Anti-Israeli Riots Erupt for 5th Day in Gaza City

Palestinians in Gaza City barricaded streets with burning tires and threw rocks at Israeli army patrols Sunday during a fifth straight day of protests sparked by the slayings of four suspected Arab guerrillas.

Sporadic gunfire was heard throughout the day as soldiers fired into the air to break up crowds.

Soldiers also forced merchants to reopen businesses shut Saturday during a general strike that had been expected to last three days. Troops ripped the front doors off some shops whose owners did not comply with the order, merchants said.

A statement by the Israel Defense Forces on the day’s events made no mention of the unrest.

Tensions in the area, seized from Egypt in the 1967 Middle East War, rose sharply after four Arab men identified by Israeli authorities as guerrillas were killed in a shoot-out with Israeli troops Oct. 6. One soldier also was killed in the clash, the bloodiest this year in Gaza.

Most of the Gaza Strip was quiet Sunday, but unrest continued to engulf Gaza City.

Thin columns of black smoke rose into the sky from dozens of intersections Sunday morning as youths set fire to piles of tires and other debris, making many streets impassable.

Rock Throwing Reported

Bands of angry youths clutching rocks waited in doorways near the roadblocks for troops to arrive, then showered them with stones before running away. Vehicles with Israeli license plates also came under attack.

The Israeli statement said a hand grenade was found on a street south of the central Palestine Square, and a gasoline bomb was thrown outside the entrance to a U.N.-run refugee camp south of the city. No injuries were reported.

The Israeli statement also reported that a curfew imposed in the neighborhood where the Oct. 6 shoot-out occurred was lifted Sunday. An order barring Gaza fishermen from sailing on the Mediterranean Sea also was rescinded, the spokesman said.

Despite the violence, the army generally kept a low profile. Jeeps and other vehicles and soldiers on foot patrol were spotted infrequently during a daylong tour of the city.

The less visible presence was in marked contrast to Saturday, when at least 25 people were reported wounded by Israeli troops in various incidents. The worst of the violence occurred at Islamic University, where an army patrol opened fire on students staging an anti-Israel protest on the campus. Two people were seriously wounded.

Ten shooting victims remained hospitalized Sunday, three in serious condition.

Police also reported that a 24-year-old Israeli man, Yigal Shahas, who was shot in the head by two Arab gunmen Saturday night in Jerusalem, died Sunday.