1981 in Palestine
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PLO
Israeli Military Governorate
- Military Governor of the Gaza Strip – Yitzhak Segev[1]
- Military Governor of the West Bank – Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
- Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories – Danny Matt
Events
January
- Israeli taxi driver Yehezkel Mizrahi is murdered by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip while taking his taxi to a garage known to be cheaper than Israeli garages for repairs.[2][3]
- The Israeli government approves the establishment of three new settlements in the West Bank.[4]
February
- 9 February: The Israeli government seizes several thousand acres of land around Salfit for the purposes of expanding the settlement of Ariel.[5][6]
- 27 February: Israeli Prime Minister and Likud leader Menachem Begin visits the settlement of Elon Moreh for the first time since 1977, accompanied by several government ministers.[7]
March
- 13 March: The Israeli government expropriates several hundred acres of land in the West Bank for the purposes of expanding the settlement of Shavei Shomron.[8]
April
- 7 April: Palestinian Abdul Rahman Otman Mustafa Abu Hasnin dies following a controversial incident involving Israeli Border Police.[9]
- 22 April: The Israeli government indicates that it may be willing to back down from its controversial plans to takeover the Palestinian Jerusalem District Electricity Company.[10]
May
June
- 1 June: PLO representative in Belgium Naim Khader is assassinated in Brussels.[11]
- 12 June: Palestinian Mohammed Mustapha Jibril dies in an incident involving the Israeli military in Dheisheh.[12]
July
- 29 July: A group of Palestinian militants ambushes a civilian bus near Jerusalem, severely wounding 23-year-old Israeli Dvora Arent.[13] In response, the Israeli authorities impose a six-day curfew on several West Bank villages.[14][15]
August
- 29 August: The hardline Abu Nidal Organization perpetrates the 1981 Vienna synagogue attack in Austria. The attack is widely condemned by both nationalist and moderate Palestinian mayors in the occupied territories.[16]
September
October
- 23 October: 22-year-old Palestinian Fayez Tarairah dies in Israeli custody four months after his arrest in a controversial case.[15][17]
November
- 1 November: Israeli academic Menahem Milson is appointed as the West Bank head of the newly reorganised Israeli Civil Administration, sparking the outbreak of the November–December 1981 Palestinian protests.
- 2 November: Balfour Day is marked by demonstrations across Palestine. The same day, the Israeli government also approves three new settlements in the Gaza Strip.[18] Both events inflame the outbreak of the protests against the Civil Administration.[19]
- 4 November: Israeli authorities order Birzet University closed for two months, additionally carrying out arrests of several of the university's administration and the student council.[20][21]
- 17 November: Yusuf Khatib, head of the Ramallah Village League, and his son are assassinated by Palestinian militants. Following the assassination, the Israeli government begins distributing weapons to Village League members.[22][23]
December
- 2 December: The December 1981 Gaza general strike breaks out as part of the protests against the Civil Administration, sparked by the Israeli government's decision to appoint General Yosef Luntz as the head of the Civil Administration in Gaza.[24][25]
- Palestinian terrorist Ziad Abu Ein is extradited from the United States to Israel.[26]
See also
References
- ↑ Shipler, David K. (28 March 1981). "UNDER GAZA'S CALM SURFACE: DEATH, DRUGS, INTRIGUE". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ↑ "Jewish Taxi Driver Fatally Shot in Gaza Strip: Three Members of Jewish Family Injured in Attack". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 12 January 1981. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ↑ "Israeli Is Slain, 2 Injured In Attacks in Gaza Strip". The New York Times. 12 January 1981. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ↑ "3 WEST BANK SETTLEMENT ENORSED IN ISRAEL". The New York Times. 27 January 1981. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ↑ "Controversy Sparked by Move to Seize Land in the Nablus Area". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 11 February 1981. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ↑ Devries, Hilary (9 February 1981). "Israel seizes 2,500 acres, a West Bank mayor says". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ↑ "Begin Visits Elon Moreh, Other West Bank Settlements for First Time Since Likud Won Elections". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2 March 1981. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ↑ "AROUND THE WORLD; West Bank Mayor Accuses Israel of Stealing Land". The New York Times. 14 March 1981. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ↑ "REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE ISRAELI PRACTICES AFFECTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE POPULATION OF THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES" (PDF). Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People. 20 October 1982. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ↑ "Israel Drops Plans to Buy Arab-owned East Jerusalem Firm". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 22 April 1981. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ↑ "A gunman today assassinated Naim Khader, the representative of..." UPI. 1 June 1981. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ↑ "Soldier Absolved in Fatal Shooting of Arab Youth". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 15 June 1981. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ↑ "One of Four Victims of Terrorist Bus Ambush Fighting for Her Life". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 31 July 1981. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ↑ "Israel Puts Curfew on Arabs Near Site of Guerrilla Attack". The Washington Post. 31 July 1981. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- 1 2 United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Foreign Assistance Legislation for Fiscal Year 1983: Fiscal year 1983 foreign assistance requests for Europe and the Middle East. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1983.Pages 410-433
- ↑ "West Bank Arab Notables Condemn Attack on Vienna Synagogue". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 3 September 1981. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ↑ "Jailed West Bank Arab Dies". The New York Times. 29 October 1981. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
- ↑ "3 More Settlements Approved for Gaza Strip". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 3 November 1981. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ↑ "Demonstrations Mark Balfour Day on West Bank". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 3 November 1981. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ↑ Fasheh, Munir (28 December 1981). "WHY ISRAEL CLOSED PALESTINIANS' UNIVERSITY". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ↑ Shipler, David K. (29 November 1981). "50 JEWISH PROTESTERS ARE SEIZED IN WEST BANK". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ↑ "Moderate Arab West Bank Leaders Condemn Terrorist Ambush Slaying". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 19 November 1981. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ↑ "Defense Ministry Agrees to Have West Bank Moderates Arm Themselves". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 1 December 1981. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ↑ "Israelis crack down on Gaza dissent". UPI. 9 December 1981. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ↑ "General Strike in Gaza". Washington Post. 8 December 1981. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ↑ Vallance, Karla (14 December 1981). "US extradites a suspect to Israel". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
