Chronological Review of Events/October 1993 – DPR review

CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW OF EVENTS

RELATING TO THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE

October 1993

Monitored from the press by the

Division for Palestinian Rights

1 October Mr. Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), received a message from United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, assuring him of the readiness of the United Nations to extend any assistance for the implementation of the Palestinian-Israeli agreement.  Mr. Arafat received in his Tunis office the representative of UNESCO to Tunis and discussed the assistance of the organization to the Palestinian people.  (The Jerusalem Press)

A Conference to Support Middle East Peace, co-hosted by the United States and the Russian Federation, convened in Washington for one day.  The conference pledged over $600 million for the first year and two billion dollars for the next two years.  (The Washington Post)

3 October Clashes took place in Bureij refugee camp between Palestinians and Israeli troops. Three Palestinians were shot and injured during the clashes.  Three molotov bombs were thrown at the military patrol in Daheriyyeh, near Hebron (The Jerusalem Press)

Brigadier-General Yom Tov, commander of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, revealed that the Israeli army has begun to follow a new policy towards activists of the Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip.  (Maariv)

5 October Two Palestinians from Deir Al Balah and Hebron were shot and injured by Israeli troops.  Two "suspected collaborators" from Shati refugee camp and Shujaiyyeh were shot and injured by masked youths.  (Jerusalem Press)

Israeli police banned Jewish members of the "Custodians of the Temple Mount" from entering the square of the holy sanctuary (Al-Aqsa Mosque) where they attempted  to  demonstrate  against  the  Israeli-PLO  accord. (Ha'aretz)

A senior Israeli official said that Israel can "coexist" with U.S. President Clinton's special initiative to halt the spread of weapons of mass destruction.  (Ha'aretz)

6 October Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Mr. Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the PLO, met in Cairo, Egypt, and "set machinery in motion" on the Israeli-PLO accord.  (The Christian Science Monitor)

The United States intends to cut $437 million from loan guarantees to Israel as a penalty for the construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.  (The Washington Post)

The Israeli military authorities closed down the Gaza Strip for the Jewish holidays. The closure will last for four days and banned residents from leaving the Strip to Israel or the West Bank.  (Ha'aretz)

Israeli troops opened fire and killed an armed Palestinian in Beit Lahia.  Another Palestinian was killed by an undercover Israeli unit which raided the Tuffah area in Gaza.  (The Jerusalem Press)

8 October A Palestinian national football team took to their home field (Jericho) for the first time in almost 50 years to play a French national side.  The French team included veterans from their 1980s glory years, with Michel Platini, once one of Europe's finest players.  (The Financial Times)

9 October Two Israeli hikers were shot and bludgeoned to death by four men armed with guns and knives in Wadi Qelt outside Jericho.  Responsibility for the killing was later claimed by the Islamic Jihad.  (The Guardian)

10 October The PLO arrested several bodyguards at its headquarters in Tunis.  PLO officials were quoted as saying that the crackdown followed two foiled attempts on the life of Mr. Arafat, the PLO Chairman. (The Financial Times)

11 October The PLO Central Council met in Tunis and ratified the accord with Israel by a majority vote of 63 to 8 with 9 abstentions.  (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Israeli daily Hadashot reported that the Government of Jordan has invited Israel to hold the next multilateral talks on disarmament in Amman, the capital of Jordan.  The first meeting was held in the Russian Federation.

Clashes with Israeli troops took place in several areas of the Gaza Strip, leaving three Palestinian children shot and injured by Israeli gunfire and ten persons severely beaten.  (The Jerusalem Press)

The Israeli Minister of Police said that he issued orders to the prison authority to prepare a plan to remove security prisoners from Gaza and Jericho and to evacuate all detainees.  (Ha'aretz)

12 October Delegations from 43 countries gathered in Tunis for a three-day conference to discuss the question of Palestinian refugees in the occupied territories, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.  The Israeli delegation was headed by Yossi Beilin, Deputy Foreign Minister.  (The Washington Post)

Molotov bombs were thrown at Israeli troops in Rafah, Shujaiyyeh and Hebron. Clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli troops took place in Gaza City, Hebron and Jenin.  Three Palestinians were shot and injured by the troops during these clashes.  (The Jerusalem Press)

