1967

Jan-Apr: Syrian-Israel border clashes, culminating on 7Apr when Syria fired on Israeli armoured tractors in the border demilitarised zone, provoking large Israeli response in which at least 14 civilians in Siqufiya were killed; Syria accepts a UN ceasefire, but Israel rejects; and Israeli jets shot down 6 Syrian fighter planes, 4 of them over Damascus, in a series of aerial battles.

13 May: Soviet sources inform the Egyptians that Israel had massed its forces on the Syrian border. The Egyptian leadership decide to send its troops into the Sinai, and troops begin to move the following day.

15May: Egypt put on state of alert, after Israeli Independence Day Parade in Jerusalem contains no armoured formations.

16 May: Egypt ask the UN Emergency Force (UNEF), supposedly acting as a buffer on the Egyptian side of the border with Israel, to withdraw from its border observation posts. The UN Secretary-General, U Thant, replies that the UN would either stay at all its posts, or it would withdraw all of its forces. The Egyptian leadership ask for UNEF's presence in Egypt to be terminated (18May).

22May: Egypt closes the Straits of Tiran, the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba, to Israeli ships and strategic cargo bound for Israel. Knesset declares this an act of aggression.

30May: Egypt-Jordan mutual defence treaty, & reconciliation » Jordan allows PLO to resume acts in its territory. National Unity Government formed in Israel (1Jun) with sense of crisis; still headed by Eshkol, but includes Moshe Dayan as Defence Minister, Mapam & Gahal as well as Labour bloc (» legitimation of Herut). The Israeli cabinet votes to go to war (4Jun).

5June: Israeli planes destroy Egyptian air force in preemptive strike. Iraq sends force to Jordan & briefly into West Bank. Jordan cedes the West Bank & East Jerusalem, including Haram al-Sharif shrine (7Jun). Saudi stops oil sales to Britain and the US (7Jun); embargo lasts until mid-Sept. Gaza seized from Egypt & PLA (8Jun) as well as Sinai. Israel bombs US intelligence ship, the USS Liberty, in international waters, killing 34 (8Jun). Israel presses into Syria after the ceasefire is agreed & gains the Golan Heights (10Jun) before accepting a ceasefire through the offices of Odd Bull, the UN observer; c.130k Syrian refugees. Jordan accepts 200,000 more refugees, taking the total number of Palestinians displaced up to 2-2.5 million. Defeat discredits Arab nationalism. Israel's conquest, & its application of its law & administration to 30k dunams of East Jerusalem & the West Bank, including the Old City, as part of the extension of W.Jerusalem Municipality boundaries over this area, on 27-8Jun, brings the Western Wall & many of Judaism’s holiest sites under Israeli control » inspires renewed forms of nationalism & religious messianism. UNGA passes 2 resolutions (2253 of 4Jul, 2254 of 14Jul) calling for Israel to rescind its effective annexation of Jerusalem; Israel’s failure to do this is deplored by SCR252 (21May68), which states that Israeli measures to change the status of Jerusalem are invalid (13-0-2 US, Canada).

24Jul: West Bank leaders establish the Islamic Board in Jerusalem, under Shaykh ‘Abd al-Hamid al-Sa’ih, with the 1st major West Bank statement against the occupation. Board’s function is to administer Muslim affairs in West Bank; retains close ties with Jordan. Sa’ih is deported to Jordan on 23Sept, with Hilmi Muhtasib taking over as head of the Board.

26Jul: Yigal Allon (Minister for Labour, later Foreign & Deputy Prime Minister) presents draft plan for settlement of conflict: territorial compromise, whereby Israel would annex Jerusalem district, parts of Hebron hills, Southern part of Gaza strip, SE desert region, & Jordan valley (those areas of strategic importance); remainder (c.60%) would be an autonomous Palestinian area, without territorial boundaries with any Arab States, confederally linked to either Jordan or Israel = "the Allon plan". Permission granted to settlements in those regions that would be annexed under this plan from 1968. Plan later modified in the Labour party to increase distance from Palestinian region to Tel Aviv through the annexation of a further 3 regions; final full plan produced in 1977.

29Aug-1Sept: Khartum Arab Summit meeting: the basis for Arab solidarity over the next 7 years. Egypt-Saudi-Jordan reconciliation, uniting against Israel with the “3 nos”: to reconciliation, negotiation & recognition of Israel. Shuqayri’s PLO sidelined & publicly criticised by Fatah, PFLP, General Union of Palestinian Students » Shuqayri resigns (24Dec), replaced by Yahya Hammuda.

5Nov: Under Saudi pressure, Egypt decides to withdraw from N.Yemen, forcing Sallal to resign. Egypt releases 2 prominent republican opponents of Egypt intervention: ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Iryani, former defence minister, who takes over as chair of Republican council; & Hasan al-Amri, who becomes PM & chief of forces. Royalist forces lay siege to Sana‘a (1Dec-8Feb); broken through combination of military measures (using weapons from USSR > alliance) & political co-option. Saudi recognises new government in 1970.

22Nov: SCR242 calls for Israeli withdrawal from OTs whilst recognising the right of all States to live in peace & security (effectively a recognition of Israel), backed by Nasir & Husayn, but opposed by Israel (until May68), PLO and fida’i groups.

30Nov: With escalating conflict, Britain evacuates Federation of S.Arabia (ie S.Yemen); National Liberation Front (Marxist / nationalist) in Aden area captures power, defeating the more pro-Egyptian Front for the Liberation of S.Yemen (FLOSY) with British help (who feared Nasir’s influence); Qahtan al-Sha‘bi as president. NLF proclaims People’s Republic of S.Yemen (becomes PDR Yemen in Nov70). Britain moves its main regional naval base to Bahrain.

11Dec: ANM joins with smaller groups to form PFLP, launching an attack on Ben Gurion airport in Lydda (which failed).

1968

Mar: After UK announces (in Jan) its intention to withdraw military forces from the Gulf by 1971, Bahrain & Qatar join the Trucial States in establishing the Federation of Arab Emirates; this union lasts until just prior to independence in Aug71, when they break off to form separate States.

21Mar: conflict at Karameh (Jordan village in Valley, lit. ‘Dignity’, where Fatah HQ was), when Fatah & PLA (PFLP withdrew), aided by Jordanian artillery, repel advancing Israeli forces seeking to destroy Fatah. 28 Israelis, 61 Jordanian soldiers, 92 Fatah & 24 PLA killed. Despite Israel achieving the destruction of Karameh, the battle vastly enhances prestige of commando organisations, showing IDF not to be invincible » massive recruitment to Fatah & PFLP. Jordan switches from outright opposition to fida’iyyun (only PM Talhuni had managed to restrain Husayn from launching military attacks on fida’i bases) to tacit support (until Oct). SCR248 (24Mar) also condemns the Israeli military action (passed unanimously). However, continuing Israeli military operations drove 100k inhabitants out of the Jordan valley.

