Tuesday, January 23, 1996

FM Barak meets with NSA Anthony Lake, senior mbrs. of Congress, then heads to New York to meet with the CPMAJO. (MM 1/23; WJW 1/25; MM 1/30)

Arafat calls elections important springboard for establishing a Palestinian state that will unite with Jordan in a confederation, says he is waiting for "a sign" fr. King Hussein to begin the confederation process. (VOP 1/23 in FBIS 1/23)

PSF arrests Hebron lawyer Hussayn Shuyukhi for "spreading false information and claiming that the elections were rigged." Earlier, Shuyukhi had claimed that 49 ballot boxes were lost for 36 hrs. before being found unattended in various places in Hebron. The independent Palestinian Domestic Monitoring Comm. confirmed his allegations. (MEI 2/2)

PM Peres tells Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Comm. that the PA has been exerting admirable efforts to stop attacks fr., collect weapons in the self-rule areas. (QY 1/23 in FBIS 1/24)

Fmr. Arafat aide Bassam Abu-Sharif returns to the West Bank after 28 yrs. in exile. (ITV 1/23 in FBIS 1/24; CSM 1/25)

Lebanese First Military Investigating Judge Tali` seconds death sentence for SLA Cmdr. Lahd. (RL 1/23 in FBIS 1/24) (see 1/18)

Amir trial on charges of assassinating PM Rabin begins in Tel Aviv. (QY 1/23 in FBIS 1/23; NYT 1/24) (see 12/5)