and gunfire resume in Tripoli one hour after 3 PM cease-fire announced by Rashid Karami.

Casualties:

2 IDF wounded near Hadath; press reports indicate 23 psychological injuries for every 100 casualties in IDF during Lebanon war, of which 2/3 do not return to combat.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Sharon urges patience and perseverance on demand for normalization with Lebanon; High Court rejects petition of Negev Bedouin families to remain on land near Dimona designated a military area; Israeli papers publish photos of special jeeps equipped with army-supplied radios and 2 armed settlers used by Gush Etzion regional council to search for illegal Arab buildings.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Assad Germanos, Military Prosecutor heading Lebanese investigation into massacre, says he has made 3 visits to Sabra and Shatila, and hopes to finish his report by March or April; Rashid Karami, returning from Damascus, says Syrian Deputy Defense Minister Ali Aslan is in Tripoli to arrange cease-fire.

Arab Governments: Qatar, UAE and Oman call off visit of British Foreign Secretary Pym, causing him to cancel his trip.

US and Other Countries: President Reagan receives Israeli President Navon at White House, affirms that security of Israel is inescapably connected to peace in the Middle East; Reagan announces Special Envoy Habib will return to Middle East.

Military Action:

Israeli forces advance to 15 miles from Beirut; one of the biggest air battles since the 1973 war takes place over Beirut (6 Syrian, 2 Israeli jets reported down); heavy fighting in Tyre and Sidon continues, as Tyre residents are told via air-dropped leaflets to go to beaches to avoid bombings, city is shown in flames; 15,000 people try to enter city from countryside, saying they have no food; Israelis move 100 tanks into mountains east of PLO stronghold of Damour; Israeli shells re-portedly destroy a Red Cross center on the edge of Sidon; tank battles near Jezzine, and Israelis reportedly aim to cut highway to Syria; Israeli planes blast road 2 miles south of Beirut airport; fierce fighting between Israeli and Syrian troops on edge of Beirut; Israelis capture Lebanese president's summer residence at Beiteddine; third attack on Beirut sports complex.

Syrians engage Israelis on southern edges of Beirut, along Beirut-Damascus highway; major Syrian-Israeli tank battle shaping up in Chouf region, stronghold of PLO ally and Lebanese National Movement (LNM) leader Walid Jumblatt (temporarily out of country).

Fierce resistance from PLO units continues in Tyre and Sidon; a few PLO-fired rockets fall on northern Galilee, from enclave controlled by Syria; PLO and Lebanon accept UN call for a cease-fire.

Casualties:

Beirut residents stockpile goods and Palestinian suburbs almost deserted as residents fan out into city; Red Cross center in Sidon destroyed by Israeli shelling; thousands of refugees pour into Beirut from southern Lebanon; 10,000 people placed under Red Cross care in Tyre alone.

Political Responses:

Israel/Occupied Territories: Prime Minister Begin lays out 4 conditions for withdrawal from Lebanon, including removal of all Syrian and PLO forces from Lebanon, creation of a 40 km demilitarized zone north of the Israeli border; Knesset defeats no-confidence vote, 94-3; Israeli Ambassador Arens meets with Deputy Secretary of State Stoessel, Defense Secretary Weinberger and Senator Percy as a former Israeli general meets the US press; Begin calls on Assad not to engage Israeli troops; UN reports continue to be censored; about 40 demonstrators opposed to the invasion are attacked in Tel Aviv.

Palestinians/Lebanese: Arafat meets with USSR Ambassador; Lebanese president appeals to Arab League to hold a meeting; Lebanon's UN Ambassador says casualties run into thousands, mostly civilians.

Arab Governments: Iranian volunteers reported arriving in Lebanon via Syria, as well as Palestinian volunteers from Jordan and Kuwait; Arab diplomats from Lebanon, Kuwait, Bahrein, Jordan and Algeria ask the US to pressure Israel to withdraw immediately, accept cease-fire; Syria rejects any troop withdrawal from Lebanon, reacting to reports of new Israeli conditions for a withdrawal.

US: Reagan, in London, appeals for an end to hostilities; Haig later says US would not deny Israel the "right of legitimate self-defense."

UN: Lebanon and the PLO accept the UN call for a cease-fire; Israel rejects the Security Council demand for withdrawal. Lebanon circulates a petition condemning Israel, threatening sanctions if it does not withdraw. UNIFIL General Callaghan makes first offi-cial protest of the invasion to Israel.

Military Action:

48 Israeli air strikes are reported in the areas of Nabatiyeh, Beaufort Castle, Arnoun, Hasbaya and Aichiye; Israeli jets and gun-boats bomb and strafe several dozen targets along a 25-mile corridor from Tyre to Naameh (8 miles south of Beirut); Israeli bombardment of the Chouf region (a Lebanese left stronghold) is reported; Israeli tanks move into Haddad-controlled enclave in southern Lebanon and heavy artillery batteries move into Marjayoun 6 miles inside Lebanon; Damour area attacked for two hours as Israeli helicopters conduct reconnaissance flights.

Syria's estimated 30,000 troops inside Lebanon remain uninvolved, and no Syrian aircraft engage Israeli jets.

Casualties:

PLO sources claim 130 killed, 250 wounded and 3 Israeli jets shot down yesterday; Lebanese and Palestinian sources report many civilian casualties; the Rashidiyeh refugee camp near Tyre hit; thousands of civilians jam northern road as Sidon and other southern Lebanese towns empty in fear of an Israeli attack.

Political Responses:

Israel/Occupied Territories: Military censors UN accounts of fighting inside Lebanon; Labor party urges government to "control" Lebanese action and seek to restore cease-fire, complains about lack of prior consultation; 2000 protest in Tel Aviv against Israeli hostilities and criticize Israeli policies in the "occupied territories."

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Arafat, in Saudi Arabia to mediate Iran/Iraq war, says PLO will respond strongly; Lebanese Foreign Minister Butros, noting lack of response from Arab world, asks "confrontation states" to stop being spectators, provide concrete solidarity and confrontation.

US: Secretary of State Alexander Haig, in Versailles, calls Israeli bombing of Lebanon "very serious," announces Philip Habib will seek to restore July 1981 cease-fire.

UN: Security Council meets in emergency session and issues unanimous call for cease-fire in Lebanon.