CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW OF EVENTS
RELATING TO THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE
Monitored from the media by the
Division for Palestinian Rights
4 June A 13-year-old Palestinian boy was killed and his eight-year-old brother was wounded in Hebron when an Israeli army bomb exploded near their home. (AFP)
5 June Israeli security forces arrested 45 activists of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in East Jerusalem. (AFP)
Several dozens of Palestinian and Israeli doctors and psychologists attended, for the first time, a three-day convention in East Jerusalem. The convention was organized by Medecins du Monde, a French humanitarian group, Medical Aid for Palestine-Canada, the Association of Israeli-Palestinian Physicians for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. The participants discussed ways and means to improve health services in the occupied territories. (AFP)
The Palestinian Authority issued a statement, voicing concern at the arrest of more than 3,200 Palestinians from the West Bank in the last seven months. The Palestinian Authority accused Israel of "cruel, inhuman practices" against prisoners, and appealed to the Red Cross to obtain their release. (AFP)
6 June German Chancellor Helmut Kohl met with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat in Jericho and gave a check of 10 million marks as assistance to the Palestinian Authority. Mr. Kohl was accompanied by Mr. Mathias Kleinert, representative of Daimler-Benz, the biggest German industrial group, who offered to invest 80 million marks ($57.1 million) in the construction of a regional airport in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)
Football governing body FIFA decided to grant Palestine provisional membership which would open a new era for the sport in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The decision came after Palestinian officials have made continuous efforts to be recognized by international bodies. (AFP)
7 June The Japanese Government decided to grant 3.5 billion yen ($42 million) to the Palestinian Authority. The grant will be utilized to build a hospital and to provide medical equipment. It would be the first direct Japanese aid to the Palestinian Authority as Japan's previous assistance had come through international organizations. (AFP)
8 June The Palestinian Authority sent a gift of 20 tonnes of vegetables to Saudi Arabia in recognition of Riyadh's decision to open its market to Palestinian produce. (AFP)
13 June Hundreds of Israeli settlers launched a campaign to thwart government plans to redeploy Israeli troops in the West Bank by occupying empty houses in Barkan, near Nablus. Bulldozers were ploughing up land for a new pathway. Housing Minister Benyamin Ben Eliezer said that police would be sent in to evacuate them if it was found that the houses did not belong to them. (AFP)
The United States of America, Britain and Spain have recognized the new Palestinian passport as an official travel document. (AFP)
Israel put new restrictions on Palestinians who work inside Israel and turned away about 1,500 workers. According to the new rules all Palestinian workers who are under 30 years old and all who are unmarried are not allowed to work inside Israel. (Reuter)
An Israeli settler fired shots at the home of Faisal Husseini, a senior PLO official, in East Jerusalem. It was reported that the shots came from one of a group of Israeli settlers who demonstrated near the house protesting the Israeli government's plan to redeploy Israeli troops in the West Bank. (AFP)
14 June Israeli soldiers shot dead three Palestinians near Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. It was reported that one of the men was wanted by Israeli forces and the other two were members of the PLO unit Force 17. According to an Israeli army statement, the shooting began when the three men tried to enter into the Gaza Strip from Egypt, via Rafah. PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat described the action as "an irresponsible, and individual act". (Reuter)
France, the first European country, recognized the Palestinian passport for entry into the country. (Reuter)
Israel agreed to open the border to permit direct trade between Jordan and Jericho in the West Bank. According to the agreement a total of 15 Jordanian and Palestinian lorries would be allowed to transport goods on a daily basis. (AFP)
Mr. Ziyad al-Majali, Jordan's representative to the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip, presented his credentials to Mr. Yasser Arafat, the head of the Palestinian Authority, becoming the fourth Arab envoy to do so. (AFP)
King Hussein of Jordan sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in which he supported Palestinian claims to East Jerusalem. The letter said that Jerusalem was part of the occupied territories and must be returned to Palestinian sovereignty. Israeli Foreign Ministry officials declined to comment on the letter. (Reuter)
15 June The Israeli army started dismantling a military camp in the eastern edge of the West Bank town of Qalqiliya as part of its early redeployment. (AFP)
17 June More than 700 Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli prison of Jneid in Nablus began an open-ended hunger strike to demand their release. The prisoners are demanding the release of all 6,500 Palestinians starting with a group of 30 women, followed by about 150 youngsters under the age of 18, and then the sick and the handicapped. (Reuter)
19 June Irish Foreign Minister Dick Spring met with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat in Gaza City. Despite Israeli protests, Mr. Spring visited the Orient House, the PLO headquarters in East Jerusalem and met with PLO official Mr. Faisal Husseini. (AFP)
20 June PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat held talks with the Turkish President Suleyman Demirel, in Ankara, on bilateral relations, Middle East peace, and Turkey's assistance to the Palestinian Authority. President Demirel pledged to continue with his country's political, moral and material support to the Palestinian people. (AFP)
Hundreds of Palestinian people wearing chains and handcuffs marched in the Gaza Strip demanding the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. More than 250 people, 40 of them manacled by their arms and necks, marched up to the offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The protest was part of demonstrations throughout the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, organized by former prisoners and relatives of 6,500 prisoners still held by Israel. (Reuter)