Jun: Labour government in Israel agrees to establish a yeshiva in Hebron, after group of 70 led by Rabbi Moshe Levinger occupied the area (10Apr). Later allocation of 250 housing units to outskirts of town (Mar70), which became the Jewish town of Kiryat Arba.

10-17July: guerrilla groups awarded half the seats in the 4th PNC in Cairo, with Fatah predominant; the National Charter (renamed watani, cf earlier qawmi) revised to affirm the centrality of armed struggle. ‘Arafat follows with his first visit to Moscow (Jun), as part of Egyptian delegation: USSR agrees to supply some military equipment & training, but remains critical of PRM’s strategy.

17July: bloodless coups in Iraq, bringing Ba‘thists under Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr to power. At first, there is an alliance with conservaite elements from ‘Aref's regime: coup participants include ‘Abd al-Razzaq al-Nayif, head of military intelligence, who becomes PM, and Ibrahim ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Da‘ud, head of the Republican Guard, who becomes minister of defence: both are from Ramadi. They serve alongside Hasan al-Bakr as President and Salih Mahdi ‘Ammash as interior minister. ‘Aref is exiled to England. The cabinet also includes the Sunni-dominated Muslim Brotherhood, with its leader ‘Abd al-Karim Zaydan, and the KDP. On 30Jul, when Da‘ud visited Jordan, the Ba‘th take full control: Nayif is deposed & exiled, Hasan al-Bakr takes on PM's role, Hardan al-Takriti installed as defence minister, and the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) is created: originally has 5 members, expands up to 15 in later years. The RCC puts army officers and civilians from Takrit into senior positions: 3/5 members of RCC in 1968, 6/15 in 1970, 4/9 in 1973; except for 1 Kurd, all RCC members up to 1977 are Sunni Arabs. The Iraqi Ba‘th supported the National Command, evicted from Syria in 1966, and many of the historic Ba‘th leadership move to Iraq, including Michel ‘Aflaq (in Nov70). Public ownership of land is encouraged; agricultual cooperatives and collective farms are established. Saddam Husayn (b.1937), a relative of Bakr's who had been imprisoned by ‘Arif from 1964-66 for Ba‘thist activism in organising the party militia, becomes a member of the RCC (9Nov69) & its deputy chair. A provisional constitution is issued in 1970.

23July: PFLP hijack El Al plane bound for Algeria in Rome; passengers released after Palestinian prisoners let out.

1Oct: Fatah spokesman, Salah Khalaf, declares that its aim is "a democratic, progressive, non-sectarian state in which Jews, Christians & Muslims would live together in peace & enjoy the same rights" = the doctrine of the "democratic state".

Oct: Splits from PFLP: Syrian-backed group under Ahmad Jibril forms PFLP-General Command, advocating greater use of violence (as well as Ahmad Za’rur’s group who split from PFLP-GC, initially using same name, but became Organisation of Arab Palestine). Later, Naif Hawatmeh splits (22Feb69) due to PFLP’s contact with conservative Arab regimes & launches more radical Maoist (& non-Nasirist) Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PDFLP; becomes DFLP), which joins PLO. PFLP itself finally decides to join PLO (May70) when Fatah strengthened opposition to Hashimites.

Nov: US mission under William Scranton, sent by Nixon, to mediate Arab-Israeli dispute: claimed ‘even-handedness’ even though US was selling advanced weaponry to Israel & was committed to Israeli military superiority.

Nov: Kurdish rebellions (1961-9) against Iraqi government resume, after 3 KDP ministers in Hasan al-Bakr's first cabinet had resigned. KDP appeals to UN for intervention (in 18Nov memo), and launches a major attack on Kirkuk oil refinery (Mar69).

16Nov: After clashes between fida’i & Jordan forces, a 14 point agreement is signed between parties: restrictions on fida’i activity against Israel & in Jordan.

26Dec: PFLP attack on El Al plane in Athens when 1 Israeli killed; Israel responds on 28Dec with helicopter raid on Beirut International Airport. Commandos destroy 13 Arab planes & damage airport. SCR262 of 31Dec unanimously censures Israel, new government in Lebanon forms under more confrontational Rashid Karami (replacing more ‘neutral’ ‘Abdullah ‘Arif al-Yafi) on 15Jan69.

1969

27Jan: 14 alleged “spies”, mostly Iraqi Jews, are hanged in Baghdad & put on public display.

1-4Feb: Fatah gains control over PLO at 5th PNC in Cairo, with ‘Arafat declared chair of Executive Committee. PNC statement sets goal of a democratic society for Muslims, Christians & Jews.

18Feb: 4 PFLP attack El Al plane in Zurich; strong international condemnation. Further PFLP bomb attacks on a Jerusalem supermarket (20Feb), 2 London stores (17Jul) & a group commanded by Layla Khalid hijacked TWA plane flying to Tel Aviv (29Aug).

24Feb: Israeli airstrike against 2 al-Fatah camps near Damascus; large no of casualties. Fatah moves to strengthen its position in Jordan; PFLP is becoming more explicit in its call for the overthrow of Husayn, seen as a Western puppet.

Mar: Internal struggles in Syrian Ba‘th party: Hafiz al-Asad, defence minister, takes full control over military in Syria after the death of ‘Abd al-Karim Jundi, chief of national security & core ally of Jadid; civilian institutions left under the control of Salah Jadid and President Atasi. Former stressed pan-Arab cooperation, esp with Egypt (and even the rival Ba‘thists in Iraq), so winning the support of those who still favoured Arab unity; latter rejected cooperation with the conservative regimes, & controlled the Sa‘iqa fida’i org.

Mar: Israeli-Egyptian War of Attrition begins (until Jul70). Nasir attempts to destroy the newly constructed Bar Lev line fortifications on E Suez (which he feared would become the border between Israel & Egypt) using USSR arms; strong Israeli airraids on Egyptian cities from Jan70, inc Cairo, & drives 1.5 million Egyptians from Suez area.

11Mar: Golda Meir becomes Israeli PM after Eshkol’s death from a heart attack (26Feb): claims that the Palestinians did not exist before Zionism (14June; in Times, 15Jun).

Apr: Palestinian guerrilla rocket attack on Eilat; Israel strikes back at Aqaba port.

Apr: Mass demonstrations in Lebanon in support of fida’iyyun & widespread public disorder, after army arrest a group of guerrillas; State of emergency declared. Karami resigns, but remains in post through crisis; Nasir, to keep military pressure on Israel, negotiates with Lebanese army commander, Imil Bustani, firstly a draft protocol (Apr), & after further fighting, the ceding of Sn Lebanon to PLO guerrillas = the ‘Cairo Agreement’ (3Nov): the basis for relations until 1974, but also the source of Phalangist ire. Bustani is replaced by the more hard-line Jean Njaim as army commander on 7Jan70.

May: Muhammad Ja’far al-Numayri launches coup in Sudan.

22Jun: In S.Yemen, Qahtan al-Sha‘bi overthrown by pro-USSR wing of NLF under Muhammad Ali Haytham, Salim Rubay ‘Ali (who becomes President) and ‘Abd al-Fattah Isma’il (who becomes chairman of the People’s Council in May71). Yemeni Socialist Party becomes the only legal party; country’s name changed to PDRY on 30Nov70.

