On September 13, 1993, as Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization met in Washington to sign an interim self-rule accord for Gaza and Jericho, protestors against this agreement were killed and injured in Beirut by Lebanese Army troops. The demonstration was held in defiance of an indefinite Lebanese government ban against all assemblies and processions. Bans on peaceful protests and the authorities’ willingness to use violence to suppress peaceful opposition during the transitional phase are cause for grave concern and counterproductive to the peace process.