Israeli Soldiers Kill 3 Arab Protesters at Camp on West Bank

Israeli soldiers today shot and killed at least three Arab protesters at a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank during a demonstration after Muslim prayers, Arab and Israeli news reports said.

The Arab-run Palestine Press Service, which monitors events in the occupied territories, said four Palestinians were shot and killed and scores wounded.

The news agency said the dead are two 11-year-old boys, Ali Ismail Abdullah and Abdullah Faour, and two women, Sahar Jarmi, 17, and Suheila Kabi, 57.

Israel radio reported that troops shot and killed three Arab protesters and wounded 11.

The Israeli army confirmed that there were casualties at the Balata refugee camp 45 miles north of Jerusalem but said it did not know how many.

The clashes came on the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Syrian-supported Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. It was the fourth straight day of protests in the occupied territories.

Stones, Bottles Hurled

The army said the Balata camp was placed under curfew after a violent demonstration in which Arab protesters hurled stones and bottles at Israeli soldiers.

Four Palestinians were killed in clashes earlier this week in the occupied territories.

Photographers standing outside the camp saw dozens of young men hurl stones and bottles at Israeli troops after noon prayers in a mosque near the entrance to the camp.

The demonstrators could be heard shouting Islamic slogans, including “Allah Akbar!” (God is great!)

Israeli troops responded with rubber bullets, tear gas and bursts of warning shots from automatic rifles fired in the air.

Soldiers then entered the camp to enforce a curfew that required all 15,000 residents to remain indoors.

Arab Paper Closed

A man walking beside an ambulance that left the camp said he was told by residents that two to three people had been shot near a high school.

Shots were also fired during a demonstration near Al Itihad, according to soldiers manning a roadblock in the area. Soldiers could be seen sitting on the pavement, coughing and rubbing their eyes as they recovered from the effects of tear gas.

The street leading to the hospital was littered with stones, bricks and barrels, which had been dragged onto the road to be used as barricades.

Also today, the Israeli army closed down an Arab-owned daily newspaper for 10 days, charging that editors violated censorship in reporting on violent protests in the occupied Gaza Strip.

It was the third time in a month that the pro-Palestine Liberation Organization newspaper has been closed for allegedly violating censorship regulations.

It was the second Israeli crackdown this week on the Arab press. Radwan Abu-Ayyash, chairman of the Arab Journalists’ Assn., was detained Tuesday for six months without trial.