July: Nixon doctrine of “strategic consensus”: shifting balance in the management of regional affairs to local surrogates, esp Israel & Iran.

3Jul: SCR267, the strongest resn on Jerusalem, is passed unanimously: §3 “censures in the strongest terms all measures taken to change the status of the City of Jerusalem”; §4 “confirms that all legislative & admin measures & actions taken by Israel which purport to alter the status of Jerusalem, including expropriation of land & properties thereon, are invalid & cannot change that status”. Is reiterated in SCR298 (25Sept71; Syria abstain).

21Aug: Fire at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem destroys much of the structure; found to be the work of an isolated Australian Christian tourist.

1Sept: Mu‘ammar Qadhafi’s Libyan Free Unionist Officers' Movement undertakes a Nasir-inspired coup in Libya, deposing King Idris and placing Qadhafi as chair of the Revolutionary Command Council; proclaims Libya a free republic. New constitution of 11Dec69; peace treaties with Egypt & Sudan, extensive support to Fatah. US & British military bases removed in 1970; nationalization or greater control exerted over major oil companies.

25Sept: Organization of the Islamic Conference founded, at summit of Islamic leaders in Rabat held in response to al-Aqsa fire. Subsequent meeting of Foreign Ministers in Mar70 in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia establishes a General Secretariat, and appoints a S-G. Jiddah as the HQ of the organisation, pending the liberation of Jerusalem. A Charter is adopted at Rabat conference in Feb72.

9Dec: US SecState William Rogers announces that he will be commencing an initiative for peace in the Middle East (had been planned on 28Oct). USSR follow by declaring the PLO as a national liberation movement, and the Arab pop of Palestine as a nation (Kosygin’s speech of 10Dec); Israel rejects the plan (22Dec). Nasir responds by setting out minimum Arab demands (1May70): Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in ‘67. A second Rogers plan announced on 24Jun: Israeli withdrawal from Sinai & West Bank (Gaza left to future negotiations), ceasefire between Israel & Egypt. Accepted by Nasir in 23Jul70 & later Sadat, as well as Husayn, Ahmad Za’rur & ‘Isam Sartawi.

21-23Dec: Arab Summit in Rabat accepts new Fatah-led PLO, but unable to reach agreement on the wider issues.

1970

21Jan: Baghdad claims that Iran tried to engineer a coup led by Major-Gen. 'Abd al-Ghani al-Rawi; executes 44 alleged plotters. Consolidation of power under the Iraqi leadership: Hardan al-Takriti is dismissed on 15Oct70 and exiled (murdered in Kuwait on 30Mar71); ‘Ammash removed from RCC and vice-presidency, sent as ambassador to the USSR (28Sept71).

10Feb: PFLP attack on bus of El Al passengers at Munich airport (killing 1 Israeli & maiming actress Hanna Meron).

19Feb: 1st Palestinian delegation led by ‘Arafat visits Moscow & holds meetings with USSR officials; USSR thought to have raised various problems with PLO strategy. ‘Arafat further visits PRC & Vietnam from 22Mar.

22Feb: bomb destroys Swissair flight to Israel, killing 47; although PF-GC initially claimed responsibility, later retracted; responsibility never established. PPSF further hijack a Greek airliner (22Jul), successfully winning the release of Palestinian prisoners.

11Mar: Kurdish autonomy proclaimed in Iraq, with the 15-point ‘March proclamation’ signed by the RCC & by KDP leader Mustafa Barzani: recognises national rights of Kurdish people, and broadly welcomed by other Kurdish parties. Tensions continue, though, with Iraq not holding the promised census of Kurdish areas, continuing policy of Arabizing Kurdish areas (eg resettling Arabs in Kirkuk and other oil towns, deporting 40,000 Shi‘a Faili Kurds from region of Khanqin & ‘Amara to Iran over the Sept71-72 period), assassination attempt on Barzani on 29Sept71.

May: Iran renounces its claim to Bahrain, after UN report shows inhabitants want an independent State.

12May: Israel launches land & air raids on PLO bases in S.Lebanon (the ‘Battle of the Arqub’).

23Jul: Ceasefire across Suez mediated by William Rogers, coming into effect 7-8Aug; provokes Gahal’s resignation from Israeli government. Extensive vilification of Nasir by PFLP » Nasir terminates support to all Palestinian guerrillas. In Jordan, PF & PDF start planning a coup & dissociate themselves from earlier agreements, expecting defections from the Jordan army; fails to win support of Emergency PNC on 28Aug.

17Aug: Amidst ongoing clashes between Palestinians & Phalangists, Sulayman Franjiyya, head of a powerful Maronite clan, is elected as president of Lebanon in Parliament’s 3rd ballot.

6Sept: Against background of escalating conflict in Jordan, PFLP hijacks 4 airlines, forcing 1 to land in Cairo, where passengers evacuated & plane destroyed, & 3 to land in remote Jordanian desert; Israel arrests families of PFLP members in OTs, when PFLP under the command of Haddad & Zabri demands release of prisoners. Strong opposition from ‘Arafat (successfully urging suspension of PFLP’s membership in PLO); Jordan PM Rifa’i reaches agreement with PLO-CC for a ceasefire (15Sept), but Husayn disagreed: Rifa’i sacked & new military regime installed under Habis al-Majali as military governor, but with Wasfi al-Tal coordinating operations: increased attempts by Jordanian army to control rebelling refugee camps » ‘Arafat made C-in-C of all Palestinian forces, with PFLP’s suspension reversed; but general strike on 17 Sept preempted by government offensive which triggers civil war: massacres of Palestinians, largely organised from within refugee camps, by government forces in ‘Black September’, c.3000 Palestinians killed (17-27Sept). Guerrillas gain control of N Jordan, but Iraqi offers of military intervention failed to materialise (in fact, Iraq gave safe passage to Jordan troops); Syria took control of border region, but withdrew after US-Israeli threats. Cairo truce (27Sept, developing out of Arab summit) ends 1st round of fighting, followed by the Amman agreement (13Oct) regulating relations between regime & fida’i orgs. Wasfi al-Tal made PM of Jordan (28Oct); & covert Jordanian operations continue from Nov against fida’i bases in Irbid & Salt, provoking PFLP reprisals from Dec. With Palestinian leaders in Cairo for a PNC, Jordan launched main attack on Palestinian base at Jerash-‘Ajlun (12-6Jul71); other Arab States now refuse to assist PLO &, with US, pressure it to leave Jordan » guerrillas escape to Syria (& even Israel), before moving on to Lebanon.

28Sept: Nasir dies of cardiac arrest after negotiating Jordan-Palestinian truce; Anwar al-Sadat comes to power.

