The controversial agreement between Palestinian forces and the Syrian government over the Lebanese civil war, which has aroused the wrath of Egypt, was officially signed in Damascus on Thursday (29 July).
Syrian and Palestinian negotiators gathered in the Syrian capital for a week, sorting out the details of their differences in Lebanon. Left-wing Moslems in the 16-month-old civil war have been supported throughout by Palestinian forces. But earlier this year Syria intervened with heavy concentrations of infantry and armour — clashing repeatedly with the Palestinians, who only a year previously had regraded the Syrians as their staunch allies.
The agreement was signed by Syrian Foreign Minister Abdul Khalim Khaddam and the Head of the Political Department of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. It called for a cease-fire by all warring factions in Lebanon, and the formation of a Lebanese-Syrian-Palestinian committee to take charge of the cease-fire until Lebanese President-elect Elias Sarkis assumes office. The agreement, widely publicised before the actual signing on Thursday, has been criticised by Egypt as a division of Lebanon among the two parties.
