Until Return Issue 4: Important Dates in Palestinian Arab History February

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Until Return - Issue 4

Important Dates in Palestinian Arab History
Compiled by: Nader Abuljebain
Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition

The following is a compilation of important dates and events in Palestinian Arab History for the month of February. For entire year, please see this page.

FEBRUARY

1920 Major demonstrations in Palestine, against assigning of British Mandate by the San Remo Conference. (27 February). Second Palestinian National Congress held in Damascus 27 February as part of The General Syrian Conference, since it was prevented from being held in Palestine by the British authorities.
1936 The Second Conference for the Muslim Clergy held in Jerusalem on 14 February.
1939 Round Table Conference on Palestine at St. James' Palace, London, followed by "MacDonald White Paper" disclaiming any intention to create a Jewish state, placing restrictions on Jewish immigration and land purchase and envisages an independent state in Palestine within 10 years. (February). Sadhij Nassar (wife of Najib Nassar, owner of Al-Karmel newspaper) is first woman arrested under British Defense Emergency Regulations, and held for 18 months. (23 Feb)
1948 Ben-Gurion issues orders to Haganah commander in Jerusalem for conquest of Holy City and its suburbs. Haganah calls up men and women aged 25 - 35 for military service. Zionists plant explosives, and committ massacres Al Teireh (10), Sa’Sa’ (14), Qisarya (15), Al Salam Bldg. in Jerusalem (20), and Wadi ‘Ara (27). Jewish Agency announces it will establish state without backing of an international force. British troops begin withdrawal from Palestine giving camps and arms to the Zionists.
1949 24 February : Israeli-Egyptian Armistice Agreement: Egypt keeps coastal strip Gaza-Rafah and evacuates Faloujah pocket. Armistice Agreement. End of February Israeli units coerce 2-3,000 villagers into leaving Faloujah pocket violating Israeli-Egyptian agreement.
1951 Israel commits massacre of Sharafat village near Jerusalem (27 February)
1954 Israeli raids on Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip. (February)
1955 Israeli raid on Egyptian army camp near Gaza City railway station kills 38 Egyptians. (February)
1962 Israel destroys Syrian village of Al Tawafiq on 1 February.
1969 5th Palestinian National Council convenes in Cairo on 1 February. Yasser Arafat becomes president of the PLO after Palestinian Resistance factions join the PLO.
1970 Israel attacks Egyptian factory in Abu Za'bal killing 80 workers (12 February)
1971 8th Palestinian National Council convenes in Cairo 28 February, establishes unified command of the Palestinian revolution; affirms the slogan of the Democratic State.
1973 Israeli air force shoots down civilian Libyan plane over Sinai desert killing 104 passengers 21 February. Israeli commandos attack guerrilla offices in refugee camps in N.Lebanon, killing 40 Palestinians. (21 February)
1983 16th Palestinian National Council convenes in Algiers on 14-21 February, rejects Reagan plan and states that Fez plan is the minimum acceptable. Envisions future relations with Jordan as "a confederation between two independent states".
1984 4 February Israeli fighter jets force a Libyan civilian airplane, in a piracy high-jacking to land in Israel, believing Dr. George Habash, Secretary General of the PFLP, was on board.
1985 Accord between Jordan and the PLO to accommodate Reagan’s peace initiative on 12 February.
1986 US vetoes UNSC resolution 6 February which condemned Israel’s hijacking of Libyan passenger plane on February 4 (Vote: 10 to 1 with 1 abstention).
1988 January/February: United National Leadership of the Uprising (UNLU) (Al-Qiyada al-Wataniyya al-Muwahhada li’l Intifada) formed to promote intifada, on the initiative of local PF/DFLP, PCP Al Jihad and Fatah leaders. UNLU coordinates the Palestinian boycott of US Sec State Shultz’s visit (February) and mass resignation of 625 Palestinian police officers (10-12Mar). Israeli government orders deportation of 9 Palestinians from WBG on 3 January and UNSC issued resolution # 607 5 January 5, calling on Israel not to deport Palestinians and ‘strongly requesting’ it abide by the Forth Geneva Convention. UNSC again issued resolution # 608 on 14 January ‘deeply regretting’ Israel defiance of the U.N. and deported Palestinian civilians. The US again vetoed UNSC resolution 1 February calling on Israel to ‘abandon its policies’ against Palestinians, that violate rights of occupied peoples, to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention and formalize a leading role for the U.N. in future peace negotiations. (Vote: 14 to 1)
1989 Palestinian-Israeli meeting at Notre Dame Hotel, between East and West Jerusalem. Israelis: Deputy Finance Min. Yossi Beilin, Peres's adviser Nimrod Novik; former head of the Civil Administration in the West Bank Ephraim Sneh; MK Avraham Burg; Dr.Yair Hirschfeld, Haifa University, Boaz Carmi and Arye Ofri. Palestinians: Faisal Husseini, Sari Nusseibeh, Ziad Abu Zayyad, Hanan Ashrawi, Ghassan Khatib, Sam'an Khouri, Mamduh Aker, and Khalil Mahshi. (16 February). Third round of Palestinian-Israeli talks in Jerusalem. Palestinians headed by Faisal Husseini, and the Israelis by Shinui leaders Amnon Rubinstein and Avraham Poraz. Previous meetings were between Faisal Husseini, Sari Nusseibeh and other Palestinians with Yossi Beilin, Haim Ramon and Avraham Burg as well as Mapam's Yair Tsaban. (17 February). US vetoes three proposed UNSC resolutions against Zionist crimes during the Intifada on 17 February , which ‘strongly deplored’ Israel’s repression of the Palestinian uprising and called on Israel to respect the human rights of the Palestinians (Vote: 14 to 1).
1992 Israeli Apache helicopter gunships kill Shaykh Abbas Musawi, Hizbullah’s S-G, his wife and their 5yr old son, in Lebanon . Hassan Nasrallah takes over as S-G of the organization. ( 16 February )
1994 Baruch Goldstein, a Zionist Terrorist opened fire on the praying people at Al Haram Al Ibrahimi in Hebron and killed 29 people. (February). UNSC issued resolution # 904 on 18 March condemning the murder of Palestinians in the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron by an Israeli Colonizer (Settler), with the US abstention.
2001 The criminal Ariel Sharon elected Israel’s PM on 6 February .Israel assassinates Palestinian leader Massud Ayad, a Force 17 officer in Gaza, 13 February. Israel assassinates Palestinian leader Mahmud al-Madani, a Hamas leader in Nablus on 19 February. Random Israeli attacks & bombardment from helicopter gunships & sea. (14 February).
2002 Israel launches partial reoccupations of Jenin & Balata refugee camps. ( 27 February - 14 March)
2007 Arab Knesset member Dr. Azmi Bishara escapes Zionist attempts to assassinate him. (February)

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