13Nov: Hafiz al-Asad seizes full power in Syria after President Atasi resigns (18Oct) over Jordan failure; former leaders imprisoned; becomes President in Feb71 = the “Corrective Movement” (al-haraka al-tashihiyya). Key supporters are ‘Abd al-Halim Khaddam (made Foreign Minister), Gen. Hikmat al-Shihabi (made head of military intelligence from 1971), Gen. Mustafa Tlass (made Defence Minister from 1972). Although these 3 are Sunnis, the dominance of ‘Alawis, begun in 1963, deepens (and is organised around the Kalbiyyun, one of the 4 ‘Alawite tribal confederations; also drawing on the support of al-Nmailatiyya section of al-Matawira confederation), esp in armed forces » opposition organised through assertion of Sunnism, eg by Muslim Brotherhood (eg Feb73 riots in Hama, spreading to Damascus, over the new constitution which did not include a religious stipulation for the head of state). Asad also introduces limited economic liberalisation, and announces on 27Nov that Syria would be willing to join the Federation of Arab States, a project already launched by Egypt, Libya and Sudan, which is officially set up on 17Apr71 (with Syria but without Sudan).

17Nov: Police coup in Oman after internal revolt, aided by British; Qabus al-Said, the son of Said ibn Taimur, replaces his father & is installed as sultan. Builds stronger ties with Arab States & Iran, who give military help in terminating the Dhofar rebellion (in 1976).

Dec: Conflict in N.Yemen officially comes to an end, when Egypt & Saudi agree on establishment of a Republican government with royalist (but not royal) participation; new constitution is inaugured.

1971

Nixon massively increases US aid for Israel ($634m  in ’71, cf $93m in ’70) in line with the Nixon doctrine (proclaimed in Jul69: providing mil & economic assistance to local powers to maintain the “regional order”); includes $545m in military aid, inc F-4 Phantom jets and A-4 Skyhawk warplanes.

Jan-Aug: Armed & esp fida’iyyun resistance in Gaza, weakened due to rupture with Nasir, is crushed by Ariel Sharon = disbanding of municipal council, razing of homes & mass transfers to detention camps in Sinai » the end of the secular nationalist resistance in Gaza.

4Feb: Sadat offers a full peace 'agreement' inc. security guarantees if Israel returns to 1967 borders. Jordan also signals its willingness to make peace.

28Feb-5Mar: 8th PNC establishes unified command of the Palestinian revolution; affirms the slogan of the Democratic State.

Jul: Communist Party launch coup in Sudan; Egypt & Libya act with backing of Saudi & Syria to restore Numayri government.

Sept: Referenda in Egypt, Libya & Syria approve Federation of Arab Republics. Egypt this year has adopted a new constitution (& reverted to name of Egypt); signed treaty of friendship with USSR, & opened Aswan High Dam.

28Nov: ‘Black September’, which Israel claimed was a Fatah front under Ali Hasan Salameh & Salah Khalaf, to denials of Fatah, assassinate Jordanian PM Wasfi al-Tal at Cairo Sheraton Hotel; further attacks on Jordan ambassador in London (wounded, 15Dec) & Dutch & German companies cooperating with Israel (6Feb).

1Dec: British withdraws from the Gulf territories: UAE (out of 6 {from Feb72, with Ra’s al-Khaymah joining, 7} emirates) formed as a federation on 2Dec, under presidency of Abu Dhabi’s Shaykh Zayid. Bahrain (under Isa bin Sulman al-Khalifa), after declaring independence with treaty of friendship with Britain (15Aug), gains formal independence (16Dec); allows treaty with US to grant it naval & military facilities (23Dec). Also Qatar (under al-Thani family), which had declared independence on 3Sept. Iran had taken advantage of the British pull-out by occupying two islands from the Ra’s al-Khaymah principality: the uninhabited Lesser Tunb (30Nov) & capturing the Greater Tunb after a brief struggle; also, with British help, took control of Abu Musa, formerly under Sharjah's rule. Iraq, in competition for the leadership of the Gulf region, denigrates Iran by stressing its Arabist credentials, breaks off relations with Iran & UK, expels 60,000 Iraqis of Iranian origin, turns to USSR for support. The US in turn supports Iran and the KDP from 1972.

1972

Revolt in S.Sudan, against domination by the North, comes to an end when the Addis Ababa autonomy agreement is reached between the government & the Anya Nya movement.

Mar: Asad agrees to accept SCR242, as long as it means that all OTs are liberated. Syria in this period is forming a closer alliance with the USSR (a treaty on economic cooperation was signed in Feb72), and hostility with Iraq was lessening (talks between Saddam Husayn and Asad in Damascus, leading to a joint communique of 26Mar).

15Mar: Husayn proposes a ‘United Arab Kingdom’, a federal system of West Bank & Jordan, each an autonomous, self-governing entity within a single State headed by the king. Strongly condemned by PLO; & Egypt, fearing separate Jordan-Israel agreement, breaks off relations (only resumed in Sept73, in preparation for war). PLO convenes a "Palestine People's Congress" (Cairo, 6-10Apr), whose opposition to the UAK plan is reaffirmed at the 10th PNC.

28Mar (Nn towns) & 2May (C&Sn towns): 1st municipal elections in West Bank since 1963, announced on 26Nov71: traditionalist, pro-Jordanian elite win the majority of seats.

15May: Iraqi Ba‘thist leadership brings communists into government after Iraqi-USSR 15 year Treaty of Friendship & Cooperation of Apr72. Nationalisation of Iraqi Petroleum Company (1Jun), which was providing c.60% of Iraq's annual revenues (with 60m out of the 83.5m tons of oil coming from the Kirkuk oil fields); this may have been brought on by the IPC's decision to cut production (itself possibly a tactic to pressure the Iraqi government into liberalising the oil market). The result is that the massive oil revenues after Oct73 are at the full disposal of the state. After extended negotiations, the Iraqi Communist Party join the Ba‘th in a National Progressive Front (Jul73, lasts until 1979).

30May: Japanese Red Army & PFLP coordinate attack on Ben Gurion airport, killing 31 civilians.

18July: Sadat expels Egypt’s 15,000 Russian military advisors & experts; sees cooperation with US as means to regain Sinai & extract rent from oil rich states. USSR builds ties with PLO instead » ‘Arafat leads delegation to Moscow on 17Jul & USSR begins direct arms deliveries for the 1st time, to PLO in Syria.

5Sept: 8 Fatah guerrillas using ‘Black September’ name (whether Fatah leaders knew is unclear) take Israeli athletes hostage at Munich Olympics; 11 athletes, 1 policeman & 5 guerrillas killed during police raid at military airbase. Israel bombs S Lebanon & Syria in revenge, killing 200-300 people inc 80-200 civilians.

1973

Shaykh Ahmad Yassin forms Mujama‘ organisation, formally registered by Israel as a charity in 1978.

6-12Jan: 11th PNC calls for a Palestinian National Front in the OTs; emphasis is on mobilising Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

21Feb: Israeli commandos attack guerrilla offices in refugee camps in N.Lebanon, killing 40 Palestinians (esp PFLP).

21Feb: Israel shoots down a Libyan airliner over the Sinai, killing 106.

1-4Mar: Black September commandos seize the Saudi embassy in Khartum; call for release of Palestinian prisoners in Jordan, kill 1 Belgian & 2 US diplomats.