13 October Two standing committees of Israel and the PLO began their work to implement the agreement on self-rule for the Palestinians.  The overall liaison committee, led by Mr. Shimon Peres, Israeli Foreign Minister and Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, a senior PLO official, met in Cairo.  A committee of experts led by Major-General Amnon Shaha, Israeli deputy chief of staff and Dr. Nabil Shaath, adviser to Mr. Arafat, PLO Chairman, met in the Red Sea resort of Taba.  (The Financial Times)

14 October Three "suspected collaborators" were shot and injured by masked youths in Khan Younis.  Israeli military forces demolished 12 houses in Khan Younis for security reasons.  (The Jerusalem Press)

16 October Three young Palestinians were shot and injured by Israeli soldiers during clashes in Gaza and Hebron.  Five "suspected collaborators" were shot and injured by armed Palestinian youths in several areas in the  Gaza  Strip.  (The Jerusalem Press)

17 October An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the United States told Israel that the next round of Middle East peace talks will be postponed until the end of November.  (Reuters)

19 October A nine-member delegation of the American Jewish Congress met with Mr. Yasser Arafat, PLO Chairman, in Cairo.  (The Washington Post)

U.S. Special Coordinator for Middle East Peace Talks, Dennis Ross, began his visit to the region in Cairo, in preparation for the upcoming visit of U.S. Secretary of State Warren T. Christopher.  (An Nahat)

20 October According to the daily Maariv, an Israeli plan to connect the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip by one road network has been officially finalized.  The plan also includes the building of 13,000 new residential units for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem.

Representative of the European Community Thomas Dupla and UNRWA Commissioner Alter Turkmen laid the cornerstone for a new hospital in Gaza.  The construction of the hospital will be funded by the European Community, with an initial budget of $35 million.  (The Jerusalem Press)

21 October Mr. Asa'ad Saftawi, a prominent member of the PLO in Gaza, was slain by masked gunmen in the city center.  (The Washington Post)

The International Organization for Development (IOD) announced that the World Bank has approved the establishment of two funds to provide urgent assistance to the occupied territories.  The first fund, totalling $50 million, will be devoted to the reconstruction and building of Gaza and the second one, totalling $35 million, is to finance technical assistance. (The Jerusalem Press)

Mr. Yasser Arafat, PLO Chairman, arrived in Paris, France and met with President François Mitterrand at the Elysee Palace.  (The Jerusalem Press)

23 October The Israeli authorities announced that they were easing a seven-month closure order in the occupied territories in an effort to bolster support for the autonomy accord with the PLO.  (The Financial Times)

24 October Two Israeli soldiers hitchhiking in the Gaza Strip were kidnapped and killed by members of the militant Islamic movement Hamas.  (The Washington Post)

25 October Israeli prison authorities released 660 Palestinian prisoners from their jails.  The released prisoners represent some 5 per cent of all Palestinian detainees and fall into four categories: women, the sick, those under 18, or over 50.  (The Christian Science Monitor)

26 October For the first time since the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian accord, the Israeli authorities released a wanted member of Fatah who had been arrested earlier in the week.  According to the daily Yediot Ahronot, the military authorities issued a new regulation which stipulates not to pursue wanted Fatah members who are not involved in acts of murder.

27 October Two Jewish settlers from Gush Qatif were wounded after being stoned by Palestinian youths in Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.  An Israeli soldier was stoned and wounded in Tulkarm.  (The Jerusalem Press)

29 October An Israeli settler was shot dead near Beit-Al in the West Bank.  Media sources suspected that Hamas was responsible for the killing of the settler (Ha'aretz)

30 October Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian residents in several areas in the West Bank in response to the killing of the settler in Beit-Al.  The settlers burned and smashed windows of cars owned by Palestinians and houses in Ramallah, El-Bireh, Turmusyya, Jalazoan refugee camp, Hebron, Jenin and Qalgilyia.  (The Jerusalem Press)

31 October A Palestinian worker was shot dead by his Israeli employer near the Gaza Strip.  (The Guardian)

A young Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in Qalgilyia while fleeing from a road block.  (The Jerusalem Press)

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