November 20:In limited compliance with the Wye River agreement, Israel withdraws
from about 220 square miles in the vicinity of the West Bank town of Jenin and
releases 250 Palestinians from Israeli jails.
December 14:The Palestine National Council votes to eliminate clauses in the PLO
charter demanding the destruction of Israel. President Clinton attends the council
meeting in Gaza and praises the Palestinian leaders for the action.
December 15:After failing to reach agreement with Iraq on procedures for continued
weapons inspections, the United Nations withdraws all of its inspectors from the
country.
December 16:The U.S. and British militaries begin four days of air strikes in Opera-
tion Desert Fox, targeting suspected weapons facilities, intelligence agencies, and
other military targets in Iraq. This is the most extensive attack against Iraq since
the Persian Gulf War of January–February 1991.
December 20:Prime Minister Netanyahu suspends Israeli compliance with the Octo-
ber 23 Wye River agreement, citing what he calls the failure of Palestinians to carry
out their promises, including collecting unlicensed weapons and restraining incite-
ment against Israel.
December 21:Netanyahu’s government loses a “no-confidence” vote in the Knesset.
New elections will take placed in May 1999.
1999
January 11:Former prime minister Shimon Peres becomes the first Israeli to address
the Palestinian Legislative Council. He expresses support for a Palestinian state.
January 25:Richard Butler, head of the UN weapons inspection commission in Iraq,
sends a final report to the Security Council stating that many of Iraq’s illegal
weapons have been destroyed but that the Iraqi government’s repeated lack of coop-
eration means that the United Nations cannot be sure how many and what types
of weapons the country might still have.
February 7:Jordan’s King Hussein dies after a long battle with cancer. He was the
longest-serving ruler in the Middle East, having taken power in August 1952. He
is succeeded by a son, Abdallah II.
February 16:Turkish agents in Nairobi, Kenya, capture Abdallah Ocalan, the leader
of the Kurdistan Workers Party who had been charged with numerous counts of
terrorism by the Turkish government.
April 5:The UN Security Council suspends international sanctions against Libya after
the government hands over to Scottish authorities two suspects in the December
1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
April 12:President Bill Clinton says the United States should abandon its “total denial”
of Iranian grievances about past U.S. behavior toward Iran, just as Iran should accept
that the United States has grievances about its behavior. This statement is seen as
part of the Clinton administration’s ultimately fruitless attempt to reach out to Iran’s
government.
April 29:The Palestine Liberation Organization decides to delay plans (which had been
announced the previous fall) to formally declare establishment of Palestinian state.
May 17:Ehud Barak, the new leader of Israel’s Labor Party, wins election as prime
minister, defeating incumbent Netanyahu. One of his key campaign promises was
to withdraw Israeli military forces from southern Lebanon.
684 CHRONOLOGY OF THE MIDDLE EAST, 1914–2007