10Apr: Israeli raid on Fatah HQ in Rue Verdun, central Beirut, killing 3 PLO leaders, Kamal Nasir (the independent PLO official spokesperson), Najjar & ‘Udwan (both Fatah); capturing files from ‘Udwan’s house on activities in the OTs. Provoked increased tension (which had been acute since Sept72) between the 5000 PLO guerrillas in Lebanon & their supporters (250k, 10% of pop, attended commanders’ funerals), Lebanese government (PM Sa’ib Salam resigned after President Franjiyya refused to sack General Iskander Ghanim, the army commander; replaced by Amin al-Hafez) & Lebanese Christians, who demanded the abrogation of the Cairo agreement » clashes between former 2 (2-9May, with Egypt & Syria backing PLO due to their desire for its help in the forthcoming conflict), & formation of Christian militias (encouraged by Franjiyya). Temporarily resolved with negotiations between Palestinian delegation & Lebanese Army, & the agreement on the “Milkart protocols” (17May, after the Beirut hotel where meeting held): guerrillas further confined in area of operations.

May: Qadhafi announces “Third Universal Theory” in Libya, to be turned into the “Green Book” in Apr75.

Aug: Palestine National Front launched from within West Bank, largely by Palestinian communists, but genuine popular support; enables cooperation between PLO & political forces & mass movements within OTs. Calls for establishment of State in OTs (» only opposition from PFLP). Israeli repression entails demise by 1977.

6Oct: Syria (backed by Moroccan forces, 1 Jordanian brigade, & Iraqi forces from 11Oct) & Egypt (backed by Algerian & Kuwaiti units) attack Israel during Ramadan & Yom Kippur. PLO launch raids from S.Lebanon, as well as supporting on Syria & Egypt fronts (though no attacks from Jordan permitted by Husayn). Arabs win initial victories, but huge US airlift of weapons to Israel (19Oct) & US threat of nuclear weapons use leads to stalemate » SCR338, promoted by US & USSR equally, calls for ceasefire (22Oct): ceasefire with Egypt & Syria (24Oct), opposed by Iraq. Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC, estd 1968) imposes an oil embargo on US & Netherlands (20Oct, until 18Mar74), and organises through OPEC a quadrupling of oil prices (a 70% rise from 15Oct Kuwait meeting; 5% monthly production cut-backs agreed among OAPEC members from 17Oct meeting). Saudi oil revenue increases from $3bn in 1972 to $25bn in 1975. 3000 Israeli soldiers & 8500 Arabs killed.

26-28Nov: Algiers Arab Summit recognises PLO as the sole representative of Palestinian people; Jordan abstains & continues to assert its responsibility for the West Bank.

Dec: Golda Meir wins the Israeli election, but is unable to form an effective government when Moshe Dayan refuses to act as Defence Minister.

6Dec: new constitution in force in Bahrain; & elections to an advisory legislature, the National Assembly (7Dec); serves only until 1975.

21-9Dec: Middle East Peace Conference convened in Geneva, with Jordan, Egypt, USSR, US & Israel attending (Syria refused). 1st objective is the disengagement of forces.

1974

18Jan: Egypt-Israel Separation of Forces Agreement (Sinai I), opposed by Syria. UN Emergency Force takes up positions in the buffer zones established in Sinai; fully deployed by 3Mar.

Feb: Gush Emunim (‘bloc of the faithful’) founded by religious settlers in Gush Etzion settlement.

Feb: Organisation of the Islamic Conference summit recognises the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

Mar: In Egypt, the “policy of the open door” (infitah) is promulgated in law; it is becoming clear that to seek Western capital, the conflict with Israel had to be resolved » moves closer to US, alienating USSR & Syria. Treaty of Friendship is formally terminated by Egypt in 1976.

13Mar: Negotiations between Mustafa Barzani’s KDP and the Iraqi government break down after Baghdad decrees an autonomy statute that determines that the Kurdish Autonomous Region (consisting of governorates of Irbil, Sulaymaniyya, Dohuk) is only half the area the KDP demanded, and excludes oil-rich areas of Kirkuk (which Barzani had formally laid claim to in Jun73), Khanqin and Jabal Sinjar. Other governorates are renamed and there are some boundary alterations to ensure Arab majorities (eg al-Ta'mim, centred on Kirkuk). Iraq earned 60% of its oil revenues from Kurdish-majority areas. Renewal of hostilities in N.Iraq.

Apr: Imam Musa al-Sadr (b.1928), Shi‘a leader from Qom, Iran who studied under Muhsin al-Hakim of Najaf (from 1954) and was sent by him to live in Tyre, Lebanon in 1960 (& close associate of Ayatollah Khomeini), holds 2 mass rallies in Hermel & Tyre, drawing 80k-100k heavily armed people, calling for political reform & confrontation with Israel » creation of the Movement of the Disinherited (Harakat al-Mahrumin), with AMAL (Afwaj al-Muqawamat al-Lubnaniyya: Battalions of Lebanese Resistance) as its military wing, led by lawyer Nabih Berri.

10Apr: Golda Meir resigns as PM (& d.1978); Yitzhak Rabin (b.Jerusalem, 1922), former IDF chief-of-staff in 1967 war, beats Shimon Peres (b. Poland, 1923), former director-general of the Defence Ministry, in Labour election for the next leader (3Jun); Peres becomes Defence Minister & Allon becomes Foreign Minister.

11Apr: PFLP-GC takes dozens of teenagers hostage in Qiryat Shmona, Israel, to demand the release of prisoners. IDF storms the building, leading to 19 Israeli deaths. US increases support due to attack. Israeli reprisal raids on S.Lebanon condemned by SCR347 (24 Apr).

15May: PDFLP take 100 Israeli schoolchildren hostage in N.Israeli town of Ma’alot; 23 Israelis, mostly children, die when IDF storm the building. Israeli reprisal bombing of S.Lebanon kills 60 civilians.

31May: Syria-Israel disengagement agreement over the Golan, with Syria accepting SCR338 (& thus 242) as a basis for peace, & Israel partially withdrawing to establish a demilitarised zone, with UN Disengagement Observer Force separating parties. UN Special Commission reports on the IDF’s systematic destruction of Qunaytra, including raids on its cemetry, prior to its withdrawal on 26Jun. Syria resumes diplomatic links with the US, inc the visit of President Nixon (15-16Jun).

1-9June: 12th PNC resolves that "the PLO will struggle by every means ... to liberate Palestinian land and establish the people's national, independent & fighting authority on every part of Palestinian land to be liberated", and this was widely portrayed later as meaning that a State in part of Palestine was acceptable to the PLO = the “mini-State” option, or the "phased" pol programme. George Habash takes PFLP out of the PLO & its representatives resign from Executive Committee (26Sept); joins with PFLP-GC, ALF to form the Libyan/Iraqi-backed "Rejectionist Front" (10Oct), maintaining goal of total liberation (lasts until 1978). Only rejoins PLO in 1980.

