Wednesday, March 23, 1983

Military Action:

IDF tank trucks blocked by burning tires, stones at Aadlun, 12 miles north of Tyre; march in Nabatiyeh, sit down strikes in mosques in several villages to protest arrest of Jibsheet sheikh; Lebanese Army fired on by Phalange in East Beirut; Phalange and Franjieh's Marada Brigades exchange artillery fire in mountains south of Tripoli; Syria and Israel move tank reinforcements to opposing positions along 25-mile cease-fire line.

Casualties:

5 Lebanese women wounded when IDF fires on several hundred demonstrators at Aadlun; 9 women from Lebanon, previously held in Israeli prisons, reportedly transferred to new prison in Nabatiyeh.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Knesset approves $29 billion budget for fiscal 1983; 2 Arab Labor MKs petition High Court to cancel budget law that excludes Israeli Arabs from welfare benefits paid to large families; ministerial committee established to coordinate government plans for Jerusalem, including relocation of all ministry HQs to the city; IDF surrounds Birzeit University, forces students at gun point to remove anti-Israel slogans on walls, 80 students trapped on campus; construction work begins on 1,350 dunums of land seized from Sharfat village, near Gilo settlement.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Habib presents Lebanese position to Israeli foreign and defense ministers in Jerusalem, role of Haddad reportedly major obstacle to progress; PLO leader Abu lyad (Salah Khalaf) says annulment of Camp David accords by Egypt is not a condition of restoration of official PLO relations with Egypt.

Arab Governments: Directors of Egyptian national oil company, which supplies 25% of Israel's oil imports, visit Israel, meet energy minister, other officials.

US and Other Countries: Pentagon announces resumption of arms sales to Israel, halted since invasion of Lebanon, 200 Sidewinder missiles worth $16m are first to be delivered.