The Palestine Chronology

Military Action:

IDF military bus machine-gunned near Ghazieh in South Lebanon; IDF and Lebanese Army cordon off Khalde beach hotel to secure meeting place, ensure no clashes; IDF tanks seize surrounding hills to stop nearby fighting in Shouweifat, Kfarshima; fighting continues in Aley and two other villages.

Casualties:

Police estimate 18 killed, 27 injured in fighting in Chouf area; 1 IDF soldier wounded near Sidon; 2 IDF soldier killed, 7 wounded in bus attack.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Haaretz poll indicates 53 percent of Israeli public opinion supports immediate withdrawal, 24 percent support staying in Lebanon; Israel sends to Lebanon 6-man team headed by Israeli Foreign Ministry Secretary-General David Kimche; public testimony of Commission of Inquiry resumes as lawyers for some officials cross-examine witnesses (Reuven Gai sharply cross-examined by lawyer for Sharon aide Dudai, Dudai also testifies in private).

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Arafat meets Austrian Chancellor Kriesky in Austria; Wazzan, following meeting with Gemayel, names 6-man negotiating team, headed by retired diplomat Antoine Fattal, including Antoine Baroud, lbrah, Kharma, 3 Army officers led by General Abbas Hamdan.

US and Other Countries: US State Department stresses importance of focussing negotiations on getting speedy withdrawal of all foreign forces, not getting bogged down in efforts to force normalization between two countries (status of Haddad forces seen as problematic); 14 of 17 Senate Foreign Relations Committee members send letter to Reagan expressing concern over continued US Marine presence in Lebanon

Military Action:

Artillery, rocket clashes in IDF-controlled towns of Khalde, Aramun, Kfarshima and Shuweifat, south of Beirut as Gemayel holds consultations there on negotiating IDF pullback, following discovery of bodies of 5 Phalangists; IDF reports a bomb exploded south of Beirut airport as IDF vehicle passed by, two other bombs found in area; fighting continues in Tripoli where gunmen open fire on Syrian army truck.

Casualties:

7-story apartment building, damaged by IDF bombardment, collapses while being repaired, 5 feared dead, several others injured; Lebanese Army tries to rescue hundreds of schoolchildren trapped in schools in towns south of Beirut; 6 killed in fighting in that area; 1 killed, 3 wounded in Tripoli.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Israel and Lebanon agree to start face-to-face talks on troop withdrawal in few days; Sharon says Israel will not compromise on Taba; attorney for General Amos Yaron, in memo to Commission of Inquiry, defends his client's not passing on unsubstantiated rumors of a massacre.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Lebanese officials will seek, in negotiations with Israel, troop pull-back by all forces by February 15.

Arab Governments: King Hussein, in Washington, discusses military requests with pentagon officials, meets Joint Chiefs of Staff, later gives Reagan list of seven preconditions for Jordanian participation in Mideast peace process.

US and other Countries: Habib, after reporting to Reagan, announces agreement on talks (locale as yet undetermined); Belgium and Portugal indicate willingness to send peace-keeping troops but, because of economic troubles, can only do so if US pays for them.