Jun: Lt.-Col. Ibrahim al-Hamadi seizes power in N.Yemen; rules through a Military Comand Council; is pro-Saudi, & restoration of monarchy seems likely by 1975.

20Jul: Turkey invades N.Cyprus to forestall imposition of 'Enosis' (union) with Greece.

30Jul-3Aug: ‘Arafat visits USSR for the 1st time for official talks with the government; USSR commitment to open a PLO office in Moscow (opened in 1976), support for a Palestinian State (8Sept).

29Oct: PLO unanimously recognised by Arab League summit in Rabat as the Palestinian people’s sole legitimate representatives. King Husayn dissolves the House of Representatives (half of whose members represented the West Bank) in response (Nov).

13Nov: ‘Arafat speaks at UNGA debate on Palestine, on invitation of 14Oct (GAR3210; vote: 105-4), with his pistol partly showing. UNGA recognises Palestinians’ right to sovereignty (GAR3236) & grants PLO observer status (GAR3237; 22Nov).

9Dec: Egypt & Iran sponsor GAR 3363 (session XXIX), calling for nuclear-weapons-free-zone in Middle East.

***********

Although clearest "policy of the open door" was in Egypt, it was mirrored throughout the Arab world, esp Syria, Iraq, Tunisia (exceptions in 1970s were Algeria & S.Yemen). Involves the shifting balance of power internally to the private sectors of the economy; & opening to Western investment & enterprise. Driven by perception of need for foreign capital; & from perceived importance of US, as legacy of 1973 war. Opposition largely drawn from those who had seen the 1967 war as an indication that there was a deep social & moral malaise in the Arab world, reflected in the military defeat. The dominant question had been whether the Arab world should draw its values from the outside world, or from within itself in a process of renewal: the infitah was the culmination of the former viewpoint, but this was seen by many as the cause of the crisis of culture & loss of self-confidence, as it involves permanent dependence on the West. Emphasis placed on renewal by influential writers: Galal Amin (Egyptian economist) in The Plight of the Economy & Culture in Egypt; Hasan Hanafi: need reformation of religious thought so that masses can redefine themselves politically. Taken either to mean that the past must be reactivated in modern setting (eg ‘Abdullah Laroui) or that Islamic heritage was a full basis for present action » return to the shari‘a (eg Sayyid Qutb 1964).

1975

Jan: Iran sends 2 regiments into KDP-controlled areas of Iraq; war averted through Turkish, then Algerian, mediation.

6Mar: Under Algerian mediation during the OPEC summit, the Algiers Accord agrees to delimit territorial boundaries, according to the thalweg principle for the Shatt al-Arab in line with long-standing Iranian demands, and to end backing of subversive opposition groups. The strengthens greatly Iraq's position in the Arab world, enabling Gulf States to support Iraq in the competition for the Gulf, due to Iraq's acceptability to the US. Iran (followed by US) cuts off support for Kurdish revolt, leading to the routing of Kurdish areas within a week, with razing of Zakho and Qala’at Diza. 800 villages along the Iran-Iraq border are evacuated (1976). 130,000 Kurds flee to Iran. The Algiers Accord is incorporated into the Baghdad Treaty of International Boundaries and Good Neighborliness (signed 13Jun; ratified 17Sept) which creates a joint commission to demarcate the new boundaries. Syria's response to Iraq's new regional dominance was to limit Iraq's share of the Euphrates waters, renewing intense rivalry between the countries, including the Syrian role in the establishment of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. The Iraqi government further uproots Kurdish families from the Turkish and Iranian border regions over 1977-78, esp affecting Sulaymaniyya, resettling families in mujamma'at (complexes) under army control.

25Mar: Saudi King Faysal, key inter-Arab mediator, assassinated by his nephew, Faysal ibn Musa’id. Khalid takes over kingship, but Crown Prince Fahd takes over effective rule in role as Deputy PM.

3Apr: In Libya, Qadhafi publishes the Green Book.

13Apr: After assassination of veteran Muslim leader, & firing of shots at Pierre Jumayyil’s church, Phalangists (or possibly Shamun’s National Liberation Party) ambush a Palestinian bus of PFLP-GC supporters at Ayn al-Rummaneh (a Beirut Christian suburb), killing 26. PM Sulh resigns (15May), replaced by Rashid Karami. Temporary ceasefire undermined by the Lebanese opposition (the Lebanese National Movement, under Kamal Junblatt), Palestinian rejectionists with DFLP & Sa‘iqa, & Israeli/US-armed Maronite escalation, esp 6Dec Phalangist rampage in Beirut, led by Pierre Jumayyil’s son Bashir, killing 70 Muslims, & blockade of Palestinian refugee camps & WBeirut. After prolonged Fatah restraint, Fatah formed alliance with Amal (June) & eventually joins military alliance against Maronite forces & open confrontation with Lebanese army (Jan76).

26Aug: Emir of Bahrain dissolves the National Assembly & rules by decree (until 2001).

4Sept: ‘Interim agreement’ between Israel & Egypt signed in Geneva (initialled on 1Sept): Israel withdraws from Sinai behind Mitli & Gidi (Sinai II). Kissinger negotiates disengagement, redeployment & UN forces in buffer zone. Opposed by Syria. US also signs secret agreements with Israel (leaked later that month to NYT) on 1Sept, 2 dealing with military & economic assistance, & 1 committing US not to deal with PLO until it has accepted SCR242.

20Oct: Israeli Defence Minister Peres unveils a “civil administration” plan for the OTs = limited autonomy, with Israel in control of defence, finance & foreign affairs.

Nov - May76: general uprising in the OTs in response to Israeli settlement nr Nablus (30Nov), & against the civil administration plan.

6Nov: 350,000 Moroccan civilians begin the “Green March” into Western (Spanish) Sahara. Polisario, estd in 1973 with Algerian support, opposes them and holds the goal of independence. Spanish forces withdraw, on the understanding that it would be run by Mauritania & Morocco (Dec). Moroccan forces enter, amid Algerian indications of imminent entry: clashes between the two in Feb76, with Mauritania giving up its part of the territory to Morocco and Algeria estg the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) & forming a government-in-exile. In Morocco, groupings that supported the Western Sahara campaign are allowed to participate in political competition, with elections held in 1977 & 1984, and pro-monarchical parties formed for this purpose.

10Nov: The UNGA “determines that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination” (GAR3379, by a vote of 72-35-32); establishes the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian people (GAR3376). The determination in 3379 is repealed by GAR 46/86 (16Dec91; 111-25-13), after huge US lobbying & making payment of UN dues conditional on support.

9Dec: Nazareth municipal elections won (67% of vote) by nationalist Tawfiq Zayyad, MK of Rakah party.

1976

Jan: Christian Lebanese militias storm small Palestinian Christian refugee camp, Dbayeh (14Jan), & imposed sieges around Tal al-Zataar & Jisr al-Basha camps in E.Beirut » as were their bases, Fatah finally provoked into joining with Lebanese opposition in siege of Chamoun’s stronghold of Damour, S. of Beirut (20Jan). Christian militias also stormed & took control of the Beirut shanty-town of Karantina » sparked Sunni army lieutenant, Ahmed al-Khatib, to lead a break-away faction, alleging army support for Maronite militias » defectors established Lebanese Arab Army.