Experts from 40 countries met in Amman to discuss plans for water-sharing and environmental cooperation in the Middle East. More than 30 projects to fight pollution were proposed, including a study on pollution in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)
Dozens of Israeli settlers began fencing off land near Karney Shomron settlement in the West Bank which they said would be used for expansion of settlements. The fence was stretched along a 2.2 km (1.4 mile) of land. While settlers had not obtained permission for the action, there were no Israeli soldiers in sight. (Reuter)
21 June More than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners joined a hunger-strike to demand their release. PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat led thousands of Palestinians in a 24-hour fast to press for a mass release of prisoners and joined hundreds at a sit-in outside the ICRC offices in Gaza for about 10 minutes. (AFP)
Israel and the Palestinian negotiators reached an agreement in Cairo allowing the Palestinians to launch their own full television service. The agreement also resolved the dispute over unpaid telephone bills owed to the Israeli telecommunication company by the Palestinian Authority. (AFP)
PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat held talks in Gaza with the British Construction Minister Lord Ullswater and discussed the British assistance in rebuilding the Gaza Strip infrastructure. Mr. Ullswater said that in partnership with Palestinian contractors there was "a lot of opportunity for the future". The British Minister also held talks with Israeli officials and construction companies and discussed with them investment projects and technical cooperation. (AFP)
A survey conducted by the Palestinian JMCC press service, polling 1,397 Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, found that 74.9 per cent were in favour of continuing negotiations with Israel to reach an agreement on extending self-rule in the West Bank. Nearly 16 per cent opposed this. The remainder had no opinion. Fifty-two per cent said they were satisfied with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat's leadership, 24.7 per cent said his leadership was only average. Another 13.9 per cent gave him a poor rating and 9.4 per cent had no opinion. (Reuter)
22 June Unidentified gunmen shot dead Mr. Mahmud el-Khawaja, a leader of the Islamic Jihad Movement as he left home for work in the Gaza Strip. Spokesman of the Islamic Jihad accused Israel of being behind the assassination and vowed swift revenge. A spokesman of the Palestinian Authority, said PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat condemned the killing and promised to investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice. (Reuter)
More than 100 Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank town of Ramallah as they demonstrated in support of the Palestinian prisoners who have been on hunger-strike since 17 June. Israeli soldiers used stun grenades and truncheons to disperse the crowd. A Palestinian was shot and injured by Israeli soldiers during a similar demonstration in Jalazone refugee camp near Ramallah. (AFP)
The Jordanian Government and the Palestinian Authority signed a transport agreement in Amman. The agreement would allow unrestricted cargo and passenger traffic between the two sides once Israel lifts border controls. (Reuter)
24 June Twenty-three Palestinians and five Israelis were injured in clashes in the West Bank. The clashes took place during protests to demand the release of 6,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Dozens of Palestinian demonstrators were arrested. (AFP)
25 June Two Palestinians were killed and 51 others were injured by Israeli soldiers during a demonstration in Nablus. (AFP)
PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres met in Gaza. Both leaders agreed to meet a July first target date for extending Palestinian self-rule. (AFP)
Israeli and Palestinian businessmen met at an economic workshop in Cyprus. The participants announced the creation of a joint committee to address problems in the Palestinian self-rule areas. The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the organizer of the workshop, announced that the next meeting would take place in the first half of 1996. (Reuter)
A Palestinian from Khan Yunis, killed himself and wounded three Israeli soldiers when he blew up a donkey-cart packed with explosives near a military base in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)
26 June An Israeli settler opened fire at a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip and killed a cow. (AFP)
More than 4,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails refused to accept food and joined the hunger-strike which started on 17 June. The Israeli authorities tried to break up the strike and guards threw teargas into the cells. Six prisoners in Beersheva's jail were taken to hospitals because of teargas inhalation, and several others were hospitalized because of the strike effects. (AFP)
27 June A Swiss aid organization based in the Gaza Strip reported that severe cases of malnutrition have increased among Gaza children. According to the Swiss organization, in the first quarter of 1995, 539 children were treated compared with 505 in 1994. One hundred forty-one cases out of 539 were of serious malnutrition compared with 72 for the same period in 1994. According to the report, poverty and the Israeli closure of the Gaza Strip were among the main causes that aggravated the malnutrition problem. (AFP)
Palestinians in the West Bank including East Jerusalem went on a general strike in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners who were on the 10th day of hunger-strike. PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat issued a warning that he would not sign an agreement on extending Palestinian self-rule before all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails were released. (Reuter)
29 June Israeli soldiers shot and injured a Palestinian who tried illegally to enter the Gaza Strip with his daughter from Egypt. (AFP)
PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat met with US consul General Edward Abbington in the Gaza Strip. During the meeting, Mr. Arafat handed Mr. Abbington an invitation for the United States to join international observers to monitor the planned Palestinian elections. (AFP)
Israeli special forces killed a senior member of Hamas movement in Hebron. Five Palestinians from Ramallah were shot and injured by Israeli soldiers during a protest for the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. (Reuter)
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