23Jan: US vetoes draft SCR backed by Egypt, Syria, Jordan, PLO & USSR for ideal of separate Palestinian State & guaranteed sovereignty for all states of the region.

29Jan: Jerusalem magistrate affirms Jewish prayer rights on Haram al-Sharif; only partly reversed through later appeal which prohibits only ‘provocative’ ceremonies.

14Feb: President Franjieh of Lebanon announces a set of mild internal reforms, brokered by Syrians: the ‘Programme of National Action’; opposition, esp Junblatt’s LNM, rejects & Fatah sides with him & against Syria » provokes Sunni Brig.Gen. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Ahdab to attempt a coup against Franjieh with Fatah’s assistance (11Mar), & Syria to stop arms supplies to LNM .

24Mar: US vetoes draft SCR, backed by all other members, deploring Israeli actions to change the status of Jerusalem.

30Mar: General strike of Israeli Arabs against land expropriation in Galilee, part of Israeli government’s attempts to ‘Judaise’ Galilee. 6 killed; annual Land Day thereafter.

12Apr: Municipal elections in West Bank, called in Dec75: Israel had deported some of the major nationalist challengers (Dr Ahmad Hamzi Natsche from Hebron & Dr ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Hajj from al-Birah both sent to Lebanon), but on 72% turnout, PLO & nationalists candidates largely successful, eg Bassam al-Shak‘a (Nablus), Fahd Qawasma (Hebron), Karim Khalaf (Ramallah), Ibrahim Tawil (al-Bira). Together with other notables, these mayors form the National Guidance Committee in Oct78.

Apr: Secret Syria-Israel ‘red line’ agreement reached through US mediation. Syria may use ground forces north of Zaharani estuary - Mashki village (in Bekaa valley) line in Lebanon. Israel has ‘legitimate security interests’ in S. Lebanon.

Apr-May: Syria sends troops into Lebanon, in order (w the help of Sa‘iqa & PF-GC) to forcibly subdue the PLO, LNM & LAA, who were on verge of defeating Maronite forces, & who now formed a unified military command, the ‘Joint Forces’, to oppose Syria's incursion. Syrian-backed candidate, Ilyas Sarkis, wins Presidential elections from House of Deputies (8May), brought forward to preempt the coup; but extensive violence between PLO & Syria continues from late May. Lebanese opposition (with possible Iraqi involvement) kills US ambassador, Francis Melloy, in an attempt to drag US into the conflict (17Jun).

22June: Camille Chamoun’s Tigers militia (later joined by Phalangists & other Maronite militias) attack the 2 Palestinian refugees camps which had been under blockade from Jan; strongest attacks on Tal al-Zataar, which was eventually razed with the assistance of Israeli weaponry (inc tanks) & Syrian coordination by 12Aug (Syrian & Israeli liaison officers at Phalangist HQ during the massacre: Khalidi, 1997:264n42); in 55 day siege, c.3500 Palestinians killed, at least 1k of whom were killed trying to escape on 12Aug. After Syria furthered control & a Saudi peacemaking venture, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon & PLO agree ceasefire to be policed by the Arab Deterrent Force (18Oct; the Riyadh Agreement; endorsed by Arab summit conference in Cairo, 25-6Oct) which incorporated Syria troops already in Lebanon. Approx.23k Palestinians killed in the civil war; Egypt-Syria reconciliation.

28Jun: Haddad's PFLP-External Operations dissident organisation hijacks an Air France flight, taking it to Entebbe, Uganda: 98 Israeli & Jewish hostages rescued by Israeli commandos (4Jul). PFLP condemns the hijacking, and expels Haddad from the Front.

21Jul: PLO official, ‘Isam Sartawi, meets Israeli retd. gen. Matityahu Peled, in Paris = 1st secret negotiations.

Sept: Official report of Israeli government, by Israel Koenig (Interior ministry official), on Israeli Arabs leaked: claims that they are a security threat in W.Galilee, & calls for Jewish settlement there, suppressing Arab political activity, encouraging Arab emigration.

12Dec: Presidential election in Algeria won by the Houari Boumedienne, who had ruled as chairman of the Revolutionary Council since 1965; promotes rapid industrialization & Islam as the State religion.

1977

IMF imposed reforms in Egypt triggers extensive food riots.

Continuing violence in Lebanon until July, inc assassination of Kamal Junblatt (16Mar) probably by Syrian agents, leading to a great weakening of leftist forces in Lebanon; car bomb in E.Beirut killing 50 (3Jan); Israeli & Maronite-backed forces under Sa’d Haddad (created in Aug76) occupies towns & villages in S.Lebanon, starting with Marjayoun; anti-Syria rejectionist front openly attacking Sa‘iqa, PF-GC & Syria troops, with encouragement of Iraq.

22Feb: PLO-Jordan reconciliation: 1st official meeting since 1970 is held.

2Mar: The Revolutionary Command Council in Libya is replaced by the Libyan General People’s Congress; Qadhafi is its S-G (until 1979); it renames the country the People’s Socialist Libyan Arab Jamahiriyya (“government through the masses”: a neologism).

12-20Mar: 13th PNC demands the creation of an independent Palestinian State, & affirms the need to work with sympathetic Israelis.

16Mar: President Carter calls for the creation of a 'Palestinian homeland' for the 1st time, either within or without a Jordanian framework; followed by Carter’s calls for dialogue with PLO & joint US-USSR diplomacy (May); US State Dept call for withdrawal from all OTs (Jun) & EEC call for a Palestinian homeland (Jun). US & USSR call for the Geneva conference to be reconvened to resolve the Palestinian question (the Vance-Gromyko statement: 1Oct); Fatah leaderships welcome this statement, but US quickly backtracks after Israeli criticisms.

8Apr: Rabin (in effect) resigns, following corruption allegations.

23Apr: Muhammad Abbas Zaydan splits from PFLP-GC to form Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), due to PFLP-GC’s support for Syria intervention in Lebanon.

17May: Likud under Menachem Begin (b. Brest-Litovsk, Russia, 1913) wins Israeli election due to Oriental Jewish (Sephardi) vote, putting Labour into opposition for the first time. However, Likud government (formed 21Jun) leaves Moshe Dayan (former Labour defence minister) as foreign minister, Ezer Weizmann at Defence; also Ariel Sharon at Agriculture.

25July: Shtaura Agreement: guerrilla presence in Lebanon reduced in exchange for facilities in Syria; Lebanese army returns to S. Lebanon.

Jul-Aug: border hostilities between Egypt & Libya; Libya expels Egyptian workers.

Oct: Ibrahim al-Hamadi, ruler of N.Yemen, is assassinated; Col. Ahmad ibn Husayn al-Ghashmi from the Military Command Council takes over.

9Nov: Israel bombs Palestinian refugee camps near Tyre, S Lebanon, killing 78, in response to rocket attack.

9Nov: Sadat, unable to receive sufficient funds from Arab States to get over economic difficulties, announces to Egyptian Parliament that he would go to Jerusalem to make peace. Visits Jerusalem (19-21Nov) & speaks to Knesset, offering recognition for return of OTs. Further talks with Begin at Isma'iliya summit. Begin replies with a plan for 'autonomy' in OTs (16Dec).

25-26Dec: Egypt-Israel summit at Isma'ilia. Establishment of Joint Military Commission to exchange military views. Convened on 11Jan78, but ceased work shortly afterwards.

Dec: Shaykh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir becomes emir of Kuwait as Jabir III (succeeding his cousin Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah who dies); Sa'd al-Abdallah al-Salim al-Sabah is appointed Prime Minister on 8Feb78, a position he continues to hold.

1978

Libya announces Islamic Revolution, government by Qur’anic Law. Qadhafi announces that the sole source of scriptural authority is the Qur’an, disqualifying the Sunna and the hadith as sources of authority = an attempt to disable the independent authority of the ‘ulama from the Maliki and Hanafi schools of law.

Iraqi-backed Palestinian groups turn on PLO: clashes between PLO & Sa‘iqa / PF-GC (Jan-Feb); Abu Nidal faction kills Sa’id Hamami (PLO rep in London, who had been in repeated contact with Israeli interlocutors regarding potential coexistence formulae, 4Jan), Yusif al-Siba’i (leading Egypt intellectual; Cyprus, 18Feb), ‘Ali Yasin (PLO rep in Kuwait, 15May), ‘Izz al-Din al-Qalaq (PLO rep in Paris: 1Aug). Fatah turns its attacks against Iraqi diplomats & Iraqi-backed groups; rejectionist Syria-backed groups also enter the rising intercommunal warfare.

Feb: ‘Abd al-Nur Janho, Ramallah politician generally considered a collaborator with the Israeli military government, is assassinated.

11Mar: Fatah team led by Dalal Mughrabi launch seaborne raid out of S.Lebanon (‘Operation Dayr Yassin’), hijacking a coastal highway bus near Haifa, aimed at showing that any pol settlement must include the PLO; kills 37 Israelis, wounding 76. 6 hijackers also killed, 2 captured.

14Mar: Israeli counterattack occupies up to Litani River: up to 1000 killed, inc 75 Lebanese in an airstrike on a mosque in ‘Abbasiyya, 285,000 refugees. Territory is handed over (by Jun) to forces of Sa’d Haddad, later known as the South Lebanon Army, to patrol. Habib negotiates Israel-Fatah agreement for ceasefire along Israel-Lebanon border. SCR425 calls for Israeli withdrawal & establishes UNIFIL (19Mar): accepted by Israel & PLO, UNIFIL moves into S.Lebanon on 6Apr. Fatah reaches agreement with UNIFIL regarding its military activities in the buffer zone, though rejectionist groups attempt to undermine by attacking UNIFIL forces.

8Apr: Peace Now established in Israel, organising demos of 100,000 to support peace with Egypt within 5 months.

Jun: N.Yemen ruler Col. Ghashmi is assassinated when a bomb in the suitcase of a S.Yemen envoy explodes. President of S.Yemen, Salim Rubay ‘Ali, due to opposition of YSP, tries to force through unification with N through exercising military control (26Jun); but is deposed instead & executed by firing squad. The YSP’s chief ideologue, ‘Abd al-Fattah Isma’il takes over in S, with orthodox Marxist approach, & in 1979 signs a 20yr Treaty of Friendship & Cooperation with USSR, allowing USSR to station troops in S.Yemen. Lt.-Col. ‘Ali Abdullah Saleh elected President in N.

1Aug: Mustafa Dudin establishes a ‘Village League’ in Dura village nr Hebron, an anti-PLO armed group. Taken up by Israelis after 1982, when civilian admininistration of West Bank established, using them to remove municipalities’ functions.

Sept: Lebanese Shi‘a leader, Imam Musa Sadr, ‘disappears’ on a visit to Libya, after a disagreement with Qadhafi. His movement comes under the overall control of its military wing, AMAL led by Nabih Berri.

4-17Sept: Camp David accords signed 17Sep between Sadat & Begin, with Carter as intermediary. Egyptian-Israeli relations normalised, & Israel recognises the ‘legitimate rights of the Palestinians’, & are committed to granting them ‘full autonomy’ after 5yr transitional period, as well as withdrawal from Sinai. US cuts off Jordanian aid, & is replaced by Arab donors. Ratified in the Knesset on 27Sept, with Begin relying on Labour’s support (84-19-17 vote).

4Nov: National Guidance Committee (Lajnat al-Tawjih al-Watani) set up out of leaders to oppose Camp David, on initiative of 1Oct rally in Jerusalem which discussed the accords. Holds 4 major rallies in Nov to discuss accords.

27Dec: Houari Boumedienne dies; after interim rule by Rabah Bitat, he is replaced on 9Feb79 as Algerian president by Colonel Chadli Bendjedid, who was favoured by the military establishment. Chadli fosters the Islamist movement, especially from 1981-82, to use in an attempt to purge leftist and Boumedienist forces.

1979

Jan: Israeli settlers from Qiryat Arba occupy Hebron Ibrahimi mosque, demanding the right to use it » Israeli government consents, initially allowing use for part of Saturdays. SCR446 demands that Israel dismantle its settlements in the OTs (22Mar; US, UK abstain). On SG report, SCR452 (20Jul) calls for Israel to cease all settlement construction (US abstain).

15Jan: Shah's promises of disbanding SAVAK, returning to Islamic tenets, supporting Palestinian cause & implementing embargoes on South Africa & Israel fail, & he flees Iran. Khomeini returns from France on 1Feb, Shahpour Bakhtiar resigns as PM & Islamic Republic declared by referendum (1Apr).

23Jan: 14th PNC opposes Camp David accords, and acknowledges new relations with Jordan & special role of Syria.

Mar: After clashes between N&S Yemen in Feb, a ceasefire & external aid package is arranged through Arab League auspices culminating in summit of leaders in Kuwait, with agreement to merge. Is taken further when Isma’il is ousted & exiled to the USSR in Apr80: new S.Yemen president, ‘Ali Nasir Muhammad, begins cooperation with N.Yemen (inc 6-monthly joint Yemen council from 1983; joint committee on foreign policy from Mar84) & Oman. Gradual intro of democracy: both Salih in N (1983, 1988) & Muhammad in S (1985) reelected.

26March: Formal Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, followed by restoration of full diplomatic relations (26Jan80). Near collective Arab sanctions (prohibiting oil sales and diplomatic links) imposed on Egypt (29Mar); Egypt expelled from the League, whose HQ move to Tunis.

1Jun: Shaykh Hashim Khuzundar of Gaza, a leading supporter of Sadat’s initiatives & Camp David, is stabbed to death by the PFLP; condemned by PLO.

16Jun: Muslim Brotherhood massacres 32 Alawi cadets at Aleppo military college, Syria. Iraqi link suspecte